Permissions Manager

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with Rights, Permissions or Contracts experience to join Pan Macmillan and be the central guardian and facilitator of our content. Working across all lists, and titles from the beloved Gruffalo to our esteemed former poet laureates, you will be the essential first port of call for every permission request, all handled via our bespoke permissions portal.

Your team:

The Rights Department consists of two dedicated teams, one focusing on Adult rights and one on Macmillan Children's Books (MCB) rights. Together, we are responsible for licensing subsidiary rights and maximizing ancillary across the entire Pan Macmillan publishing company.

We operate internationally, collaborating closely with our sister companies in New York, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart, as well as with external publishers worldwide. Our goal is to ensure our authors and illustrators find the right global partners, working directly with publishers in major markets and utilizing a network of specialist co-agents in other territories.

Your role:

As the Permissions Manager, you will act as the crucial link between external requests and our intellectual property (IP). You will be responsible for the end-to-end management of all permission requests, ensuring our best interests are always protected and ancillary rights income is maximized.

You will strategically divide your time, supporting Children's lists three days per week and Adult lists one day per week. You will collaborate closely with the Rights teams and the Strategic Partnerships Director, ensuring all licensing and permission activity is meticulously managed to protect our assets and maximize the value of our content.

Your key responsibilities:

• Permissions & IP protection: Serve as the primary custodian of content rights, assessing and granting all permission requests via our bespoke portal to safeguard our intellectual property (IP) and the commercial interests of Pan Macmillan, our authors, and our illustrators.
• High-Value licensing: Manage the full lifecycle of complex, high-profile licensing requests (e.g., brand usage, TV/film props, illustrator exhibitions) to generate ancillary revenue and enhance brand visibility.
• Contract analysis & compliance: Conduct analysis of underlying author and illustrator head contracts to confirm precise rights held, mitigating legal risk and ensuring full contractual compliance.
• Negotiation & revenue maximization: Negotiate and secure optimal financial terms for our authors and illustrators, efficiently raising all necessary agreements and invoices to maximize ancillary rights revenue.
• Debt management & finance: Proactively manage and reduce outstanding debt by consistently chasing overdue invoices, working closely with the finance team to ensure prompt payment.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate with the Communications and Brand/Licensing teams on non-traditional requests, assisting in drafting key partnership agreements to unlock new commercial opportunities.
• Record-keeping: Maintain impeccable, up-to-date financial and agreement records within our rights system, Biblio, for seamless contract tracking.

Essential experience, abilities and knowledge you'll need to succeed:

• Rights, permissions or contracts experience: Proven experience in a Rights, Permissions or Contracts department, ideally within a trade publishing house or a closely related media/licensing environment.
• Contractual expertise: Comprehensive understanding of and demonstrated ability to accurately interpret author and illustrator head contracts to confirm rights ownership and licensing parameters.
• Technical proficiency: Working knowledge of rights management software, such as Biblio or equivalent systems, for accurate record-keeping and invoice management.
• Commercial acumen: Proficiency in analysing complex permission requests, ensuring legal compliance and negotiating optimal financial terms to achieve the best commercial outcome.
• Problem-solving: Demonstrated ability to efficiently and effectively resolve complicated rights and licensing issues.
• Communication and integrity: Excellent written, oral and numerical skills, capable of communicating confidently, clearly and authoritatively to build and maintain trust with stakeholders while ensuring all information is conveyed with precision and probity.
• Organization: Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize effectively and adapt quickly in response to changing business needs.
• Community: Demonstrate a proactive, supportive and highly communicative approach that contributes positively to the collaborative spirit and shared goals of the wider Rights teams.
• Curiosity: A proactive approach to exploring and leveraging digital tools and AI (such as Gemini) to streamline routine tasks and improve workflow efficiency.

What you'll get in return:

In return we can offer you a range of great projects, a supportive and collaborative working environment as well as a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary starting from: £30,400 (full-time equivalent of £38,000)

Closing date:

7 December 2025

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 28 days' annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Discounted private medical insurance
• Group income protection scheme
• Enhanced family pay and leave
• Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)
• 2 Volunteer Days per year
• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)
• Season ticket loan/advance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

This is a part-time, permanent role, and will be based in our offices in Farringdon, London, with some flexibility to work from home each week.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate the right to live and work in the UK in order to be considered for this role.

At Pan Macmillan, we are highly committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at every level of our organisation. We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. Our efforts to promote DEI are ongoing, and we continually strive to learn and improve our policies and practices. You can read our full Diversity & Inclusion Pledge here:

We want to ensure that all candidates are supported throughout the recruitment process, if you have any reasonable adjustments or accessibility requirements please contact Kayelle Danyluk (Head of Talent Acquisition) at .

Please note that all personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice available here: Please read our Recruitment Privacy Notice before submitting your application.