Deputy Art Director (Puffin 0-6), Penguin Random House Children’s

This is an opportunity to join Puffin’s picture book and pre-school team on a fixed-term contract to cover parental leave. Joining at a time of growth you'll combine creativity, commercial instinct and design expertise to help shape the list. 

About the team

Puffin is home to many imaginative and best-selling authors and illustrators. Alongside our classic characters and backlist heroes we have an enviable list of award-winners. Our designers work on a huge range of different books, but what they all have in common is clever creativity and outstanding design. Our brilliant designers look after some of the very best authors, illustrators, classic characters and brands in children’s publishing alongside finding and nurturing new talent. 

The role

The Deputy Art Director will work closely with, and report to, the Art Director for the Puffin 0-6 team taking ownership and responsibility for leading the design of titles and series from concept to finished product in a combination of hands-on design alongside management of in-house and freelance designers. You will contribute to the creative vision and commercial success of the division ensuring projects meet the highest creative standards while delivering against commercial goals.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the creative design and typographic direction across a diverse range of children’s publishing for age 0-6 genres and formats, ensuring work is original, engaging and commercially effective.

• Build strong creative partnerships with established, high-profile illustrators and authors, while identifying and nurturing emerging talent to deliver distinctive work against bespoke creative and commercial briefs.

• Lead projects from pitch to print, driving them through all stages.

• Generate original ideas and creative approaches.

• Balance creative ambition with commercial priorities, budgets and timelines.

• Working with the art director to monitor and review the direction of projects overseeing quality and consistency of design work.

• Commission and art direct illustrators and designers building strong relationships with external creatives.

• Effective communication including strong negotiation skills, with responsibility for ensuring spend is managed effectively.

• Planning and management of schedules to align priorities and workflow.

• Building strong relationships with editorial, sales, production, marketing and publicity teams acting as a senior point of contact for design.

• Regular and ongoing input into creative meetings within the division.

• Keeping up to date with current design trends in publishing and the wider creative industries, bringing fresh thinking and proactive research to identify new concepts and initiate original approaches.

• Deputise for the Art Director when required

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• A highly creative portfolio with significant experience in children’s publishing including picture books, pre-school board books and novelty books, demonstrating work on commercially successful titles and brands

• Proven experience developing titles from concept through to launch, supported by a strong commercial approach

• Demonstrable ability to generate original creative ideas across a range of formats

• A clear understanding of the commercial publishing landscape

• A flexible, agile and solutions-focused approach, experience presenting and championing creative ideas, with the ability to respond positively and at pace to changing priorities.

• Excellent technical design skills with advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and print production processes

• Proven ability to act as a trusted creative partner, working collaboratively with Editorial, Sales, Production, Marketing, PR and other key stakeholders.

• Strong project-management skills, with the ability to deliver accurate, high-quality work on schedule and within budget, balancing creative ambition with the time and investment available.

• Experience sourcing, commissioning and building effective relationships with illustrators and freelance designers

• An established network of illustrators, designers and other creative suppliers

• A demonstrable interest in and understanding of the children’s publishing market, including current illustrators, authors, brands and visual trends.

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV and a cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 22nd of November 2026.

• Please also include a PDF attachment, in the ‘additional documents’ section, of a curated selection of your best work that demonstrates your creative expertise in the relevant area of design. Due to application volumes, we are only able to consider applications that include this pdf attachment.

• Please ensure you include a cover letter. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one page in length.

• Please note we are looking for someone to join the team in February/March 2027.

Salary

Up to £55,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Hybrid working

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from our Embassy Gardens office at least 3 days a week.

AI

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.

We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.

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