Beacon Press Marketing Internship & Digital/Social Media Internship 2023

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS

Beacon Press is owned and operated under the auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Association and is an equal opportunity employer. Beacon Press values a diverse workforce; people with disabilities, people of color, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply.

JOBS

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Reports To: Director of Beacon Press

About Beacon Press

Beacon Press was founded in 1854 and is an independent publisher of serious non-fiction. Organized as a 501c3 non-profit and a division of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), Beacon publications promote such values as freedom of speech and thought; diversity, religious pluralism, and anti-racism; and respect for diversity in all areas of life. Beacon has published many ground-breaking classics, including Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and Herbert Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man. Beacon and its authors have received numerous awards, including recent publications of such widely acclaimed and best-selling books as James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility, Christopher Emdin’s For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood . . . and the Rest of Y’all Too, and Gayl Jones’s Pulitzer-Prize finalist, Palmares, and 2022 National Book Award finalist, The Birdcatcher.

Business Profile

Beacon Press currently has a recurring revenue/license base of $11M-$15M, publishes approximately 45 books a year, and has 33 full-time employees. Most of its books are also released in ebook and download audio version. Penguin Random House (PRH) handles the majority of Beacon Press sales and all its fulfillment.

The Press has standalone financials which are included in the consolidated financials of its parent organization, the UUA, and its own endowment. It licenses and maintains its own financial system, Acumen, and publishing management system, Biblio. The UUA, provides support services for other IT needs (servers, enterprise software, laptops), Space, HR/Benefits, and tax filings.

CFO Responsibilities

The Chief Financial Officer is a key member of the senior executive team that drives both the day to day and longer-term strategy for the Press. The CFO will have the following core responsibilities:

Supervision of staff
Maintenance of sound accounting policies
Hands-on involvement in all financial accounting workflows, including preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financials and requirements of the annual audit
Track and plan for cash needs
Oversight for inventory planning/reprints and royalty statement reporting
Perform financial review of key author and vendor contracts
Provide data and analytics to support strategic planning and take lead in implementation
Direct the annual budget build and reforecast process and provide recommendations so Press can make resource decisions
Provide timely operating metrics and recommendations to drive decision making
Handle the finance related aspects of Beacon’s relationship with UUA and its sales/distribution partner, PRH; and the relationship with the Press’s outside accounting firm, CBIZ/MHM

Required Skills and Experience

The candidate should have the following technical and managerial skills and experience:

Technical

Strong accounting, financial statement preparation, and financial reporting skills
Contracts/royalty and inventory-related accounting are important day to day responsibilities
Analytical skills to analyze financial and operational data
Ability to lead preparation of annual budget and perform the bottoms up build
Proficiency in working with senior team on metrics and providing analytics to support strategic planning
Hands on experience working with a financial system
Demonstrated ability to enhance new processes and systems to improve efficiency and innovation—particularly in a hybrid work environment
Creating and making financial presentations to Staff and Advisory Board
Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 10-15 years of relevant experience; CPA and/or MBA preferred but not required

Managerial

Proven people manager with track record of creating a good working environment for staff and providing for staff development
Active involvement in working on administrative and organization policies to enhance the business including Cultural Change and DEI initiatives
Comfort level handling non-financial tasks as needed—the Press is small, and leadership wears many hats

Hybrid Office

The Press currently has a hybrid work model and some employees have permanent remote status. The CFO position is Boston based and incumbent will be expected to work 1-2 days a week in Boston. Some travel will be involved including client summit sessions with PRH.

Benefits

Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program.

How to Apply

Please send résumé and cover letter indicating “Chief Financial Officer” in the subject line to: [email protected].

Beacon Press is owned and operated under the auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Association and is an equal opportunity employer. Beacon Press values a diverse workforce; people with disabilities, people of color, and those who identify as LGBTQ are encouraged to apply.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS ASSISTANT

Beacon Press is seeking a Business Operations Assistant to support the Finance and Production Departments. The position will report to the Associate Director of Business Operations and will be primarily responsible for a mix of administrative and operational responsibilities and be involved in the day to day running of our small company. The position will involve extensive use of the Acumen financial system and the Biblio publishing management system.

