Head of Publishing & Editorial Content Quality

The role

This is a unique kind of publishing role: people come to us to turn their life story, or the expertise they've spent a career building - into a beautiful book, and you're the person who makes sure it actually gets made well.

You'd own editorial quality across the business - defining the standard, and making sure everything our writers and development editors produce meets it.

Story Terrace is the market leader for ghostwritten memoirs in the UK and US, built on our proprietary platform, Bookmaker. We work with clients directly, not through traditional publishing gatekeepers.

We run three product lines, from fully human-crafted (PRO, our fastest-growing, covering both memoirs and thought leadership for speakers and executives) to largely AI-assisted (Low Cost), with Classic in between.

You ll be the most senior publishing voice in a small and cross Atlantic company, reporting directly to the CEO. You’ll be a key player within the Customer & Editorial management team, setting the editorial standard that the Senior Team Manager s project managers work to, and partner closely with the Head of Operations on how that standard scales across the business.

This is a hybrid role:

Publishing

• Own the editorial infrastructure behind our 30-50 concurrent PRO book projects - the standards, processes, and escalation paths that let the project management team hold quality and client satisfaction high as we grow.
• Step into high stake client communications and escalations when the assigned project manager can t resolve them - a quality dispute, a sensitive judgment call, a client who s unhappy with a draft.
• Recruit, brief, and quality-manage the freelance creative team including Book Cover Designer, Content Strategist, Development Editor pool across the UK and US.
• Join sales consultancy calls as the publishing expert for high-value prospects to assess project scope and feasibility, and help the client land on the right package with realistic expectations from day one.

Content Quality

• Work closely with Product to test and refine the prompts behind AI-assisted parts of the content; and with Sales where editorial process or client experience intersect with theirs.
• Set and communicate content standards and expectations to both the in-house and freelance editorial team.

Background

• 5+ years in an editorial or publishing leadership role, with experience managing a freelance or distributed content/editorial team; hiring, briefing, and holding people to a standard.
• Extensive book publishing experience including self-publishing economics and how authors build audience and revenue - with enough craft authority to set a quality bar that clients and freelance editors trust, ideally across both UK and US markets.
• Experience with ghostwriting, memoir, or thought-leadership publishing.

Capabilities

• Strong ability to judge what "quality" means for a personal or expert narrative manuscript, and to turn that judgment into a concrete, teachable standard others can apply consistently.
• Direct experience running client-facing strategy or discovery sessions with non-professional clients or first-time authors, translating a vague ambition into a concrete brief.
• Hands-on experience or interest in designing and refining prompts for AI-assisted content generation or editing, evaluating AI output against a defined quality bar (Claude strongly preferred).
• An active dedication to the idea that every client s story deserves to be told well, regardless of whose story it is or what it says.

• Annual base salary £45,000–£50,000 depending on experience, plus bonus and commission scheme
• EMI option scheme
• Hybrid role with at least 2 office days per week (Aldgate, London)
• 25 vacation days + 8 bank holidays
• Pension (4% employer + 4% employee)
• Private healthcare
• A collaborative, mission-driven culture in an international scale-up environment

At Story Terrace, we’re as passionate about our people as we are about our product. We believe in hiring for heart and drive, and we’re committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.