RecordMove

Commercial director to publishing rights manager

A commercial director already meets 22% of what the publishing rights manager role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From commercial director

Distant match

To publishing rights manager

4 You already bring

7 Still to learn

18 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.4/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a publishing rights manager is expected to do is already part of a commercial director’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the publishing rights manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A publishing rights manager role treats 2 of its required skills as things a commercial director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

develop professional network
manage staff

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 4 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A publishing rights manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a commercial director background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held manage contracts communication, collaboration and creativity
already held perform market research information skills
already held develop professional network communication, collaboration and creativity
already held manage staff management skills

All 4 carried skills, including the 2 the publishing rights manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 14 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn negotiate publishing rights required
still to learn negotiate with artists required

optional, not held liaise with book publishers optional
optional, not held consult with editor optional
optional, not held liaise with financiers optional

02 business, administration and law 2 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn copyright legislation required
still to learn financial jurisdiction required

optional, not held market analysis optional
optional, not held marketing principles optional

03 management skills 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn finish project within budget required
still to learn follow work schedule required

optional, not held plan marketing strategy optional

04 information skills 1 required

still to learn assess financial viability required

05 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held manage digital documents optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a publishing rights manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 4 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held develop professional network skill
already held manage staff skill
already held manage contracts skill
already held perform market research skill

7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held liaise with book publishers optional
optional, not held consult with editor optional
optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
optional, not held manage digital documents optional
optional, not held market analysis optional
optional, not held marketing principles optional
optional, not held plan marketing strategy optional

28 held skills the publishing rights manager role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role achieve sales targets skill
not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
not needed by the target role communicate with customer service department skill
not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
not needed by the target role deliver a sales pitch skill
not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
not needed by the target role integrate new products in manufacturing skill
not needed by the target role international business knowledge
not needed by the target role manage sales channels skill
not needed by the target role manage sales teams skill
not needed by the target role manage tender processes skill
not needed by the target role manage yield skill
not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
not needed by the target role prepare cost-plus pricing models skill
not needed by the target role pricing strategies knowledge
not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
not needed by the target role project management knowledge
not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
not needed by the target role train employees skill
not needed by the target role use analytics for commercial purposes skill
not needed by the target role use theoretical marketing models skill

4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn copyright legislation required
still to learn financial jurisdiction required
optional, not held market analysis optional
optional, not held marketing principles optional

Index

Other moves recorded from commercial director

Full index of moves from commercial director

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a commercial director become a publishing rights manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A commercial director already covers 22% of what a publishing rights manager is expected to do: 4 skills carry over, 2 of which the publishing rights manager role treats as required.

What skills does a commercial director need to become a publishing rights manager?

7 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is negotiate publishing rights.

How hard is the move from commercial director to publishing rights manager?

Its learning distance is 64.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.