Production Editor

Johns Hopkins University Press seeks a Production Editor who will be responsible for project management functions involved in the editorial-production process of book content and related ancillaries. The Production Editor will join a team of exceptional professionals committed to bringing the benefits of discovery to the world by providing global access, impact, and influence for the scholarship that we publish and distribute. This position will help to ensure that the Press is a leader in selecting and developing innovative ideas and scholarship, creating and embracing transformative technologies to enhance discovery and learning, and connecting people to the most trusted knowledge from global researchers, scholars, and educators.

The Production Editor works closely with design, production, marketing, and sales staff to manage the budgeting, quality, scheduling, author relations, and contractor/supplier relations of editing and producing print and electronic publications. The position carries out the editorial-production strategy for assigned titles and projects handled by the Publishing Operations department. The Hopkins Press Books Division publishes between 120 and 150 titles annually, along with more than 200 reprints per year. The Production Editor resolves issues around author communication and deliverables, schedule and cost management, and contractor/supplier performance. The Production Editor also conducts training, directs the work of junior team members, and contributes to developing and documenting best practices and policies for the manuscript editorial team. This position reports to the Production Editorial Manager.

The Press is committed to honoring every person’s inherent dignity as human beings and making that the foundation of our organizational culture. We proactively find ways to ensure opportunities that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. We strive to publish courageously, giving voice to groundbreaking ideas. We support each other and our stakeholders and envision a future where knowledge enriches the lives of every person. The successful candidate will join a welcoming community that is inclusive and values the contributions and perspectives of individuals from all backgrounds.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Act as project manager and Press liaison with authors, contributors, editors, contractors, and service providers on assigned projects for the manuscript-editorial and production areas including assigning work and managing performance to ensure deliverables and services meet agreed cost, quality, and timing expectations.

• Manage the communication and work product of contractors and service providers including copyeditors, proofreaders, and indexers.

• Carry out the editorial-production strategy for assigned publications including monitoring costs and schedules, reviewing and routing materials, maintaining the title database, keeping stakeholders apprised of title requirements and statuses, resolving issues efficiently and cost-effectively, and managing author, contractor, and service provider performance to ensure deliverables and services meet agreed cost, quality, and timing expectations.

• Perform quality checks throughout the editorial-production process ensuring Press standards and procedures are met on deliverables and outputs at all stages. Includes managing the distribution of page proofs and coordination of revisions working with authors to reduce alterations when appropriate and minimizing the number of proof stages; proofreading and routing cover and marketing copy including blurbs, catalogs, and jackets; checking covers through all production stages; tracking permissions for text and art as well as original art files; editing, sometimes substantively, indexes, front-matter elements (e.g., foreword), and other content, as needed.

• Conduct manuscript editorial team activities such as holding schedule and status meetings, generating reports and analyzing data, reviewing costs and invoices, communicating concerns to external and internal stakeholders, and escalating issues to Publishing Operations department managers, as appropriate.

• Assist department director and managers with evaluating external service offerings, onboarding contractors and service providers, documenting and implementing workflow changes, mitigating risks to the Press’s goals and publishing program, and exploring opportunities to advance the Press’s mission.

• Participate in cross-departmental meetings and implement plans for continuous process improvement in collaboration with Publishing Operations managers and colleagues.

• Train, supervise, and direct the work of staff, casual workers, students, and interns, as needed.

• Weave diversity, equity, inclusion and access princip