Editorial Specialist

OVERVIEW

This position provides coordinating, operational, administrative, and analytical support to editorial staff in the Global Humanities & Social Science (HSS) and the Science, Tech, and Medical (STM) hybrid journals team. We are looking for a candidate who is eager to learn about and grow within the academic publishing industry, and is able to quickly pick up new information, think critically and creatively, and engage meaningfully with the daily work.

 **Please note that this position does not focus on writing or editing of our content as it primarily supports the business, technical, and administrative aspects of journal publishing.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Editorial Specialist position is responsible for optimization and productivity-based work, accountability enforcement, and strategic organization. Specialists are expected to utilize these skills in their support work and in orchestrating, facilitating, analyzing, coordinating, interpreting, implementing, and maintaining tasks and projects.

The responsibilities for this role include:

Managing a dedicated portfolio of 10-15 journals, which may include but isn’t limited to:

• Relationship management: maintaining a good rapport with our external partners in journal publication, including journal editors, society staff (for journal sponsoring or leasing organizations, where relevant), etc.

• Performance maintenance and development: ensuring journals are up to quality standards by maintaining abstracting/indexing, supporting good publication/research ethics, resolving conflicts, marketing effectively, training journal editors, responding to author/editor/reviewer queries as needed, managing peer review benchmarks, managing circulation and pricing, liaising with peer review team, liaising with production team, reporting, and related editorial tasks that support journal health.

• Financial maintenance: balancing journal budgets through P&Ls, delivering royalty statements, exercising business judgment.

• Legal oversight: executing and drafting contracts, working with SAGE legal team, assisting with permissions queries, managing copyright forms as needed, and other legal documents for individual journal renewals, acquisitions, and/or leases.

• Transitioning: transmitting journals into/out of Sage.

• Supporting operation-, optimization- and continuous improvement-oriented work. This includes:

  • Executing and implementing portfolio-wide processes and tasks.

  • Driving compliance with and refining journal metadata and recordkeeping standards.

  • Developing and maintaining department-wide information management resources.

  • Identifying and supporting process and practice improvements.

  • Outlining risks, scope, key performance indicators, etc. for identified projects, often in the form of a project proposal.

  • Supporting and sometimes contributing to process improvement work.

  • Facilitating project planning, which may include distributing work, managing timelines, and ensuring teams adhere to deadlines.

  • Collaborating with stakeholders, both intra- and interdepartmentally.

  • Communicating project information to relevant audience, including presenting proposals for approval and raising awareness of changes effected.

  • Documenting processes, KPI, and impact.

  • Engaging with new, emerging, or otherwise untapped technologies to develop efficiencies and streamline existing operations. Leverage technology solutions in the Microsoft Suite and otherwise inventively and proficiently.

• Promoting good communication circulation in operational, project management, and general work amongst staff. This may include:

  • Supporting change management by promoting awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement (ADKAR) within the Journals Editorial team. This includes gathering feedback from staff and monitoring/interpreting attitudes and behaviors.

  • Facilitating dialogue within Hybrid Journals Editorial, locally and globally, and between departments supporting the Research Pillar.

  • Championing and maintaining corporate, departmental, and interpersonal DEI work, including internal education, product improvement, advocacy, conduct, and working with partners to ensure we are fulfilling our goals, mission, and values in creating a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just society.

  • Coordinating focus groups or coordinating, notetaking, and managing actions for Socratic discussions, workshops and brainstorms – topics may include improving existing processes, DEI outreach and improvement, internal feedback, etc.

  • Ensuring you are up to speed with industry developments and scholarly communication news, particularly as they affect our journals, including changes in research ethics, open access, etc. and sharing and/or summarizing that information with staff.

  • Maintaining and promoting knowledge and education of the Research Pillar’s strategy (i.e., the “Strategy Tree”) and its initiatives among staff.

  • Conducting internal audits on staff productivity, behaviors, opinions, etc.

  • Supporting management of morale generally and maintaining good relationships between teams, offices, divisions, and people, responding as needed

• Supporting leadership with effective delivery of strategic goals, including through:

  • Participation in representative-based initiatives, especially those that require bird’s-eye knowledge of division goings-on and work in the operations and optimization space (e.g., acting as a continuous improvement lead, subject matter expert (SME), etc.).

  • Administrative support, including planning meetings, facilitating discussions, notetaking, etc. as needed.

  • Coordinating market and internal research, competitor analyses, development and discipline research, working with the marketing and corporate communication teams as needed.

  • Developing and executing curricula for editorial learning, literacy and development (e.g., internal refresher training sessions, personal development series, specialized supplemental knowledge [e.g., data literacy] etc.).

  • Performing ancillary and ad hoc work on department-wide projects and journal acquisitions.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

Required

• Strong project management skills.

• Demonstrated excellent English verbal and written communication skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft suite of products, especially Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

• Exceptional organizational, problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills.

• Strong attention to detail.

• Demonstrated ability to follow directions, learn, and understand departmental procedures required.

• Ability to effectively manage time to meet deadlines and work professionally under pressure.

• Ability to learn new software.

• Ability to work effectively in a team or independently, with minimal supervision.

• Ability to complete and follow through on priorities.

• Ability to plan and manage multiple projects and effectively multi-task.

• Understanding of how social science research is conducted.

Preferred

• Experience with data governance and data lifecycle management.

• Intermediate-to-advanced Excel skills, including VBA and Macros.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Power suite.

• Familiarity with Python programming language.

• A minimum of one year of publishing experience.

• Bachelor's degree .

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that is representative of all sections of society and to sustaining a culture that celebrates difference, encourages authenticity, and creates a deep sense of belonging. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief as creating value through diversity is what makes us strong.