Job Description

British Society for Rheumatology 

We are a UK wide membership organisation for all health professionals working in adult, paediatric and adolescent rheumatology. BSR works to promote excellence in the care of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders and to support those delivering it, involving patients and carers at every step.

We work to ensure that our rheumatology professionals have access to the latest in education, research and clinical best practice to provide high quality care. Our members look after patients of all ages, from children to adults and across the whole patient pathway. 

Job Summary 

We are recruiting for a Head of Publishing in our journals team. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced publishing professional to strategically develop the publishing portfolio. You will lead the expansion of our journals and digital products in partnership with our key stakeholders, as well as support the Society’s new external-facing strategy, improve communication and stakeholder management and collaborate with other teams to showcase the Society’s leadership voice.

The ideal candidate will be a leader and manager with excellent influencing and communication skills, confident with handling budgets, passionate about building positive working relationships with a range of stakeholders, organised and methodical, and adaptable and open to innovation and change. Prior experience in publishing or digital or social media products is essential.

Location

Our office is based in Central London but we are currently working remotely and you will be given the support and equipment needed to make this possible.

In this role you will:

• Lead the journals team and support the activities of the Practice and Quality Directorate.
• Form a close working relationship with Oxford University Press and our Editorial Board and committees.
• Lead the development of an editorial strategy, with a strong focus on digital products and generating impact for our research articles and outputs.
• Establish appropriate structures and processes to drive forward key projects, evaluating success and impact against identified metrics.
• Use your commercial acumen and knowledge of the publishing industry to effectively handle budgets and identify new opportunities.
• Oversee the online submission system and ensure the highest ethical standards across the submission, peer review and acceptance processes.
• Create communications plans and take the lead on our podcast and social media strategy, whilst working closely with other teams and directorates.
• Work with colleagues across the organisation on new product and process creation and application.
• Perform wider research and reporting tasks and spearhead the development of digital media projects.
• Represent the journals and organisation at conferences and events.
• Engage with and contribute to the effective management of the Heads of Department group and the activities it oversees.
• Support and showcase the Heberden Library committee.
• Ensure the delivery of annual workplans on time and within budget, publishing outcomes from each committee to share with members and key stakeholders.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Chief Executive, Director of Practice and Quality or Senior Management Team.

We'd love to hear from you if you: 

• Have significant experience within commercial and/or not-for-profit academic publishing organisations.
• Have a collaborative work ethic and ability to engage positively with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Are an excellent all-round influencer and communicator, highly detailed oriented.
• Have hands-on experience of managing and improving online submission and peer review systems.
• Have demonstrable leadership and line management experience.

We want your experience of the following: 

• Effective leadership skills plus experience of managing and coaching staff successfully to reach their potential.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to work on multiple projects with conflicting deadlines.
• Strong commercial acumen, budget management, strategic planning, market awareness and customer focus.
• Demonstrable experience in handling multiple external stakeholders and communicating effectively.
• Ability to develop strong positive working relationships across different teams and groups.
• Experience in research, analysis and problem-solving as well as thinking of new ideas to improve processes or stakeholder experiences.

We can offer: 

• A great place to work, we are Investors In People accredited and committed to Equality, Inclusion and Diversity

• Performance related pay and incentive schemes that include colleague nominated awards 
• Group pension scheme 
• 25 days holiday 
• A heap of benefits, such as BUPA health insurance, cycle to work schemes, buy/sell leave etc.

• Regular staff social events
• Year round learning and development programmes 

Closing date to submit applications: Monday 29 March.

Interviews will be held virtually from 8 April (please indicate if this is suitable).

How to apply? Please download the full job description attached and visit our website. 

Unfortunately, due to the large volume of applications that we receive, we are unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBT+ and from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

BSR is committed to encouraging inclusion, equality and diversity among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation by complying with the Equality Act 2010. 

We want a working environment free of all the above, where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued. To do this, we will proactively tackle discrimination and disadvantage and ensure that no individual or group is directly or indirectly discriminated against for any reason. We expect all BSR employees to champion and live our values through their work at every opportunity.