Publishing Director, Medicine, Springer Journals

 

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Job Title: Publishing Director, Medicine, Springer Journals

Locations: Philadelphia, New York, or Jersey City (Hybrid Working)

Application Closing Date: Friday, March 8th, 2024

 

The Publishing Director role is a key strategic component of the Springer journals portfolio structure. The Publishing Director is responsible for driving and managing the strategic growth and development of a global portfolio of journals, and both contributing to and articulating our strategy. The Publishing Director contributes to and helps drive the overall success of the publishing unit by managing, developing and nurturing a team of individuals. The Publishing Director will create an environment to successfully engage with external editors and editorial board members, attract the best authors, and to deliver the publishing program in a timely and efficient manner.

 

Key Tasks: 

Create a positive and energetic team environment, providing trusted management in which your team members feel engaged and understand what is expected and the value of their contribution to the business.

• Set performance goals for your staff, and ensure that these are well communicated, cascaded into individual objectives and targets as appropriate, monitored regularly, with appropriate action taken as necessary.
• Allocate staff efficiently to ensure optimum time is spent on strategic priorities.
• Be visible to and engage regularly with your team to monitor performance and their development; carry out regular performance appraisals that focus both on targets/achievements and personal development.
• Understand the value and importance of regular communication with your wider team – both to solicit their suggestions and ideas, and to report back to them on our activities and progress.
• Carefully control staff, travel and innovation costs to ensure that the group remains as profitable as possible while not compromising on quality or service.
• Provide subject-based and policy guidance to your team and oversee the investigation and resolution of research integrity issues.
• Provide appropriate coaching and seek to ensure a culture where team members look to solve their own issues and engage in continuous improvement and, as appropriate, innovation.
• Be aware of staff wellbeing, regularly monitor employee satisfaction and seek to address recurring issues.
• Role-model our values and ways of working and ensure that these are incorporated into the day-to-day running of your team.

 

Drive the editorial and publishing development of a portfolio of journals.

• Lead, motivate and inspire your team to produce journals that deliver a best-in-class author experience and enjoy maximum engagement from the external editors and Editorial Board Members (EBMs) on whom we rely; working closely with the Editor and Author Engagement horizontal.
• On a regular basis ensure portfolios are aligned with our strategic priorities in a rapidly changing external environment. 
• Agree with the VP Publishing the annual targets for journal submission, publication and transfer volumes as well as target turnaround times.
• Ensure a data led approach to portfolio management and development, and that all KPIs are regularly monitored, reported and met, and that action is taken as needed.
• With the VP Publishing, take responsibility for the commercial performance of your division.
• Strive for maximal efficiency and productivity of our Editors-in-Chief (EiCs), peer-reviewers and EBMs.
• Contribute towards the overall strategy of the Springer Nature Journals group

 

Understand and engage regularly with external editors and the research communities that your journals serve.

• Ensure we drive strong partnerships with our external editors and that editorial performance is monitored within your team and addressed as necessary so that we provide excellent author service, in particular with respect to manuscript handling times.
• Engage effectively with the other vertical