Assistant Production Manager, Artisan

Hachette Book Group•New York, NY

2d•$70,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Hachette Book Group is seeking an Assistant Production Manager to coordinate the production and manufacturing of full color reprint titles published by Artisan, an imprint of The Workman Running Press Group. Artisan publishes illustrated books to inspire and instruct, produced with great intention and quality. We believe that many subjects can be expressed visually, whether through photography, illustration, or graphic design, and we are committed to applying that visual lens to strong and meaningful editorial content. We specialize in cooking, design, crafts, and hobbies, and expanding the boundaries of general nonfiction. The physical book is our great passion: finding the form, conceiving the package, and digging deep into the details until we’ve created an object that is a singular pleasure to hold, to use, to read, and to give. Artisan’s first significant bestseller was Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook; more recent New York Times bestsellers include Why I Cook, John Derian Picture Book and The Noma Guide to Fermentation. We are looking for a highly detailed-oriented, organized, and motivated self-starter to gain experience in one of the most critical aspects of bookmaking. Working closely with the Senior Production Manager, you will help track all aspects of physical book production—including printing, scheduling, estimating, color-correcting, and coordinating with vendors.

Requirements

Possess knowledge of book production process for a diverse range of formats that is reinforced by 5-8 years professional experience in the trade publishing industry.
Strong experience with manufacturing in Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Strong color assessment skills with the ability to provide guidance to in-house team and appropriate instruction and color correction and retouching directives to outside suppliers.
Employs solid negotiating skills.
Thorough, accurate, and articulate verbal and written communication skills.
Possess a high level of organization and is detail oriented, creative, flexible, and able to prioritize.
Collaborate well with a diverse team of internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to utilize technology to improve workflow.
Proficiency in Excel, basic math, calculating, organizing, and presenting data.
Skilled use of Mac platform.

Nice To Haves

Comfortable with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign. Illustrator, Photoshop) as well as Adobe Acrobat, a plus.
Seeks continuous improvement and innovative solutions.
Maintains grace under pressure in a high-energy, fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

Handle the Artisan reprints: purchase orders, file creation, estimates, schedules, correction/proof follow-up; color-checking advance copies and updating internal status reports.
Maintains accurate specification, schedules, cost estimates, purchase orders, and shipping instructions from HBG’s Title Management system.
Help marking up of color proofs in collaboration with designers and authors.
Work closely with overseas and domestic vendors to manage supplier performance, to ensure schedule fidelity, a high level of quality, and budget requirements.
Monitors production schedules through coordination with outside vendors as well as all relevant in-house departments to ensure on-time delivery at every stage of manufacturing.
Attends and participates in regular production meetings.
Analyzes production specifications with an eye towards potential cost-saving opportunities.
Communicates alternative specifications to editorial and design departments for discussion.
Works independently, keeping Manager and imprint informed of any service disruption or vendor quality issues.
Communicates such issues to the vendor.
Negotiates pricing throughout the development of a product through proper bidding and cost analysis.