Head of Publishing

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
* Build and own the publishing function, defining its strategy, operating model, priorities, and growth roadmap.
* Develop a strong deal flow by sourcing external studios, managing the pipeline, leading negotiations, and closing publishing partnerships.
* Personally lead the first studio discussions and transactions, leveraging an established industry network and market reputation.
* Define deal structures and economics, including revenue-share models, unit economics, profitability assumptions, and payback forecasts in collaboration with analytics.
* Establish and operate a clear greenlight framework for evaluating titles through testing, soft launch, and scaling stages.
* Oversee the publishing portfolio alongside the Publishing Producer, including roadmaps, LiveOps initiatives, performance management, and studio relationships.
* Recruit and develop the publishing team, beginning with the hiring of a Publishing Producer and expanding the function as the portfolio grows.
* 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
* Proven experience building a publishing function from scratch or at an early stage, rather than primarily managing an established organization.
* A strong personal network of game studios and an established reputation within the mobile games market.
* Hands-on experience negotiating publishing deals, including term sheets, revenue-share structures, and founder-level negotiations.
* Strong command of publishing economics, including eROAS, payback periods, cohort models, and independent financial analysis.
* Professional experience with casual or mid-core mobile games on Google Play and iOS.
* Strong strategic thinking combined with a hands-on, entrepreneurial approach to execution.
* Excellent negotiation, communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder-management skills.
* Ability to operate autonomously, make commercially informed decisions, and build processes where none currently exist.
* English proficiency at B2 level or above.
* Experience with publishing platforms or SDK products, team hiring and development, alternative app stores, or subscription monetization is a plus. Benefits
* Opportunity to build and own a publishing function from the ground up with a direct mandate from senior leadership.
* Access to a proprietary technology platform supporting faster game validation, transparent analytics, and user-acquisition infrastructure.
* Market-competitive base salary plus a performance-based bonus linked to the success of the publishing function.
* Fully remote, remote-first working environment across Europe.
* High level of autonomy with minimal bureaucracy and fast decision-making.
* Opportunity to shape strategy, partnerships, processes, team structure, and portfolio growth from an early stage. #J-18808-Ljbffr