Royal Astronomical Society — Publishing Assistant

ALPSP Special Interest Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Astronomical Society is seeking a Publishing Assistant to provide editorial, marketing and administrative support to the publishing team. You will work across RAS Journals and help deliver timely editorial services while assisting with social media and marketing activities.

You will support editors, manage routine inquiries, assist with meeting logistics and collaborate with the RAS publishing partner, Oxford University Press, to promote content and maintain high editorial standards.

Qualifications

• Interest in academic publishing and science communication.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Experience with scholarly publishing workflows and peer review.

Responsibilities

• Support the Assistant Editors in processing manuscripts through the online submission and peer-review system.
• Respond promptly and professionally to routine enquiries from authors, reviewers and editors.
• Provide administrative support to editorial board meetings and compile operational reports for the publishing team.
• Collaborate with the RAS publishing partner, Oxford University Press, on publishing activities.
• Follow policies on publication ethics, confidentiality, data protection and conflicts of interest.
• Draft, schedule and publish social media posts to promote content, calls for papers and journal news.
• Monitor social media engagement and basic performance metrics; respond to enquiries or escalate.
• Assist with marketing efforts for journals and events such as RAStroPhoto Competition.
• Contribute to process improvements, documentation and team projects.
• Provide ad hoc support to Head of Publishing and senior staff.

Skills

Academic publishing

Science communication

Social media management

Editorial support

Manuscript workflow

Microsoft 365

Project management

Independent working

Confidentiality

Open access awareness

Education

Degree in astronomy or geophysics or related subjects or equivalent experience

Tools

ScholarOne Manuscripts

Job description

• Organisation: Royal Astronomical Society


• Position: Publishing Assistant


• Location: Hybrid, London (one day per month in off

Description

About the role

The Publishing Assistant will provide efficient editorial, marketing and administrative support to the Royal Astronomical Society publishing team. The postholder will be expected to get involved in a wide variety of tasks across the RAS Journals portfolio.

The Publishing Assistant will work across the three scientific journals which publish leading research in astronomy and geophysics, and will support the team to deliver a professional, timely editorial service and to achieve its strategic goals. The post holder will be expected to assist with the marketing of the journals and take responsibility for its social media accounts.

The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society with over 4,000 members and the Publishing Assistant will be expected to take an interest in all areas of the Society's work.

Key responsibilities

• Support the Assistant Editors in their processing of manuscripts through the online submission and peer-review system, escalating any issues appropriately.


• Respond promptly and professionally to routine enquiries from authors, reviewers and editors.


• Provide administrative support to the editorial board meetings and assist with compiling regular operational reports for the publishing team.


• Contribute to the publishing team’s collaborative work with the RAS publishing partner, Oxford University Press.


• Follow relevant policies on publication ethics, confidentiality, data protection and conflicts of interest, escalating any potential concerns.


• Take responsibility for the journals’ social media activity by drafting, scheduling and publishing posts that promote published content, calls for papers, journal news and community engagement, in line with brand and editorial guidelines. This will involve working closely with the RAS Press Team.


• Monitor social media engagement and basic performance metrics, respond to or escalation enquiries appropriately, and suggest opportunities to strengthen the journals’ online presence.


• Support the marketing efforts of the journals, for example the RAStroPhoto Competition, and attend occasional subject specific meetings/conferences.


• Contribute to process improvements, documentation and team projects.


• Provide ad hoc support to the Head of Publishing, Deputy Head of Publishing, Assistant Editors, and Editors-in-Chief.

Person specification

• An interest in academic publishing and science communication.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.


• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.


• Confidence writing posts and engaging on social media.


• Confidence using Microsoft 365 applications and the ability to learn new digital systems quickly.


• Ability to work independently, use judgement and collaborate effectively within a team.


• Commitmnt to confidentiality, research integrity, inclusion and high editorial standards.


• A degree in astronomy, geophysics, or related subjects, or equivalent experience.


• Experience in an administrative, editorial, publishing or customer-service role.


• Familiarity with scholarly publishing, peer review or journal workflows.


• Experience of the manuscript submission system ScholarOne Manuscripts.


• Awareness of publication ethics, open-access publishing and research integrity.


• Experience using social media platforms in a professional context, with an understanding of concise copywriting, scheduling tools and basic engagement analytics.

Society

• Maintain effective relationships with RAS staff in other teams and work collaboratively as required to support the RAS strategy.


• Contribute to RAS marketing, communication and event initiatives, to encourage engagement with the wider community including the RAS membership.


• Undertake any other reasonable duties consistent with the scope and nature of the role as requested by the Head of Publishing, Deputy Head of Publishing or Senior Management Team. As part of a small team, this may include supporting other RAS roles from time-to-time depending on priorities of the Society.

The Publishing Assistant should be:

• Focussed, adaptable and professional.


• Willing to work flexibly, and pivot at short notice when team priorities change.


• Organised and proactive with an interest in new approaches to scientific engagement.


• Comfortable representing the organisation internally and externally with stakeholders.


• Content and confident working independently.


• Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Applicants must be based in the UK and have the appropriate right to work in the UK.