Senior Scientific Editor

Senior Scientific Editor, Publisher, Cambridge Prisms Journals 

Location: Cambridge, Hybrid (2-3 days per week in the office) 

Contract: Fixed-term (9 months), full-time (35 hours per week) 

Are you an experienced and innovative publishing professional with a passion for advancing scholarly communication? Do you thrive on driving impactful editorial strategies and fostering collaboration across teams? This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of open access (OA) publishing in a dynamic and mission-driven organization. 

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.  

About the role  

As Senior Scientific Editor and Publisher, you will lead the editorial and strategic development of the Cambridge Prisms series, overseeing the launch of new titles and the continued growth of existing journals. You will champion open research principles while ensuring editorial quality and operational excellence. 

This is a highly collaborative role where you'll work across teams and with global stakeholders to drive the success of the programme. Your leadership will extend to managing budgets, commissioning strategies, and team development while representing the Cambridge Prisms programme at conferences and events worldwide. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Editorial Leadership: Oversee the setup, launch and growth of new titles within the Cambridge Prisms series. 
• Content Strategy: Drive content acquisition and commissioning, ensuring targets and programme goals are met. 
• Workflow Optimization: Refine editorial processes and policies to support scalable growth, in collaboration with the relevant internal teams. 
• Collaboration & Advocacy: Work with marketing, production, and other internal teams to develop innovative strategies and represent the programme externally. 
• Financial Oversight: Manage budgets, track expenditures and prepare annual reports. 
• Team Development: Lead and develop the editorial team, recruiting new staff as needed. 
• Thought Leadership: Stay informed about developments in OA publishing and advocate for the Cambridge Prisms programme at conferences and events. 

About you 

We are looking for an inspiring leader and team player who can balance strategic vision with hands-on execution. You will bring: 

• Proven experience in scholarly publishing, including journal development and commissioning. 
• Strong understanding of OA publishing and the evolving research landscape. 
• Exceptional project management and collaboration skills, with the ability to juggle competing priorities. 
• Financial acumen, including budget setting and expenditure tracking. 
• A track record of building and maintaining professional networks within research communities. 
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels. 

If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.  

Rewards and benefits 

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including: 

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays 
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance  
• Discretionary annual bonus  
• Group personal pension scheme 
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary  
• Green travel schemes  

We are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability. 

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.  

We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 20 January 2025 although we may close it earlier if suitable candidates are identified. Interviews are scheduled to take place on the week of 27 January 2025. 

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.  

Please note that Cambridge University Press & Assessment will not ordinarily be able to provide sponsorship for vacancies of less than 12 months in duration. Applicants must therefore have an existing right to work in the UK to be eligible for this position. 

Why join us 

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe – for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.  

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it's safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background. 

We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.