Lawrence Wishart is an independent, radical publishers based in East London. We have been publishing critical left ideas on politics and culture since 1936. We were the first to translate the Marx and Engels Collected Works and Gramsci into English, and have been strongly associated with the ideas of Stuart Hall, whose work in the field of cultural studies has been so important for the development of left critical thinking.

Our current work is focused on the areas of race, gender, communism, LGBTQ+ issues, intersectionality, climate justice and colonialism. We produce seven journals and a range of non-fiction books, overseen by a Journals Manager and Books Manager respectively. Budget setting, cashflow and the financial bottom line are overseen by the Finance Manager.

The Office Administrator role is interesting and varied, and offers the right candidate the scope to work with colleagues developing and streamlining Lawrence Wishart’s internal administrative processes. The Office Administrator will support the Books, Journal and Finance Managers with day-to-day tasks, and be responsible for oversight of customer service and orders. The ideal candidate will feel confident working with a range of software including databases and Microsoft Office. A positive attitude, enthusiasm and good organisational skills are essential, as is an ability to communicate clearly and ask for help when needed. You will be a self-starter, proactive, a problem solver, happy to take on feedback, and able to work in a collaborative way with colleagues.

The Office Administrator will report to the three LW managers. The right candidate will understand the demands of working in a small team and will demonstrate flexibility and willingness to negotiate when setting up systems for staff to use. Tasks will vary from managing orders, setting up weekly meetings and scheduling editorial boards to fielding customer queries, doing stock checks and uploading digital content to online platforms. This role is ideal for an experienced administrator with an interest in publishing and/or a political affiliation to the aims and values of Lawrence Wishart.

Benefits

Our benefits reflect our commitment to our employees, some of which include:

• 20 days paid holiday entitlement in year one (plus bank holidays), increasing a day each year up to 30 days.
• 35 hour week for full time employees
• Christmas office closure from 24th December to 2nd January
• Flexible, hybrid home and office working
• Cycle to Work scheme
• 50% Discount on books and free copies of journals
• Funding for professional development
• Professional mentoring from an LW board member

We offer hybrid home/office working but also commit to working together regularly from our Chadwell Heath office at mutually agreed times. Due to the nature of this role, we would expect the Office Administrator to work from the office at least once a week.

Apply

If you have any questions, or if you wish to discuss this position further, please feel free to contact the team on hr@lwbooks.co.uk. If you are interested in applying for this position please forward a copy of your CV and a cover letter (no more than two sides of A4) to: hr@lwbooks.co.uk. Your covering letter should explain how you meet the essential and desirable knowledge, skills and experience in the person specification. Applications that do not include a covering letter will not be considered. Please mention Journo Resources when you apply, it really helps us out.

Deadline for applications: 22nd March 2022

Interview dates: week commencing 28th March 2022 (via Zoom)

Despite our best efforts it is not always possible to respond to every application individually due to the high volume of responses, therefore only candidates who are shortlisted will be contacted for this role, and if you have not heard from us within 10 days, please assume you have not been successful.