UK Sales Director, HQ, Mills & Boon, Pavilion, Avon - 12 month Maternity Cover

UK Sales Director, HQ, Mills & Boon, Pavilion, Avon - 12 month Maternity Cover HarperCollins Publishers

Employment Type Contract due to start Dec 25/Jan 26

Location Hybrid London, UK 3+ days office based

Seniority Senior

• Closing:11:55pm, 4th Sep 2025 BST

Perks and benefits

Work from home option

Wellness programs

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Mentoring/coaching

Cycle to work scheme

Candidate happiness

8.65 (30844)

Job Description

This role will oversee the sales teams and strategies for some of HarperCollins' most exciting commercial publishing:

Specialising in commercial fiction, non-fiction and innovative digital publishing, HQ is a young, ambitious, and award-winning imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, publishing debuts and key brands and Sunday Times Bestsellers such as Sarah Morgan, Adele Parks, Colleen Hoover, June Sarpong, Caroline Hirons and Davina McCall.

Established in 2007, Avon is a commercial fiction division of HarperCollins and publishes predominantly crime, thrillers, suspense, feel-good general fiction, and historical fiction, including C.L. Taylor, J.M. Hall, Sue Moorcroft and Esha Patel.

Pavilion Booksis an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers specialising in illustrated non-fiction. The enviable roster of high-profile authors on the list includes MOB Kitchen founder Ben Lebus; Italian chef and TV personality Gennaro Contaldo and Sunday Sessions YouTuber Big Has.

And finally, sweeping women off their feet for over 100 years, Mills & Boon is the UK's publisher of romantic fiction.

The successful candidate will be accountable and responsible for driving the divisional sales across the UK trade channel, reporting to the Home Sales Director, and working closely with the Group Sales Director and Commercial Director to hit the sales and profit targets for each budget year. This role is responsible for the Divisional Sales Team and works alongside the International Head of Sales and Digital Sales team, ensuring sales strategies are closely aligned and coordinated in partnership with the marketing, PR, publishing, and other key divisional stakeholders.

Work with the Home Sales Director, Group Sales Director and Commercial Director to set and deliver the short-term and long-term UK Print and Digital sales strategies for the divisions

Manage, lead and develop the HQ , Mills & Boon, Pavillion and Avon Key Accounts Team

Delivery of the UK divisional sales and profit targets

Maintaining excellent UK industry relationships and networks

The role will also be required to work closely with the digital team, as well as establish strong working relationships with the international, Irish and sales development teams

Work with the Retail Director in providing market intelligence to help the division make appropriate acquisition decisions

Provide the division with immediate market feedback to help them make the most of the titles in the market

Work closely with Marketing, Publicity, Editorial and other in-house departments

Attend internal meetings and chair meetings as required

Manage the stock and print program, work closely with the division attend jacket and schedule meetings

Take responsibility for managing the retail spend budget for each year

In Depth understanding of the UK adult book market

Excellent communication skills - both verbal and written

Proactive and forward-thinking - making the most of every situation and ability to implement change if required

Track record of experience of working with multiple stakeholders, internally and externally

Established and advanced relationships at a senior level in retail

Solid experience of managing, motivating and directing others

Proven experience of developing business strategies and successful implementation

Excellent influencing skills along with the ability to build relationships, even in challenging situations

An individual with confidence in their own abilities, and who inspires trust and confidence in others

Genuinely enthusiastic about the list and able to generate enthusiasm in others

Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)

Private healthcare cover and life assurance

Summer Hours

Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal

Relocation Rent Support Loan

Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work

Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal

Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers

Onsite physiotherapy (London only)

Charitable donation matching and2 volunteering days

Free e-books and audiobooks, newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books

Subsidised canteen and retail discounts

Onsite prayer room

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to with subject heading 'Vacancy Query' plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.