Senior Editor - Stair at LexisNexis South Africa

About the Role 

• Within our UK Analytical Editorial Operations group, you will be part of a team responsible for delivering authoritative legal content, including the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia (the cornerstone of the Scots lawyer’s library) and the Digest: Annotated British, Commonwealth, and European Cases. These publications are relied upon by practitioners and academics worldwide for their comprehensive coverage of evolving legal systems. 

Responsibilities 

• Manage Production Schedules: Planning and maintaining detailed content timelines for both print and digital formats, identifying potential bottlenecks, mitigating risks, and communicating deadlines to stakeholders. 
• Ensure Editorial Quality: Reviewing, copyediting, and styling legal manuscripts to align with house style; conducting spot checks, coordinating quality assurance reviews, and monitoring legislative/case law updates for accuracy. 
• Prepare and Maintain Content: Overseeing the creation of consolidated indexes, tables of cases, and statutory material; uploading and organizing content in relevant systems, and preparing annual or biannual supplements and cumulative volumes. 
• Collaborate with Stakeholders: Liaising with authors, freelancers, offshore production teams, and other internal collaborators to address editorial queries and keep publications on schedule. 
• Track Progress and Report: Compiling regular status reports for management, monitoring overall project progress, and ensuring alignment with business objectives. 
• Drive Operational Efficiencies: Identifying areas for workflow improvement, recommending solutions, and implementing best practices to enhance editorial processes and production systems. 

Requirements 

• Demonstrable experience in editorial operations, legal publishing or legal practice, along with a grasp of how law develops in the UK—covering both legislative processes and common law. Depending on the position, this would include a specific focus on English or Scottish legal frameworks.  
• Familiarity with multi-jurisdictional or Commonwealth case law is advantageous, along with the ability to conduct legal research, and handle editorial responsibilities 
• Have strong organisational skills, with the ability to meet  key deadlines while managing multiple priorities. 
• Able to demonstrate solid project management skills and resolve issues proactively across cross-functional teams to ensure progress against objectives. 
• Detail-oriented mindset with a commitment to maintaining high-quality standards in all published material. 
• Knowledge of digital publishing tools or XML workflows is a plus. 
• Required to come into the office once in a while when requested