Potential occupational standard
Occupational standard in development
Approved occupational standard
Occupational standard without apprenticeship
Custom occupational card
Apprenticeship
T Level
Technical Qualification
Higher Technical Qualification
Career starter apprenticeship
Royal apprenticeship
Occupational progression
Technical education progression
Mid green occupation
Dark green occupation
Favourite occupation
View glossary of terms
home Creative and design
Publishing professional

Publishing professional

Creative and design

Level 4 - Higher Technical Occupation

Supporting key parts of the publishing process from the conception to production.

Print to PDF View occupation in map

Reference: OCC1442

Status: assignment_turned_inApproved occupation

Average (median) salary: £33,816 per year

SOC 2020 code: 3412 Authors, writers and translators

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

  • 3412/04 Literary editors
  • 3554/01 Advertising and marketing executives

Technical Education Products

ST1442:

Publishing professional

(Level 4)

Approved for delivery

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Cambridge University Press, Faber Faber, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Bloomsbury, Oxford University Press, Pearson, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, Raintree, Nosy Crow, Dorling and Kindersley, North Staffordshire Press, Saraband

Summary

Publishing Professionals provide support for specific areas across all key parts of the publishing process from the conception of book, digital product, journal or other product (such as educational resources), through to the production, in a variety of paper and digital formats, and then to support the sales, marketing and publicity processes. Publishing Professionals will usually be involved with aspects of publishing which include editorial, marketing, sales, publicity, production, rights or digital. They will have an awareness or skills which stretch across the publishing process particularly in smaller organisations. They will typically report to an Editorial Manager and are involved with editing, proof reading and briefing external stakeholders about their work and the work of colleagues.

In different organisations the job title may vary and may include Editorial Assistant, Marketing Assistant, Publicity Assistant, Production Assistant, Rights Assistant, Contracts Assistant.

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Cambridge University Press, Faber Faber, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Bloomsbury, Oxford University Press, Pearson, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, Raintree, Nosy Crow, Dorling and Kindersley, North Staffordshire Press, Saraband

Typical job titles include:

Contracts assistant
Editorial assistant
Marketing assistant
Production assistant
Publicity assistant
Rights assistant

Keywords:

Broadcast
Design
Information
Professional
Publishing

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: Their organisation’s strategy and publishing programme, their competitors and who their target users are
K2: The broader publishing industry - sectors and trends
K3: The role of the industry with regards to the wider social issues of climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion and the impact of these issues on their organisation and target users
K4: Publishing systems used to manage, produce and sell products or publications.
K5: The importance and risk to the business involved in maintaining and managing product data, including metadata.
K6: Content management software that supports the production process for the variety of content at their organisation.
K7: The publishing journey from commissioning through to publication including working with manuscripts, proofs and marketing materials
K8: The range of products and publications available such as books, illustrated books, academic publications, digital books, products and services.
K9: Key stages of the publishing process, which include briefing stakeholders or suppliers, design, editing and proof reading.
K10: Importance of communication with internal and external stakeholders
K11: Process and procedures for setting and proofreading content.
K12: The costing and scheduling principles of products or publications to ensure cost effective and timely production.
K13: The importance of tracking and maintaining up-to-date versions of product files on systems.
K14: Sustainability and environmental considerations within production and supply chains.
K15: The importance of market awareness and key selling points for their customers and target users in order to drive sales.
K16: Different methods to connect and engage directly with target users such as influencers, the press, focus groups and surveys.
K17: Sales channels and tools for their target audience.
K18: Marketing campaigns and strategies including digital methods such as search engine optimisation, insights from web analytics and web optimisation.
K19: Contractual structures with authors or contributors including, where relevant, fees, advances, royalties, licensing or assigning copyright and subrights.
K20: Company policies regarding third-party permissions and for protecting copyright and ensuring compliance, including digital rights management.
K21: Range of standards (such as Onix) and mark-up languages (such as XML, LaTeX and HTML) used in publishing.
K22: Accessibility requirements for digital content where relevant (such as alt text for images).
K23: User experience (UX) design and how this can be tested.
K24: New technologies and emerging digital trends and the impact of these on the broader publishing industry

