• Organisation: The Geological Society
• Position: Publishing Operations Assistant
• Salary: £26,000 - £27,500 (depending on experience)
• Location: Bath, BA1 3JN

Description

The essentials …

1. Permanent, full-time
2. £26,000 - £27,500 (depending on experience)
3. Hybrid working with weekly days in the Bath office

 

What you’ll be doing …

The Geological Society Publishing House has an exciting new opportunity within the publishing operations team for a Publishing Operations Assistant to implement workflow and development updates across our range of publishing operation systems. This is an early career role with the opportunity to progress current skills and understanding.

 

Overall responsibilities / requirements …

To collaborate with the Head of Publishing Operations (HoPO) and the Publishing Platform Manager (PPM) working on the range of publishing systems utilized in-house for the successful publication of the Society’s portfolio of titles, from submission through peer review to final online publication.

 

Key accountabilities

Manuscript submission system administration:

1. Implementing workflow and development updates within our chosen ‘manuscript submission, reviewing and production tracking’ system.
2. Overseeing and troubleshooting day-to-day issues with the manuscript submission system and its linked third-party vendors.
3. Work with colleagues to assess any new opportunities for digital solutions (such as research integrity tools) within the STM publishing arena.

Publishing platform support:

1. Ongoing maintenance of, and updates to, our publishing platform system, and downstream workflow operations to third-party aggregators.
2. Work with colleagues to gain a greater understanding, and opportunities for development of, our publishing platform system.

The duties and responsibilities highlighted in this Job Description are indicative and may vary over time. As required, post holders are expected to undertake other duties and responsibilities relevant to the nature, level and scope of the post.

 

What we’re looking for …

Qualifications and experience

We recognise that the right person for this role may not meet all of the criteria but may also bring different strengths and experience. If you demonstrate most skills and are eager to work for the Society, please do go ahead and apply.

Essential

1. Excellent and demonstrable problem-solving skills
2. A systematic approach to identifying the underlying causes of problems to prevent recurrence, i.e. root cause analysis
3. Logical, methodical and analytical thinking
4. Meticulous attention to detail
5. Experience of working within the publishing environment
6. An interest in STM publishing and its systems
7. Excellent written and oral communications
8. High level of IT literacy
9. Proven experience of managing multiple deadlines, and delivering work and projects to schedule and budget
10. A-level (or equivalent) qualifications
11. A willingness to embrace innovation and new ways of working

Desirable

1. Understanding of the production processes involved in scholarly publishing
2. Understanding or experience of submission systems and the peer review process
3. Understanding or experience of the use of metadata in the publishing process
4. Understanding or experience of XML and html tagging within publishing systems
5. Experience with configuration of software solutions
6. Experience collaborating across teams and an ability to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement
7. Experience of working for a learned or professional society (or other charitable organisation with trustees, committees and volunteers)
8. Undergraduate level qualification

 

Person specification

1. Excellent interpersonal skills, and a commitment to collaborative working across the Society
2. Self-motivated, proactive, with the confidence to act independently and with a flexible approach
3. A commitment to personal development and learning
4. Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines, prioritising work accordingly
5. Positivity and enthusiasm
6. Commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, reflecting the Society’s obligations as an equal opportunities employer

 

A bit about us …

The Geological Society is a registered charity and employs just under 60 staff at its offices in London and Bath. The Society Publishing House is based in Bath, from where we provide a full publishing service to an international geoscience community across a portfolio of books, journals, and associated products.

As an employee conscious company, we invest in our staff by emphasising training, growth and progression in every role. We firmly believe in creating a positive workplace wellbeing culture and offer a range of benefits to our staff including:

1. 25 days basic holiday entitlement you start, increasing up to 30 days with continued service (pro-rated for part-time staff)
2. Option to purchase up to 2 days extra holiday days per year
3. Contributary pension scheme with 10% employer contribution
4. Access to 24/7 online GP with mental health & wellbeing counselling
5. Free premium Headspace account for you and 2 members of friends/family
6. Discounts and recognitions scheme
7. Cycle to Work scheme
8. Season Ticket Loan scheme
9. Life Assurance and Income Protection schemes
10. Free access to Royal Academy exhibitions
11. Free Geological Society Fellow membership for qualified staff

The Society is committed to fostering an inclusive culture that promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a harmonious inclusive environment in which the rights and dignity of all its members visitors and staff are respected. We are an equal opportunities employer and the post-holder will be expected to adhere to and support the Society’s commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion.

How to apply

To apply for this position, please forward a copy of your CV together with a cover letter to recruitment@geolsoc.org.uk. Please ensure that your cover letter highlights your experience in no more than 750 words.

As part of our inclusive recruitment initiative, we have introduced the concept of anonymous recruiting in order to evaluate applicants solely on their skills and experience. With this in mind, we encourage you to:

1. Anonymise your application by stating only your initials in your CV (including your file name) and cover letter.
2. State your initials only in the subject line when sending your application.
3. Ensure that you have included your contact email and number, as well as dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the indicative timetable.

First round interviews will take place remotely. Please let us know if you will require any special provisions to be made should you be called for an interview. We regret that unsuccessful candidates will not be contacted.

All applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Application closing date: 1 May 2025 at 23:30