Senior Designer, PRH Children's

Penguin Random House Children's is looking for a Senior Designer to join the Puffin 6+ team on a permanent basis. Puffin believes children need choice and opportunities to find books they will love, and its designers work on a wide range of books with creativity, commercial instinct and outstanding design.

Reporting to the Deputy Art Director, you'll work across a wide range of titles, mainly on the fiction list, from colour books for developing readers to YA and New Adult in every genre. You'll own the full design process, from early concept and visual research to print-ready files, leading projects, commissioning illustrators and creatives, and working with Editorial, Production, Sales and Rights.

What you'll be doing

• Generating original ideas and creative approaches
• Leading projects from pitch to print through all stages
• Commissioning and art directing illustrators and designers, finding and developing emerging talent
• Contributing regularly to creative meetings
• Keeping up with publishing and wider creative design trends and bringing proactive research
• Building creative partnerships with high-profile illustrators, authors and external contacts
• Building relationships with editorial, sales, production, rights, marketing and publicity
• Balancing creative ambition with commercial priorities
• Communicating effectively, including negotiating and managing spend
• Planning and managing schedules to align priorities and workflow

What we're looking for

• A highly creative portfolio with children's fiction experience, including illustrated fiction and YA, and work on commercially successful titles
• A clear understanding of the commercial publishing landscape
• Demonstrable interest in and understanding of the children's market, including current illustrators, authors, brands and visual trends
• The ability to generate original creative ideas across formats
• Proven experience developing titles from concept to launch with a commercial approach
• Excellent technical design skills, with advanced Adobe Creative Suite knowledge and an understanding of print production
• A flexible, agile, solutions-focused approach
• Experience championing creative ideas and adapting quickly to changing priorities
• Experience sourcing, commissioning and building relationships with illustrators and freelance designers
• Strong project management across multiple projects with different lead times
• Accurate, high-quality work delivered on schedule and within budget
• Keeping administration and file management up to date and accurate

What's on offer

• Circa £41,000, depending on skills and experience, plus bonus and benefits
• Permanent role, hybrid, working from the London office a minimum of three days a week
• PRH is a Disability Confident Committed employer

How to apply

Apply via 'Apply now' with your CV, a cover letter (usually no more than one page) and a PDF of a curated selection of children's and YA cover design work in the 'additional documents' section.

Closing date: 15 November 2026