Staff Editor - PeerJ (US)

Company Description

Taylor & Francis is an Informa Business

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books and reference works. We empower learners, thinkers and doers with trusted knowledge that advances research and enriches lives. We bring together diverse people, ideas and opinions to validate and publish the experts, theories and truths that matter. And we’ve been doing this in an unbroken arc since 1798.

Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge. We strongly believe that this requires us to encourage and examine different ideas and voices, so that any work that meets our exacting levels of quality deserves to be included in our publications. This requires open minds, the opportunity for robust debate, and the courage to defend perspectives that stand up to scrutiny, even if they conflict with our personal beliefs or values. Because that’s the only way to find the best obtainable version of the truth and, ultimately, foster human progress. If you agree, then we’d love to hear from you.

Job Description

This position covers ‘editorial’ matters for the evaluation, peer-review, decision making of academic journal articles. The role also participates in initiatives to grow and develop the editorial program. In addition, the role helps maintain an effective quality control and peer review process and involves frequent interactions with academics worldwide.

This role works closely with internal teams and the external Academic Editors and peer-reviewers of our peer-reviewed journal publications.

What you'll be doing:

• Evaluate incoming manuscripts for adherence to our policies; aims and scope; and editorial standards (“sub scan”).
• Liaise with authors to communicate their adherence to our standards.
• Work with / chase authors to ensure acceptable manuscript submissions.
• Support, and cover for, other staff Editors at PeerJ in similar roles
• Comment on, and advise, internal and external stakeholders on scientific and technical issues relating to subject expertise, and editorial standards
• Respond to specific emails (relevant to the responsibilities of this position) as they come-in, to shared inboxes
• In collaboration with other team members, responsible for the integrity, speed and smooth running of the PeerJ Peer-Review process – assigning Editors, chasing Editors, chasing Reviewers, research and identify peer-reviewers on behalf of some Editors etc.
• Provide input and advice on changes to the Scope, Editorial Policies, and Author Instructions of the seven PeerJ journals.
• Train new staff members
• Strategic input into the development of a strong journal program
• Proactive editorial development of the journals (e.g. proposing and creating new Sections)
• Input into the recruitment, vetting and ongoing communications with Editorial Board members in a wide range of areas
• Conduct some ethical investigations as needed
• Close collaboration with colleagues in other departments to communicate user needs (i.e. the needs of publishing academics) and to develop and implement strategies to meet those needs
• Expected to suggest and implement process improvements which will improve the KPIs of the peer-review process.
• Work closely with colleagues in the Communities Team and Publishing Operations team.

Qualifications

What we're looking for:

• An advanced degree (minimum PhD, but ideally postdoctoral)
• Excellent English comprehension and communication skills (written and verbal)
• Good analytical, decision making and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently, contribute to building a positive team spirit and support everyone’s efforts to succeed.
• 4+ years of experience in editorial roles
• Capable of understanding complex scientific topics; able to converse with academics on ‘their level’; and able to communicate academic concepts to a broader audience.
• Professional and articulate.
• Capable of handling multiple responsibilities, working independently, and meeting strict deadlines.
• The ability to communicate appropriately, both upstream and downstream within the organisation.
• Positive and flexible attitude, willing to take on many distinct types of tasks and apply to them the same level of effort and expertise.
• Willingness to travel as required by the company.
• A high level of personal motivation and demonstration of persistence to overcome obstacles.
• Effective presentation and organizational skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills

Additional Information

What we offer in return:

• Annual salary range from $65,000 - $70,000 + performance bonus (up to 10%)
• An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture.
• 15 days paid vacation 
• 10 paid sick days
• 2 Paid floating holidays + paid day off for your birthday each year
• 3 additional discretionary days off during the holiday season at the end of the year
• 4 paid volunteering days each year
• Up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave
• Paid leave for significant life events; i.e. moving or wedding
• Medical, vision, dental, and other voluntary benefits
• 401(k) + employer match
• Seasonal social and charitable events

What you should know: 

• Applications are shortlisted on a rolling basis, and we will be interviewing alongside advertising. We therefore encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity.
• Have the right to live and work in the United States 
• Location: The successful candidate will be able to utilize our balanced working model. We ask that candidates live within a commutable distance of our offices in either Philadelphia PA, New York NY, or Boca Raton FL to ensure that as a balanced worker they can make it to our office locations to collaborate as required. Time spent in the office is likely to range from 10%-80% of working hours with an expectation for a minimum of 2 days per week spent working from an office.

  • Internal candidates will be eligible to continue their current working arrangements.

• Closing Date for applications: 07 February 2025

Work/life balance:

At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about.

Training And Professional Development:

We’re passionate about ensuring you have all the tools and resources at your fingertips to reach your short and long-term career goals. We’ll support you in your journey by working together on your own bespoke Taylor & Francis Development Plan, ensuring you have the resources, tools, support and coaching that will get you where you want to be.

Interview process:

Once you have submitted your application, we may get in touch with you for an initial screening conversation or ask you to complete a short video interview to enable us to better understand your skills, experience, and motivation. Following this, you will be invited to attend a competency-based interview, either virtually or in person. Typically, we’d then finish the interview process with a final, 2nd stage interview before extending an offer to the successful applicant.

We want all our candidates to shine in our recruitment process. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to ensure you are able to show us your best self. This could include having the application form in a different format, more time for questions, or anything else – please ask us, we are happy to be flexible! Please contact [email protected]

Being ‘you’ at Taylor and Francis:

Here at Taylor & Francis, we know that many times the 'perfect candidate' doesn't exist, and that people can feel discouraged about applying for a job if they don't fit all the requirements. We encourage you to apply if you're excited about working for us and have some of the skills or experience we're looking for. We believe in the notion that many skills and experiences are transferrable, and you could be just what we need! Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly believe in the value of diversity of people and thought. We strive to foster a supportive and inclusive environment where our colleagues can learn, develop, and succeed, all while feeling comfortable with being their true self. We embrace all walks of life regardless of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, veteran status, citizenship, or any other protected characteristic under local law.

We genuinely care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about. To find out more about our business and the great career opportunities please go to our Careers Site: http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/careers

Or better yet check out our LinkedIn ‘Life’ Page, highlighting our accomplishments, employees, and company culture. It’s also a good way of meeting our recruitment team, who will be happy to advise you on your journey here at T&F.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/taylor-&-francis-group/life/79e0c27c-afdf-4bbb-84e6-5f8ed5e10bb8/