S1: Input and maintain data to produce products or publications that meet company, sales channel and audience requirements.
S2: Continually improve the quality of information or data in line with best practice.
S3: Maintain data and records in line with relevant data protection guidelines.
S4: Follow publishing guidelines relevant to their role to produce products or publications that meet budgets, are on schedule and meet company and industry standards.
S5: Ensure appropriate changes are highlighted and agreed with stakeholders
S6: Apply rigour and attention to detail
S7: Escalate issues and concerns, in line with company process.
S8: Identify stakeholders, build relationships and manage expectations
S9: Present appropriate information clearly and concisely, whether internal or external.
S10: Ensure that products or publications meet contractual structures agreed with authors or other content providers.
S11: Think laterally and provide sensible solutions to problems.
S12: Demonstrate a strong ability to work as part of a team, taking on tasks confidently and resourcefully, working cooperatively with others, and supporting the team and line manager as required.
S13: Communicate clearly with relevant stakeholders, showing confidence, inclusiveness and flexibility, and ensuring an appropriate use of language and terminology.
S14: Present and communicate ideas to colleagues internally and externally as needed.
S15: Manage own workload and operate both individually and as part of a wider team and seek support when needed.
S16: Demonstrate good time-management – prioritise effectively, with the ability to manage multiple demands and deadlines.
S17: Demonstrate the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively during remote or hybrid working, where required by their company.

B1: Maintain professional discretion in relation to confidential issues surrounding stakeholders or business activities.
B2: Include and seek input from people across a wide variety of backgrounds and lived experiences, treating colleagues and external stakeholders fairly and with respect.
B3: Apply rigour and attention to detail both on product processes and in other tasks.
B4: Take the initiative when required and be willing to offer ideas.
B5: Consistently achieve personal and organisational targets.
B6: Be receptive to new ideas.
B7: Be resilient and determined to overcome obstacles.
B8: Show a willingness to learn and develop, embracing new challenges when they occur.
B9: Demonstrates enthusiasm in their activities
B10: Take personal responsibility for and promote sustainable working practices.
B11: Act as a role model for accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Duties

Duty D1

Support the publishing journey from commissioning through to publication, such as working with manuscripts and proofs for print, or content management systems and mark-up languages for digital.

Duty D2

Assist in key publishing processes such as editing, proofreading and design, and understand accessibility requirements.

Duty D3

Ensure that products or publications remain within budgets, are on schedule and meet company and industry standards, agreeing changes with stakeholders, making informed judgements and recognising when it is appropriate to escalate concerns.

Duty D4

Support rights and permissions management processes, such as deal structures with authors or contributors and understand policies regarding third-party permissions

Duty D5

Understand, input, maintain and continually improve publishing data using relevant systems and software.

Duty D6

Understand the needs of target users and how to engage with them through sales, marketing and publicity processes.

Duty D7

Collaborate and communicate clearly with internal and external stakeholders, including briefing stakeholders to achieve the correct and appropriate outcomes.

Duty D8

Work effectively as part of a wider team, taking on tasks with enthusiasm and working cooperatively with others.

Duty D9

Work independently and flexibly as needed to manage a range of activities at the same time as meeting numerous critical deadlines, prioritising activities and multiple demands appropriately.

Duty D10

Maintain up-to-date market intelligence and an understanding of the broader publishing industry, including competitors, trends, and social issues such as sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Occupational Progression

This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.

In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.

It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.

Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.

Technical Occupations

Levels 2-3

Higher Technical Occupations

Levels 4-5

Professional Occupations

Levels 6-7

This is the focused occupation.
assignment_turned_in

Level 4

Creative and design