Project Manager

The Project Manager (PM) is a core member of the Operations team and is responsible for managing the progress of contracted projects, allocating work to the various stakeholders, and ensuring the delivery of a pipeline of books to agreed delivery dates without compromising book quality.

Working on a catalogue of projects, the PM is responsible for creating, maintaining, and driving project schedules to ensure the timely publication of books/products. The PM is expected to adapt, prioritize, and re-organize project schedules based on challenges and opportunities associated with the products. A PM is responsible for managing the health of the pipeline working closely with the Program Manager and ensuring that book projects run as per schedule, thereby managing the end-to-end delivery of contracted book projects. A PM is expected to plan the production timelines and ensure that the book is published/a project completed as per plan.

In this capacity, you will also play a crucial role in nurturing and expanding our author and technical reviewer relationships, providing an environment that fosters creative freedom while maintaining rigorous project timelines. Your strategic oversight will ensure that all project deliverables align with our business objectives, driving continuous improvement and adaptation in our project management processes to meet evolving market demands.

Adaptability and Evolving Role Requirements in Packt's Vertical Structure

Packt’s move to Verticals, bringing our teams closer to users, is a response to significant changes in the market. Due to AI, self-publishing and multi-format options, the nature of the work and the business of publishing is changing. This is not just for Packt, but for the whole industry.

Whereas in the past we had atomised and specialist roles in a single-format product lifecycle (eg Development Editor and Acquisition Editor for books), in the future we will need to be agile and flexible, prepared to adapt and stretch our skills and knowledge to new products and services. Each Vertical team will evolve over time towards the offering and product suite that best serves its users. Vertical teams, and the work they do, will adapt accordingly.

Examples of the agility we are looking for: in roles related to publishing, you will not only be working on books but also on other content formats that fit the preferences of your users (newsletter, live events etc). You may have a different team structure and line manager in your vertical vs other verticals. You will be open to taking on stretch projects and undertake tests to evolve new product types. You’ll get proactively involved in team meetings so that you can contribute your ideas alongside the rest of the vertical team. Whatever role you are in you will be expected to connect with users and experts in your vertical, and to sustain ongoing relationships that provide value. This in turn means developing a level of domain knowledge in the technology and user roles in your vertical.

In summary, the above means that a critical ‘power skill’ in the new Packt organization will be Adaptability and Flexibility - ability to adjust quickly to changing circumstances and new challenges while remaining effective and open to different approaches.

What You Will Do

Key responsibilities:

• Manage title performance – in terms of publishing timelines, milestones, author satisfaction, and TR satisfaction
• Ensure the projects worked on meet the Time to Market deadlines set by the Portfolio Directors
• Enhancing author and TR satisfaction and refining the author and TR experience while adhering to publishing schedules and maximizing commercial outcomes.
• Implement advanced project management methodologies to enhance productivity and project timelines. Regularly evaluate project processes to identify risks and streamline publications, ensuring high standards of quality are met consistently.
• Drive and execute strong, collaborative relationships with all stakeholders, including authors, publishing peers, and external collaborators, ensuring seamless communication and project coherence.
• Problem solve, manage, and mitigate risks, when necessary, to keep authors, TRs, and book teams on schedule
• Maintain the integrity of process and good practice at each stage in the publishing project.
• Manage or refer conflicts between deadlines, processes, and quality, where appropriate.

Who You Are

The work we do is fast paced, demanding, and intellectually challenging. We are looking for dynamic candidates with an interest in technology and in helping tech professionals to learn. You will need strong oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, and excellent organization and time-management skills. You will need to be proactive in troubleshooting and problem-solving, upbeat, enthusiastic, and motivated. You will be a demonstrated self-starter who is focused and calm under pressure.

Competencies

• Advanced Project Management: Demonstrate expertise in managing complex, large-scale projects with a strategic mindset towards problem-solving and project success.
• Organisational and time-management skills - involves the ability to prioritize tasks, manage resources efficiently, and meet deadlines to maintain productivity and achieve goals.
• Strategic Thinking and Adaptability: Strong analytical skills with the capacity to pivot strategy based on project demands and market changes, maintaining project alignment with broader business goals.
• Communication skills: Excellent written and verbal communication with proficiency in English is a key tool for this role, as the PM is required to effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders as and when required
• Interpersonal skills: The PM will be required to maintain long standing successful relations with authors and reviewers to develop high-quality content. Any conflicts between the stakeholders should be handled with expertise.

Qualifications:

Experience: Bachelor’s degree in any field, technical will be preferable. More than 3 years of experience in project management, ideally within the publishing sector or a related field.

Skills: Excellent organizational and technological skills, adept at using modern project management tools and methodologies, with strong mentoring and communication capabilities.

Knowledge of latest Project Management tools and practices will be bonus.

Why Work at Packt

We are a global and remote-first business with most of our team based in India and the UK. We recognize how important our people are and acknowledge and support the things that are important to them. Our culture is open and informal and based around learning. We love sharing ideas and we want everyone to feel that they have an input into how the business works. We are a fun place to work but with a focus on performance and personal development providing opportunities for personal growth and career progression. We try to achieve this by:

• Ensuring a positive working environment for all team members, supportive of flexible and remote work.
• Supporting individual development through growth opportunities and internal mobility.
• Encouraging social collaboration within teams and communities and knowledge-sharing.
• Fostering a culture that supports a healthy work-life balance.

We focus on the full employee experience. We seek to achieve this by:

• Providing a broad range of benefits and initiatives.
• Advocating a healthy lifestyle where wellbeing is seen as an essential responsibility.
• Celebrating success stories and encouraging peer-to-peer recognition.
• Fostering a culture of self-development.
• Providing a work environment where the best idea wins, and challenges are encouraged.

Benefits

• Bonus scheme
• 5 day working week
• 25 days annual holiday (plus bank holidays)
• Flexible hours: choose how, when, and where you work within India
• Training programs and Certification
• Group Medical Insurance
• Wellness initiatives