Senior Royalty Manager
Holtzbrinck Publishing Group · New York, United States
The Senior Royalty Manager will lead and manage a small squad of Royalty Managers responsible for the accurate and timely preparation, analysis, review, and issuance of royalty statements to authors, agents, and other contractual parties for the Macmillan US Trade division. This team management role carries full accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the team’s end-to-end royalty operations. In addition, the role will collaborate extensively with various departments within the organization, as well as external parties, to ensure transparency, accuracy, and trust in royalty-related operations.
What you’ll do:
- Lead and Manage a Squad of Royalty Managers:
- Supervise, mentor, and develop a team of 2-3 Royalty Managers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment. This includes the review and assistance of adjustments, corrections, and complex contract setup, when needed.
- Develop team capabilities and set team goals, priorities, and performance expectations, ensuring alignment with departmental and organizational objectives.
- Oversee the assignment of tasks and responsibilities within the team, ensuring efficient workflow, coverage, and that all deadlines are met.
- Conduct regular team meetings, providing updates, addressing challenges, and facilitating knowledge sharing.
- Conduct performance reviews and provide ongoing feedback and coaching to team members.
- Royalty Statement Preparation and Analysis
- Own royalty statement preparation and issuance for an imprint
- Review and apply contract terms, and oversee payee setup in the royalty system
- Review and analyze sales data interfacing with the royalty system, ensuring accuracy and completeness
- Post expenses, fees, and deductions to the royalty system
- Complete initial and subsequent reviews of royalty statements to guarantee accuracy and compliance with contract terms and company policy
- Calculate and record reserves for returns in accordance with contract terms and company policy
- Prepare manual adjustments and statements when required
- Manage contracts and payments:
- Process new contracts and amendments for an imprint on a regular basis
- Review, code, and approve advance and payment requests, ensuring adherence to contract terms and internal controls
- Ensure compliance with US and foreign tax withholding, reporting, and filing requirements related to advances, royalties, and subrights payments
- Issue Resolution and Communication
- Act as a point of escalation for complex royalty-related issues, working collaboratively with business units and other departments to find effective resolutions.
- Communicate clearly to internal and external stakeholders (agents, authors, etc.) regarding escalated inquiries and requests around Royalty statements.
- Foster positive and professional relationships with external stakeholders.
- Continuous Improvement
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- Work with the Associate Director and other Senior Royalty Manager to identify recurring issues or risk areas and lead resolution
- Contribute to the development and implementation of process improvements and best practices within the Royalty department.
- Assist Royalty Management leadership with workflow and resourcing across the team as needed, including serving as backup for the weekly and period-end payment process, as needed
What you’ll bring:
- Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Deep understanding of royalty operations, complex payment structures, contract royalty terms, and their practical application to statement preparation
- Detail-oriented and analytical, with sound judgment and a track record of catching and resolving discrepancies
- Exceptional verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to engage effectively with all levels of the organization and external stakeholders.
- Highly proficient with Microsoft Excel, Google Workspace, databases, and system queries.
- Excellent organizational skills; able to manage high volumes of data, meet deadlines, and multitask in a fast-paced, evolving environment
- Strong organizational and resourceful skills with the ability to lead change, manage cross-functional initiatives, and navigate unexpected events.
- Highly degree of personal and professional integrity, with a commitment to accuracy, transparency, and service excellence.
Ideal Experience/Education:
- 5+ years of progressive experience in royalty accounting and statement preparation, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or team lead role.
- Extensive experience with royalty contracts and their application.
- Book publishing experience preferred
- Proficiency with Biblio royalty platform strongly preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance preferred, or equivalent experience
Salary range: $115,000 - $120,000
FSLA status: Exempt
This position is classified as remote but is tied to our New York, NY office located at 120 Broadway. Employment is subject to New York State tax withholding under applicable regulations.
Macmillan Publishers is the U.S. trade company that is part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned group of media companies headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's publishing companies include prominent imprints around the world that publish a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and formats.
U.S. publishers include Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, The St. Martin's Publishing Group, and Tor Publishing Group. In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, companies in the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group publish under the Pan Macmillan name. The German publishing company, Holtzbrinck Deutsche Buchverlage, includes among its imprints S. Fischer, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Rowohlt, and Droemer Knaur.
Macmillan is proud to be an equal opportunity employer consistently striving to foster a culture where everyone belongs. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities. Qualified applicants are evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, physical ability, neurodiversity, genetic information, protected veteran status, family and economic status and background or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We prohibit discrimination of any kind and will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.