Publishing Assistant

About us

Ecology is the study of interactions among living things and their environment. It provides new
understanding of these vital systems as they are now, and how they may change in the future.

We are the British Ecological Society (BES): the oldest ecological society in the world. We
have been the champion of ecology for more than a century and our vision is for nature and
people to thrive in a world inspired by ecology.

With a membership of 7,000 people in 125 countries around the world, we foster the study of
ecology and support the ecology community at all stages of their careers through our journals,
meetings, grants, education, and policy work. We actively value the diversity and wide range of
perspectives that people from different backgrounds bring to their work, to ecology and to our
Society.

The successful candidate will become part of a wider staff team seeking to excite and inspire
our various audiences in ecology at a time when our science has never been more relevant.

About you

We are seeking a Publishing Assistant to support the publications team in the general running
of the Society’s portfolio of ecology journals.

• You have good attention to detail and be effective, friendly and customer-oriented in your
  email communication.
• You are looking to build a career in scientific publishing and are eager to learn from a
  team of internal colleagues and external academic editors.
• You enjoy staying on top of a range of tasks and are great at working independently and as
  part of a busy team.

About the role

The Publishing Assistant is part of a friendly and knowledgeable editorial office team and
supports Assistant Editors and Managing Editors in administering the peer review process of
their journals. This requires regular contact with scientists and practitioners across the
world who are the authors, reviewers and editors on our journals.

The Publishing Assistant will provide cross-journal support to the team, supporting Assistant
Editors in carrying out initial submission checks, answering routine queries from authors,
reviewers and editors and thereby guiding manuscripts through peer review in the timely,
constructive and friendly manner the BES journals are known for.

Core duties will include: 

• Check submissions on receipt to ensure that they are complete and appropriate before
  passing them on to Editors
• Monitor progress on manuscripts to identify and help resolve potential bottlenecks in
  collaboration with editorial team
• Assist in managing the journal inboxes, dealing with straightforward messages
• Ensure that accurate records are maintained on the processing of all manuscripts
• Carry out post-acceptance checks and liaise with production team when requested,
  particularly during periods of annual leave for Assistant Editors
• Assist in regular reporting across the journal portfolio
• The post holder will also be encouraged to learn other aspects of editorial office
  management, including journal development and marketing, and promotion of articles via social
  media accounts and press releases

A full job description, including person specification and competencies is available here.

BES Staff Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and additional festive leave between Christmas and
  New Year
• Well-being programme
• Employee Assistant Programme
• Salary sacrifice pension (the Society contributes 8% of your gross salary, and you may
  contribute additionally to this)
• Hybrid working and 4-day work week trial (see below)
• Cycle to work scheme (after probation)
• Generous training budget (after probation)

Flexible/Hybrid-working

BES staff are based at least 3 days per week at our office near Old Street in London.
We endeavour to make our new custom-designed office a relaxed environment, with a casual
dress-code, ping-pong table, Nespresso machine and regular social activities.

In July 2023 we launched an exciting trial of the ‘4-day Work Week’, available to all
interested full-time staff. Further details can be discussed at the interview stage for
successfully shortlisted candidates.

Equality and Diversity

More information regarding Diversity at the BES can be found here and our
Equality and Diversity work can be found here.

Further information and to apply:

• Contract: 2-year fixed-term contract
• Working pattern: Full-time 35hrs Mon-Fri tendersglobal.net We are currently running a trial of the 4-day
  work week; staff can opt to work 32hrs over 4 days each week at no loss of salary
• Location: Hybrid – we ask that staff spend at least 60% of their time at our London office
• Closing date: Sunday 19th November 23:59pm
• Interviews: Wednesday 29th November. Interviews will be conducted over Microsoft Teams and
  involve a short written activity followed by a panel interview

To apply for this vacancy, please click the green button ‘Apply for this job’:

• Your CV – no more than 2x A4 sides detailing your education, training and work history, as
  well as any relevant key skills
• A covering letter – no more than 1x A4 side explaining why you wish to undertake this role
  at the BES
• Your Equality and Diversity information – this voluntary information helps us to assess the
  diversity of our recruitment and further improve recruitment processes in future. It has no
  bearing on the success of your application and is not considering as part of the shortlisting
  process.

Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK. Successful applicants will
need to provide evidence that they have the right to live and work in the UK. The BES is unable
to provide visa sponsorship.