Research Community Engagement Associate

About Sage:

Sage is a global academic publisher of books, journals, and library resources with a growing range of technologies to enable discovery, access, and engagement. Believing that research and education are critical in shaping society, 24-year-old Sara Miller McCune founded Sage in 1965. Today, we are controlled by a group of trustees charged with maintaining our independence and mission indefinitely.

Your new role:

• Report to Head of Research Community Engagement.

• This role is responsible for supporting the recruitment and engagement of editors and editorial boards, contributing to long-term journal growth and stability across the Gold Open Access journal portfolio.

• The role involves extensive collaboration with Journal Managers as well as in-depth research in order to align on journal needs, map journals out into sections, and research and recruit new Associate Editors, Section Editors, Editorial Board Members and Editorial Review Board Members.

• The role also requires effective collaboration with the Journal Manager and Commissioning Teams in order to develop streamlined and scalable board management processes.

As Research Community Engagement Associate, you will :

• Work with Journal Managers across a diverse portfolio of journals to map out journal sections and identify journal recruitment needs, ensuring editorial board recruitment plans align with broader journal strategy.

• Research potential new Associate Editors (AEs) and Section Editors (SEs), provide Journal Managers with vetted candidate profiles for consideration, and invite suitable candidates. Set up and coordinate meetings between new recruits and Journal Managers to support successful Editor onboarding. Maintain clear workflows to support seamless collaboration with Journal Managers for candidate vetting.

• Research, profile, and compile lists of potential new Editorial Board Members (EBMs) and Editorial Review Board Members (ERBs). Provide Journal Managers with lists of vetted candidates for consideration and arrange for invitations to be sent through the Assistant Editor.

• Track recruitment progress and developing board composition across assigned journals.

• Work closely with the Commissioning Team to ensure leads are effectively funnelled into editorial board recruitment efforts and that new board members support Commissioning Team efforts for article and special collection development.

• Develop and implement workflows to funnel engaged high-impact authors and reviewers into editor or board positions.

• Support the Head of Research Community Engagement to continually refine board recruitment and engagement processes and strategies. Work to improve board member involvement in peer review and journal development.

• Support the improvement of editorial board management technology and systems by providing feedback on current tools and identifying areas for automation. Work with technology teams to enhance tracking, reporting, and recruitment workflows, ensuring systems align with business needs.

• Provide regular updates on editorial board recruitment progress, challenges, and successes. Contribute to discussions and provide insights to help refine broader editorial board initiatives.

• Create and test engagement outreach to increase board members' understanding of and commitment to their roles.

• Support Sage's strategic growth plans in China.

Could you be our new Research Community Engagement Associate?

• Graduate in a biomedical discipline or engineering discipline.

• Experience in journals publishing, ideally in an Open Access environment, with good understanding of editorial board recruitment and engagement strategies.

• Excellent Communication, organisation and prioritisation skills and a high level of adaptability.

• Project management skills with ability to quickly understand new scientific concepts and fields of research, for working across multiple journals

• Good problem-solving skills, preferably with experience in process improvement and workflow optimization.

• Proficiency in standard IT packages, including Microsoft Office, CRM & scholarly databases and a willingness to learn and adapt to new systems and technologies.

A cover letter is important to us, this offers the hiring manager valuable insights into how your skill set aligns with the role, what unique contributions you can bring to the team and why you are interested in this position. Therefore, when applying for this role online, please upload your cover letter and CV as one document.

Applications without a cover letter may regrettably not be reviewed.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that is representative of all sections of society and to sustaining a culture that celebrates difference, encourages authenticity, and creates a deep sense of belonging. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief as creating value through diversity is what makes us strong. As a business and as an organization with an increasingly agile workforce, we're open to flexible working arrangements where appropriate.

Company Acknowledgement

This job description is not contractual. To perform this role successfully, you must perform each of the key accountabilities satisfactorily. To meet changes in business operational, procedural or technical requirements Sage may add, remove or amend/change the accountabilities for this position and you should be aware that you may be asked to undertake reasonable tasks and activities outside those for which you are primarily employed.