Book Editor (Project Management Focus) at AOSIS

Job Description

The Book Editor (Project Management Focus) will oversee the entire journey of a manuscript from the completion of writing to its online publication. This role involves project management responsibilities and collaboration with various stakeholders, including authors, freelancers, and suppliers. The Editor will ensure the quality and consistency of the final publication.

Key responsibilities 

Project management:

Oversee manuscript journey:

• Manage the manuscript's transition from raw form to final publication.
• Establish the production schedule for each task involved in the publication process.
• Coordinate with copy editors, typesetters, proofreaders, and cover designers.
• Prepare manuscripts for approvals for publication.
• Publish books online via the CMS system.
• Provide production specifications to the Print and Distribution team.

 Freelancers and suppliers:

• Arrange for manuscript design, copy-editing, typesetting, proofreading, indexing, and electronic conversion in variety of formats.
• Create detailed briefs for each task.
• Maintain an updated list of freelancers and suppliers.
• Manage budgets and purchase orders to freelancers and suppliers.
• Conduct quality control of work carried out and provide feedback to freelancers.

Authors and stakeholders:

• Ensure all parties are kept on schedule.
• Attend and contribute to project meetings.
• Keep stakeholders informed of progress and any issues.
• Negotiate solutions when problems arise.
• Verify permissions for content use.

 Quality and consistency:

• Ensure all necessary content is sourced and included.
• Collate corrections and manage any necessary arbitration.
• Verify that corrections are made and handle any resulting changes.
•  Ensure that the house style guide, referencing style and other style sheets are consistently applied.
•  Check artwork for correctness and completeness.
• Anticipate potential issues and resolve unexpected problems promptly.
• Keep production-specific processes and documentation current.

Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Publishing Studies, English language, Communications, Library Sciences or a related field.
• Advanced degrees or certifications in project management or publishing are advantageous.

Experience:

• Proven experience in editorial project management, preferably in academic or scholarly publishing.
• Experience working with freelancers and managing multiple projects simultaneously.

Skills:

• Proven experience in project management, editing and proofreading.
• A sound knowledge of the book production process.
• An understanding of the South African scholarly publishing environment. 
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Proven knowledge and proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, Planner, PowerPoint) and online markup tools (Acrobat). Comfortable using video calling platforms (MS Teams, Zoom).
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal. 
• Strong English language skills. Language skills in any other official South African language will be an advantage.
• Demonstrable numeracy skills used in work environments, especially related to managing budgets.
• Exceptional organisational and time-management skills.
• Strong negotiation abilities.
• Excellent attention to detail, accuracy, and a commitment to maintaining high-quality standards.
• Proficiency in project management software and tools (e.g. ClickUp, Trello or Asana).
• Proficiency in online workflow publishing software (e.g. OMP).
• Familiarity with the scholarly publishing process and standards.
• Familiarity with HTML, XML and ePUB.

Personal attributes:

• Manage, work well under pressure in an open office or remote working environment and contribute effectively as part of a team.
• Proactive and solution-oriented mindset.
• Ability to handle stress and meet tight deadlines.