Manager, Rights & IP

Job Purpose

• Responsible for end-to-end contract management, rights validation and strategy support, and ISBN administration, ensuring effective risk management, compliance, and governance across the publishing lifecycle. Key Accountabilities & Relationships – what I need to do and who I need to engage Provide end-to-end contract support, including pre-contract guidance, contract execution, document retention, archival, retrieval, and tracking of contract expiries and renewals. Advise stakeholders on appropriate contracting requirements and facilitate efficient contract management processes across the business. Identify and manage IP-related risks, escalating non-standard or complex matters to Group Legal and collaborating closely to ensure compliant outcomes. Maintain accurate contract metadata within Rights Management Systems and related databases. Analyse publishing agreements, licensing arrangements, and royalty provisions to ensure accurate rights administration and financial processing. Ensure titles and contributors are correctly mapped within systems to facilitate accurate revenue-sharing and royalty disbursements. Support Finance by providing author and rights-holder revenue allocation details for sublicensing income and related rights transactions. Assess and validate rights ownership and permissions for OUP content, ensuring the necessary rights are in place before entering licensing or commercial arrangements. Manage and respond to third-party requests relating to the licensing of copyrighted content. Administer ISBN allocation and management processes, ensuring compliance with publishing and metadata standards. Build effective working relationships with Editorial, Product, Sales, Finance, Operations, Rights, and Group Legal teams to support business objectives and ensure strong governance. Success Measures – how I succeed Risk mitigation and IP governance Implementing and managing the Rights Management System efficiently Cost effective sourcing of third-party assets and promoting re-use of existing IP Increased IP awareness across division Knowledge, Skills & Attributes – what I need to know Good understanding of copyright law and rights and permissions best practices Well versed with legal terms Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, experienced with communicating at all levels of an organisation and across different cultures. Capable of professionally managing confidential information Exemplify a strong attention to detail