Zondervan is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and highly values diverse backgrounds and insights that fuel our innovation.

Join a big-five publisher and be part of our mission to inspire the world.  The Zondervan Books imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing is a non-fiction publisher which is the preeminent home for Christian writing that builds up God’s people and that persuades and transforms the wider world. Established in the bedrock of Christian publishing’s richest tradition, Zondervan publishes life-changing work that challenges and redeems an ever-changing world.

Our successes include books by time-tested and trusted leaders, including Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, Lee Strobel’s The Case for books, and Dr. Cloud & Dr. Townsend’s Boundaries.  We also publish works by new voices offering eternal truth, including Craig Groeschel’s Winning the War in Your Mind, Rebekah Lyons’ Rhythms of Renewal, and Shauna Niequist’s I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet. We are also the home of books that exemplify the practice of faith in life, including Lecrae’s I Am Restored, and Dr. Myron Rolle’s The 2% Way. And we work with writers whose lives have been transformed by God, including Ben Carson, Eric Metaxas, and Candace Cameron Bure.

We are looking for a Director of Publicity to lead the divisional publicity team. Our ideal candidate will possess a passion for great content, stellar written and verbal communication skills, and will enjoy working in a dynamic and highly collaborative environment.

Hybrid Nashville, TN or Grand Rapids, MI or remote location status will be considered.

• Sets PR strategy and protocols for the Zondervan Books Publishing Group.
• Works with the marketing team, acquisition editors, authors and agents to develop and execute publicity campaigns with some travel to support book-related events/media tours.
• Actively develops and maintains media contacts, including national, regional, local, and online to secure book coverage.
• Manages overall publicity budget and works with marketing counterparts and VP of Marketing to determine priority PR projects.
• Works with the Zondervan Books marketing team to create integrated promotional and publicity plans and communicates plan clearly in writing to authors and agents.
• Manages author relations and expectations regarding publicity/media outlet hits.
• Manages outside public relations firms and coordinates the activities of other personnel involved in each project. 
• Oversees all facets involved with creating press materials and monitors breaking news for timely hooks relevant to the product.
• Schedules author tours with both traditional bookstore appearances and off-site events involving third party partners.
• Tracks media activities and clippings for updates to the HCCP sales team, authors, agents, and internal personnel.
• Coordinates media training as needed for any divisional author in need.
• Participates in effective sales conference presentations and key account sessions when needed.
• Works with other HCCP publicists to coordinate group activities such as media trips to New York, media holiday gifts, media catalog mailings, publicity staff retreats, etc.
• Fosters a healthy environment of internal departments, external partners and vendors working together.
• Directs public relations activities at industry trade shows (e.g., ALA), based on the agreed upon trade show communications strategy.
• Measures, analyzes, and reports on media coverage as appropriate.
• Travels as necessary.

Knowledge: Microsoft office and Cision media database

Work Experience: Preferred candidate will possess 7+ years’ experience in communications role with an emphasis on public relations. 3+ year’s national media pitching experience is desired booking top-line media in both traditional and digital outlets.  Previous supervisory experience is preferred. 

Education: BA or BS in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, Marketing or related field

Industry Knowledge: Knowledge of Christian publishing industry is desired but not required.

Skills:

• Desired candidate will be detail oriented, yet have a broad eye for the changing landscape of public relations
• Excellent communication skills, including exceptional writing skills
• Creative thinker
• Ability to work in a collaborative team environment
• Project management experience
• Track record of ability to generate creative angles and effective pitches
• An ability to work in a fast-paced environment under deadlines
• Experience working with entertainment and sports celebrities, pop culture projects, memoirs, music and design books
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Capable of managing budgets
• Effective copywriter
• A deep understanding of the digital media space, including bloggers, podcasts, and social media
• Ability to act as an ambassador and influencer to the media, agents, authors and other opinion formers to reinforce the reputation of HarperCollins as a major, innovative publisher

The salary range for this position is $96,000 - $145,000. We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company.  As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates.  The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.  

In addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce.        

HarperCollins Christian Publishing is an Equal Opportunity Employer