Business Support

Invoice Processing
- Process AP vouchers for vendors and ad-hoc fees
- Review and process author advance check requests
- Secure payment approvals and process weekly check run and ACH payment export file
- Annual review of uncashed checks and transfer of cash to Massachusetts unclaimed property department
Order Fulfillment
- Prepare invoices for sales orders and rights revenue generated by licensing deals
- Process order/invoice changes and refunds
- Monitor AR Aging and follow-up on status of overdue payments
- Maintain accuracy of House Accounts Receivable Report—posting cash, reviewing open invoices, following up on overdue payments
- Annual dunning letters and follow-up on overdue rights payments
Title & Contract Set Up, Royalty Workflow
- Maintain rights and permissions database
- Set up author/agent royalty records in Acumen system
- Review author contracts for special terms and maintain documentation log
- Maintain author/agent record changes
- Assist in semi-annual author royalty payout
Miscellaneous
- Submit stock transfers from warehouse
- Maintain employee laptop audit
- Ad-hoc projects as assigned

Production Support

New Titles and Reprints
- Set up products and jobs in Acumen and Biblio
- Review job costs for accuracy in Acumen and submit for approval to close out
- Close jobs when expenses are complete
- Record actual job costs from financial systems with P&L estimates in Biblio system
- Create reporting tool to track estimates to actuals (historical and future projects)
- Track and record shipment dates of advance reading copies (ARCs), galleys, and books from warehouse to distributor
Administrative
- Purchase, assign, and record ISBNs for all print, ebook, and audio products
- Apply for and manage Library of Congress CIP data
- Submit copyright application and file copyright certificates
- Maintain in-house and galley quantities spreadsheets
- Upload audio files to SoundCloud website
- Key role in renovation of production library

Office Support

Assist in streamlining processes using Biblio Publishing System
Assume Beacon Press receptionist role, serving as contact person for UUA receptionist on ground floor, buzzing in authorized guests
Process incoming staff mail
Manage and maintain clear access to office supplies and storage room
Research and resolve reports of copyright infringement and title piracy
Maintain Beacon all-staff directory and organization chart and circulate to personnel as needed
Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Position is task-oriented with deadlines—strong organizational skills required
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Comfort with phone work speaking professionally to customers and authors
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
Minimum of 6 months of record-keeping and office procedures
Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Adobe preferred
Experience with financial systems and/or title management systems preferred
Experience in royalty accounting and rights and permissions preferred
Publishing experience and exposure to Acumen financial system and/or Biblio software system would be beneficial
Use of keyboard, lifting boxes up to 25 pounds

How to Apply
Please send résumé and cover letter indicating “Business Operations Assistant” in the subject line to: [email protected]. Salary for this position is $44,600. Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program.

*Important: Beacon Press is working a hybrid work week. The Business Operations Assistant will be required to work in the office at least 2 days per week, including mandatory Thursdays.

INTERNSHIPS

Beacon Press Spring 2023 Internships for People of Color

The Beacon Press Internships for People of Color program seeks to increase diversity and inclusiveness in the book publishing industry. We encourage applicants anywhere in the country to apply. We offer a competitive hourly wage of $16 an hour for each internship. Interns are expected to work for 10–14 weeks, with a 17–20 hour-per-week commitment and a flexible schedule. It is preferable, though not required, that interns be available to work on Thursdays for various meetings. Beacon Press is working a hybrid work week. Interns will be able to work remotely.

Digital and Social Media Intern

The intern will work closely with the digital marketing manager in various areas of Beacon’s social media assets. Responsibilities include: assisting with the drafting and scheduling content on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; planning and creating TikTok videos; planning social media campaigns; drafting blog posts; creating social media images; tracking authors, books, and trending news on social media; and tracking weekly and monthly online stats.

Candidates should have a strong interest in publishing and social justice, as well as a desire to learn about digital marketing and content creation.

A Beacon Press internship is a wonderful learning opportunity and may prove to be invaluable should you pursue a career in book publishing. Because Beacon is a small press, our interns have the opportunity to observe the functions of other departments as well as their own, to work in a friendly and supportive environment, and to make a valued contribution to a distinguished press that has a long tradition of publishing progressive, timely, and thought-provoking books.

To apply for the Beacon Press Internship for People of Color for the Spring 2023 semester, please send your résumé and a cover letter indicating “Digital and Social Media Internship” in the subject line to: [email protected]. Applications are due by November 15.

Marketing Intern

The marketing intern works closely with the marketing department in various areas of administration and support. Day-to-day tasks include research for organizational and academic outreach opportunities, assisting with book mailings for giveaways and other projects, drafting letters, reading assigned books to assist in development of marketing plans, updating content on Beacon websites, writing blog posts, tracking monthly online stats, and producing marketing materials.

Candidates should have a strong interest in publishing and social justice, as well as a desire to learn about marketing books to consumer audiences.

To apply for the Beacon Press Internship for People of Color for the Spring 2023 semester, please send your résumé and a cover letter indicating “Marketing Internship” in the subject line to: [email protected]. Applications are due by November 15.