This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Publishing based in Italy.
This is a hands-on leadership opportunity to build a publishing function from the ground up.
You will own the strategy, deal flow, commercial economics, portfolio, and team development.
In the early stages, you will act as a player-coach, personally sourcing studios and negotiating the first deals.
You will establish a structured greenlight process to validate and scale promising mobile game titles.
As the portfolio grows, you will build and lead a dedicated publishing team, starting with the first Publishing Producer hire.
You will work closely with senior leadership and have a direct mandate to shape the direction of the function.
The role combines entrepreneurial ownership, industry relationships, commercial decision-making, and hands-on execution in a remote-first environment.
Accountabilities
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Build and own the publishing function, defining its strategy, operating model, priorities, and growth roadmap.
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Develop a strong deal flow by sourcing external studios, managing the pipeline, leading negotiations, and closing publishing partnerships.
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Personally lead the first studio discussions and transactions, leveraging an established industry network and market reputation.
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Define deal structures and economics, including revenue-share models, unit economics, profitability assumptions, and payback forecasts in collaboration with analytics.
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Establish and operate a clear greenlight framework for evaluating titles through testing, soft launch, and scaling stages.
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Oversee the publishing portfolio alongside the Publishing Producer, including roadmaps, LiveOps initiatives, performance management, and studio relationships.
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Recruit and develop the publishing team, beginning with the hiring of a Publishing Producer and expanding the function as the portfolio grows.
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Deliver the first-year objectives, including a signed studio portfolio, an active deal pipeline, 2–3 validated titles progressing toward scale, a functioning greenlight process, and a core publishing team.
Requirements
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Proven experience building a publishing function from scratch or at an early stage, rather than primarily managing an established organization.
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A strong personal network of game studios and an established reputation within the mobile games market.
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Hands-on experience negotiating publishing deals, including term sheets, revenue-share structures, and founder-level negotiations.
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Strong command of publishing economics, including eROAS, payback periods, cohort models, and independent financial analysis.
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Professional experience with casual or mid-core mobile games on Google Play and iOS.
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Strong strategic thinking combined with a hands-on, entrepreneurial approach to execution.
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Excellent negotiation, communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder-management skills.
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Ability to operate autonomously, make commercially informed decisions, and build processes where none currently exist.
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English proficiency at B2 level or above.
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Experience with publishing platforms or SDK products, team hiring and development, alternative app stores, or subscription monetization is a plus.
Benefits
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Opportunity to build and own a publishing function from the ground up with a direct mandate from senior leadership.
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Access to a proprietary technology platform supporting faster game validation, transparent analytics, and user-acquisition infrastructure.
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Market-competitive base salary plus a performance-based bonus linked to the success of the publishing function.
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Fully remote, remote-first working environment across Europe.
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High level of autonomy with minimal bureaucracy and fast decision-making.
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Opportunity to shape strategy, partnerships, processes, team structure, and portfolio growth from an early stage.
