Journals Content Operations Lead

Emerald Publishing; Leeds; Remote; GBP 39,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Emerald Publishing is seeking a Journals Content Operations Lead to provide strategic operational leadership for the global production team. This remote role involves line management, analytics, and stakeholder engagement, aiming to achieve publication targets while fostering a supportive work environment. Join a company that values flexibility and professional growth.

Benefits

38 days annual leave

Discretionary performance bonus

6% pension contribution

Working from home allowance

Opportunities for career progression

Qualifications

• Experience in journal production and a working knowledge of the publication journey.
• Line management experience.
• Understanding of publishing ethics.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership for the production team ensuring service-led approach.
• Maintain oversight of journal portfolio and manage supplier relationships.
• Lead departmental projects and support team professional development.

Skills

Results-oriented

Excellent written skills

Interpersonal skills

Organisational skills

Project management

Problem solving

Decision making

Education

Relevant publishing or industry experience

Tools

MS Office Applications

Excel

Job description

Department: Content Solutions

Location: Remote, UK

Compensation: circa £39,000

Description

Are you ready to lead with purpose and help shape the future of academic publishing? As Journals Content Operations Lead for journals, you will play a pivotal role in providing strategic operational leadership for the global production team.

With line management of direct reports, plus oversight of performance across global operation teams, you'll nurture professional growth while empowering the team to excel. You’ll champion consistency, efficiency, and innovation in everything they do, and create a supportive and high-performance work environment aligned to Emerald’s values. Through one-to-one mentoring and structured training initiatives, you’ll help the team refine their expertise and deliver new value-add activities for the Content Solutions department.

Partnering with the leadership team in the Publishing department, you will ensure delivery of Emerald’s journal portfolio targets. You will demonstrate strong data skills as well as stakeholder management skills to drive this through to completion, with an ability to shift seamlessly between analyzing individual journal targets and maintaining a high-level perspective across over 400 titles. Cultivating strong relationships with global supplier teams will be key, with activities including performance management KPIs and integrating technologies to enhance the publishing experience for Emerald authors.

As a member of the Content Solutions leadership team, you will bring your content operations subject matter expertise to monthly strategy meetings and work with colleagues to build out department programmes of change. With a mindset of continuous improvement and an ability to demonstrate a strong understanding of the changing landscape of academic publishing, your contribution in the Journals Content Operations Lead role will directly impact Emerald’s commercial and reputational success.

Location: We perform at our best when we feel trusted and are able to choose an approach to working that suits us best, which is why we are a remote-first company. However, we also believe in face to face collaboration, and our UK colleagues meet once a month for team time and quarterly for company get togethers in our Leeds office, so we ask that you be within a commutable distance that you are comfortable with in order to attend the office on those occasions.

About our Recruitment Process: We welcome applications from all individuals, irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief. As we understand the value of the transferability of skills and experiences, we are not looking for the 'perfect candidate' – we encourage everyone who is truly excited about our mission to apply.

These are a few of your responsibilities:

• The Content Operations Lead role will provide broad operational leadership for the production team (JPCs), ensuring that they are working with a service-led approach, in line with best practice. You will also oversee and support your team in ensuring that high-level publication targets are met using data analysis to identify trends and implement journal improvement plans. While the JPCs will be responsible for delivery of their own portfolios, you will support them and will be accountable for the overall delivery of the program, working within the content team RACI matrix, you will empower teams to take ownership of problems and use appropriate escalation where necessary. You will champion consistency and knowledge-sharing across their individual teams, the wider Content Solutions journals team, and cross-departmentally, with a particular focus on ensuring working practices are in line with the Emerald values.
• As a player-manager, you will maintain oversight of their own journal portfolio and work with the relevant supplier teams and Emerald colleagues to deliver on the key outcomes set out in the Journal Production Coordinator role descriptions.
• With line management of up to six direct reports, you will support with professional development, performance against objectives, and with carving out areas of specialism that contribute to the wider department goals. You will lead or sponsor departmental projects and initiatives, and they will take responsibility for reporting progress at a departmental level to the Head of Publishing Operations.
• You will work closely with our supplier partners: managing relationships; maintaining an overview of KPIs; working with the JPCs to address concerns where necessary; and leading on integrating new initiatives or technologies with suppliers.
• You will have a mindset of continuous improvement, will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the changing landscape of academic publishing and translate industry trends to creation, roll-out and implementation of working policies and processes. You will actively participate in or lead projects that support Emerald’s mission, with a particular focus on the publication journey and supporting Editor and author needs.
  
  

You’ll need to have:

Behaviours and Attributes

• Results-orientated
• Excellent written and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence cross-functionally
• Self-starter, proactively identifies areas for improvement and takes opportunities to be involved in projects.
• Seeks to inspire, motivate and coach others, enabling others to perform to their potential.
• Identifies and builds relationships with key stakeholders across the business, works to break down barriers and work collaboratively across departments.
• Demonstrates resilience and determination with the flexibility to be able to adapt to change.
• Advanced organisational and project management skills
• Problem solving and decision making

Knowledge and Technical skills:

• Knowledge of and ability to work with MS office applications, Excel in particular
• In-depth knowledge of the journal production and a working knowledge of the end-to-end publication journey

Educational level and experience:

• Relevant publishing or industry experience including a good understanding of publishing ethics
• Line management experience
  
  

What’s in it for you?

At Emerald, we value our people. Becoming a part of our team means you’ll join a trusting and flexible environment and we've been flexified so you can trust that we're a truly flexible workplace. All we ask is that you attend the office once a month to come together with work colleagues. You'll also have numerous opportunities to progress your career, as well as access to professional development and the opportunity to learn new skills.

You’ll receive a wide range of benefits, such as 38 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays, remote flexible working, a discretionary performance bonus, 6% pension contribution and various benefits aimed at supporting your wellbeing and work-life balance such as a working from home allowance. You can check out a full list of our benefits here.

Roles are advertised at a benchmarked market median rate. Offers will be made within a range of the median, depending on skills and experience.

Please note - Applicants must be authorized to work in the UK without restrictions or sponsorship. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Emerald Group is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our applicants. If you would like to request any accommodations/adjustments from application through to interview stages, please complete the relevant section within the application or contact us at [e-mail] and let us know.