Digital Product Manager, Publishing Systems

Job Description Summary:

The Digital Product Manager, Publishing Systems serves as the designated product owner for publishing systems and is responsible for prioritizing enhancement requests, approving development priorities, coordinating vendor implementation activities, and maintaining platform roadmaps of PNAS and PNAS Nexus content under the direction of the Senior Manager, Publishing Operations. Has direct responsibility for leading project planning, coordination, contractor oversight, and quality control. This role works independently to support editorial and publishing operations by providing coordinated engagement, prioritization, and delivery of workflow enhancement initiatives and by leading the effort to improve and modernize the publishing technology platforms which enable post-acceptance and author billing workflows. This role sits in a crucial position between operations and technology and is expected to act as a constraint on platform development by evaluating process and system change requests against a prioritization framework and advising on scalable alternatives when appropriate. Works collaboratively with other responsible staff officers on cross-departmental projects but is a recognized expert on technical aspects of the systems.

Job Description:

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• Manages end-to-end implementation of workflow configuration changes and software code updates, including drafting project plans, user acceptance testing, scheduling, and reporting changes to all relevant stakeholders.
• Leads product development lifecycle process for publishing systems, identifying opportunities for friction points encountered by system users (staff, authors, editors, reviewers, etc.) and develops solutions aligned with organizational objectives in collaboration with key stakeholders across all PNAS departments.
• Serves as product owner by overseeing the product backlogs for publishing systems and regularly engages with stakeholders in Editorial Operations, Production, and Finance to prioritize future feature development.
• Oversees a system maintenance program for all publishing systems, including a regular set of tests to identify possible regressions in platform updates, to ensure product quality.
• Collaborates with stakeholders on rolling out new features, including coordinating user acceptance testing activities.
• Partners with members of the Product team to measure usability of end user-facing aspects of the peer review and production systems, through scripted usability test interviews or web analytics tracking (Google Analytics). Translates usability data into actionable insights and future platform development features.
• Ensures that the peer review and production systems are compliant with global regulations, including but not limited to, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Supports and informs process and workflow decisions for editorial and production managers; guides decisions through reliance on technical and systems expertise; and serves as a resource to PNAS staff on systems-related matters.
• Identifies, tracks, and reports on systems performance effectiveness and metrics.
• Manages vendor and contractor relations including reviewing service level agreements and appraisal of vendors’ performance and work.
• Tracks spending for enhancements to the online peer review system, production tracking system and billing systems.
• Liaises with ITS and outside vendors to troubleshoot IT problems and recommend IT solutions, including new hardware and software upgrades, and tracks progress of resolutions.
• Acts as escalation triage support for queries pertaining to publishing systems from authors, reviewers, editors, staff, vendors, and readers and provides troubleshooting assistance.
• Regularly communicates information and updates to PNAS staff.
• May include other job responsibilities as assigned.

COMPETENCIES

• Subject Matter Expertise: In-depth knowledge of scholarly peer review systems, workflows, and best practices. Ability to solve varied and complex problems using originality and ingenuity. Ability to operate independently, and exercise latitude for independent judgment, discretion, and action. Experience with eJournalPress preferred.
• Planning and Executing Work: Highly organized with proven project management skills and able to plan and oversee multiple projects simultaneously, using appropriate tools to organize, collaborate, and report. Able to work successfully in a team environment, to form and maintain effective teams, and to navigate competing priorities to execute on all assigned tasks.
• Relationship Management: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a pro