Head of Media Rights

Job Description

Can you take our books beyond the page? Do you have a proven track record of selling and negotiating adaptation deals with film, TV or theatre companies?

We’re looking for an experienced and commercially minded Head of Media Rights to lead our media rights activity and help unlock the full potential of Penguin Random House UK’s extraordinary catalogue of books, authors and ideas. You’ll identify exciting opportunities for adaptation across the film, television and theatre industries, and negotiate ambitious deals that bring our stories to new audiences and formats. This is a fantastic opportunity to combine strategic thinking, creative instincts and exceptional deal-making and relationship-building skills at the heart of one of the world’s leading publishing businesses.

About the team

Penguin Random House UK Group Rights represents international and domestic rights across the company’s eight publishing divisions helping our books and brands go global. Our Media Rights team works across all divisions including Adults and Children’s books.

The role

This is an exciting maternity cover opportunity leading Penguin Random House’s dynamic and highly successful Media Rights business, reporting into the Group Rights Director. We’re looking for someone who is both passionate and experienced in identifying and maximising adaptation opportunities, with strong industry connections and an entrepreneurial, opportunistic mindset.

You’ll be responsible for titles from across the Penguin Random House portfolio, so you’ll need to be confident working across a broad and varied range of projects – from children’s brands and bestselling crime series to exciting new literary voices and more.

Key responsibilities:

• Identifying books with potential for adaptation for TV, film and theatre
• Working closely to advise on new acquisitions with in-house editorial, contracts and legal teams
• Researching, planning and pitching our titles and authors for adaptation opportunities
• Negotiating deals, including auctions, on behalf of authors with buyers
•  Working closely with legal to establish terms and conditions for rights sales
• Managing on-going deals with external and internal stakeholders
• Working closely with individual authors to guide them through deals and the adaptation process
• Building our network of relationships across the media industry
• Keeping up to date with the fast-moving media and entertainment landscape
• There is also occasional travel to international industry events and conferences.

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• Strong experience within the media and entertainment industry, for example across agencies, literary scouting, production, representation or rights.
• A good understanding of copyright and intellectual property, or experience working with rights, contracts or related commercial agreements.
• An established network of contacts across film, television and the wider entertainment sector.
• Excellent negotiation and commercial skills, with experience developing opportunities, managing deals or representing creative talent or intellectual property.
• Strong knowledge of the entertainment landscape, including current creative and commercial trends.
• Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work with authors, agents, producers and senior stakeholders.
• An entrepreneurial and proactive approach, with strong judgement and the ability to spot opportunities and drive them forward.

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV and cover letter (both in pdf format) outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Sunday 22nd of November 2026. The cover letter should be uploaded as an additional document.

• Please ensure you include a cover letter (in pdf format), as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. 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 or two pages in length.
• Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate.

Salary

Circa £60,000 to £70,000 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 [email protected]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

Qualifications

Additional Information

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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Compensation: 60000 to 70000 (GBP) (YEARLY)