Peer Review Production Coordinator - TRB Technical Activities

Job Description Summary:

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a unit of the National Research Council, a private, nonprofit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board's mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemination of information, and encouraging the implementation of research results. TRB fulfills this mission through the work of its standing technical committees and task forces addressing all modes and aspects of transportation; publication and dissemination of reports and peer-reviewed technical papers on research findings; administration of two contract research programs; conduct of special studies on transportation policy issues at the request of the U.S. Congress and government agencies; operation of an on-line computerized file of transportation research information; and the hosting of an annual meeting that typically attracts 8,000 transportation professionals from throughout the United States and abroad.

Unit Overview
Transportation Research Record (TRR): Journal of the Transportation Research Board is one of the most cited and prolific transportation journals in the world, offering unparalleled depth and breadth in the coverage of transportation-related topics. The TRR publishes 12 issues annually of outstanding, peer-reviewed papers presenting research findings in policy, planning, administration, economics and financing, operations, construction, design, maintenance, safety, and more, for all modes of transportation.           

Job Summary
Provides administrative support for the processing and peer review of manuscript submissions.. Checks submissions and contacts authors for required materials. Works with the journal’s editorial board to facilitate the peer review process for submissions. Supports the TRB Annual Meeting paper review process.  Reports to the Technical Activities Division Director of Publishing and Outreach and keeps teammates informed about problem papers.

Working under general supervision, incumbent applies general professional knowledge to solve problems requiring the identification and analysis of various factors and uses independent judgment and discretion to recommend best course of action.  Incumbent proceeds on own initiative in compliance with policies, procedures, and practices, but receives guidance or expertise from supervisor or higher-level staff when needed. 

Job Description:

Responsibilities

Peer Review: Responsible for overseeing all aspects of peer review coordination from submission to transmittal for all article types.  Supports team by providing quality control checks for incoming manuscripts. Transmits manuscripts to production vendors.  Monitors journal email inbox and resolves queries raised by authors, editors, and reviewers. Escalates author appeals and potential ethical concerns to senior staff. Stays informed of journal publishing technologies and trends and applies knowledge of ethical publishing practices to all assigned duties.  Sends reminders to authors, editors, and reviewers about due dates. 

Staff and Process Management: Follows and maintains workflow documentation used by editorial staff. Assists in training of Program Officers that manage TRB Annual Meeting submissions. May handle system permissions for editorial board members. Runs scheduled and ad hoc editorial office reports. Contributes input for enhancements to the submission system, including testing new features. Run scheduled and ad hoc editorial office reports. Contributes input for enhancements to the submission system, including testing new features. 

Special Projects: May participate in special projects and additional tasks as assigned. Proactively suggests and implements improvements to editorial processes.

Other Duties: May support team members with paper promotions and coordinating conference program materials. Serves as backup to team members.  Proactively suggests and implements improvements to editorial processes, showcasing impactful examples. Ai