Associate Editorial Manager, Journals

We are currently looking for an Associate Editorial Manager, on a temporary basis for a period of 12 months. This is a part time position of 17.5 hours per week. You will contribute to the development of our journals, as an Associate Editorial Manager on the Materials and Nano team, working on a subset of the journals Materials Horizons, Nanoscale Horizons, Journals of Materials Chemistry A, B, & C and Nanoscale.  

At the Royal Society of Chemistry, we publish new research that is a catalyst for the chemistry that enriches our world. Collaboration is essential. We connect scientists with each other and society as a whole, so they can do their best work and make discoveries and innovation happen.

We develop, recognise and celebrate professional capabilities. We bring people together to spark new ideas and new partnerships. We support teachers to inspire future generations of scientists. And we speak up to influence the people making decisions that affect us all.

At the RSC we embrace flexibility and offer hybrid working, which means our teams come together when they need to collaborate.

Although this role is contractually based at our Cambridge office, you will be able to work from home within the UK, with the expectation that you will attend the office as needed for your role.

In this role it is expected that you will attend the office on an ad-hoc basis. If you need flexible working arrangements, please outline this in your application.

 Your responsibilities will focus on: 

• Managing a team of Publishing Editors, Journals (ca 3 direct reports) to deliver KPIs in line with the departmental and journal strategies, leading and motivating the team to deliver excellent customer service.
• Managing the team’s workflow from manuscript submission to final decision and inputting into the management of the journal’s workflow from acceptance to final publication, ensuring that best practice and a standardised workflow is followed.
• Working closely with the Editorial Manager to ensure that submitted articles are reviewed to the journal’s standards and quality and ensure consistency across the journal teams.
• Managing the support for the manuscript processing of external Associate Editors as required. To monitor their performance and advise the Editorial Manager and Executive Editor of any performance issues.
• Carrying out the assessment and peer review of articles submitted for publication to agreed standards is an expectation of this role; handling appeals and ethical cases that arise through the peer review process as required.
• Advising authors and referees of Royal Society of Chemistry policy relating to publication and ethical issues, ensuring that the team are aware of publication and ethical issues.
• Maximising transfers between journals in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s portfolio

What we are looking for:

• A degree in science is essential.
• Experience of STM publishing is essential.
• A willingness to lead and manage a team, previous experience would be advantageous.
• Ability to train and motivate people effectively
• Good organisational and time-management skills, together with the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines
• A proactive approach to problem solving.
• Good communication skills in interacting with internal and external contacts.
• Proven ability to work well as part of a team.

At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.

As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who has a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@rsc.org or on +44 (0) 1223 432229 and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place.

If you are interested in this role, please apply before the end of the closing date. When applying, you will need to provide an up-to-date CV and a supporting statement (no more than 500 words) indicating how your skills/expertise match the required skills and experience outlined above.

A full job description is available here.