Junior Editorial Coordinator

Persona Staff; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A local publishing firm in Cape Town is looking for an organized and self-motivated individual capable of conducting manuscript quality checks and enhancing customer experiences. The ideal candidate should possess a relevant undergraduate degree and exceptional English skills. Strong communication abilities and proficiency in MS Office are essential. The role involves liaising with authors and editors while managing deadlines effectively.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English and Linguistics required.
• Strong customer service skills needed.
• Excellent written and verbal English skills are mandatory.
• Ability to understand and read South African languages is advantageous.
• Proficient in MS Office, especially Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Organised and self-motivated with time management skills needed.

Responsibilities

• Conduct initial manuscript quality and permission checks.
• Implement checks to evaluate standard of work.
• Enhance customer experience through standard procedures.
• Transmit actions from editors onto the workflow management system.
• Monitor timelines and resolve delays.
• Maintain sound record-keeping on electronic documents.
• Liaise with authors and editors to support publishing-related queries.

Skills

Customer Service experience

Strong communication skills

Excellent English language skills

Good language skills in South African languages

Excellent MS Office skills

Strong time-management skills

Ability to work well under pressure

Self-motivated

Education

Relevant undergraduate degree

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Outlook

Job description

Responsibilities

• Conduct initial manuscript quality and permission checks.
• Implement checks (e.g., checklists, plagiarism etc.) on various process points and documents to evaluate the standard of work / task. Take corrective action if the manuscript deviates from the standard required.
• Apply standard procedures to manuscripts allocated to enhance customer experience (e.g., routine email updates, updating user profiles).
• Transmit actions, tasks, or decisions from the Editor-in-Chief / Commissioning Editor / Section Editor / Guest Editors onto the workflow management system.
• Monitor timeliness of work / task against average desired timelines and take corrective action to resolve delays.
• Transfer (e.g., masking), apply versioning and sound record-keeping on electronic documents at various process points.
• Liaising with authors, editors and reviewers and providing support with publishing-related queries on using and navigating the workflow management system, as well as managing the online submission system and inbox.

Requirements

• A relevant undergraduate degree, e.g., bachelor's degree in English and Linguistics
• Customer Service experience
• Strong communication skills - both written and verbal
• Excellent English (read, write, understand, and speak) language skills are a requirement
• Good language skills in any of the following official South African languages would be advantageous : Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana (understand and read)
• Excellent MS Office skills (especially in MS Word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Highly organised and self-motivated, with strong time-management and project management skills
• Able to work well under pressure in an open-plan environment
• Able to work independently and as part of a team