Persona Staff: Junior Editorial Coordinator in Cape Town

Job Posting: Junior Editorial Coordinator

Company Overview: Persona Staff, a leading recruitment agency, is representing a prominent client in the educational sector. Our client is a key player in scholarly publishing, and they are currently seeking a dynamic and motivated Junior Editorial Coordinator to join their team in the Cape Town Northern Suburbs. This is a permanent position with a competitive salary in line with market standards.

Job Positions/Location/Reference Numbers:

• Position: Junior Editorial Coordinator
• Location: Cape Town Northern Suburbs
• Reference: CPT004178/IP

The role of a Junior Editorial Coordinator is a crucial position within the field of scholarly publishing and editorial management. This professional is responsible for facilitating the editorial process of scholarly journals, ensuring the smooth flow of manuscripts from submission to acceptance. Here’s an overview of the responsibilities, skills, and qualifications typically associated with the Junior Editorial Coordinator profession:

1. Manuscript Quality and Permission Checks: One of the primary duties of a Junior Editorial Coordinator is to conduct initial manuscript quality and permission checks. This involves assessing the submitted manuscripts for adherence to quality standards and obtaining necessary permissions for published content.

2. Process Checks and Implementation: Implementing checks, such as checklists and plagiarism assessments, at various process points is essential. Junior Editorial Coordinators evaluate the standard of work and take corrective action if deviations are identified.

3. Editorial Development and Workflow Coordination: Coordinating editorial development and review workflow is a central aspect of the role. This includes managing the flow of manuscripts through the editorial process, ensuring efficiency, and providing support to authors, editors, and reviewers.

4. Communication and Author Support: Effective communication is crucial. Junior Editorial Coordinators liaise with authors, editors, and reviewers, addressing queries related to the publishing process. Providing support in navigating the workflow management system and managing the online submission system are also key responsibilities.

5. Workflow Management System: Transmitting actions, tasks, or decisions from higher-level editorial authorities onto the workflow management system is part of the role. This ensures that the entire editorial team is aligned and informed about the progress of manuscripts.

6. Document Management: Handling electronic documents is a significant part of the job. This includes tasks such as transferring (e.g., masking), applying versioning, and maintaining sound record-keeping at various stages of the editorial process.

7. Multilingual Skills: Proficiency in English is typically a requirement, given the international nature of scholarly publishing. Additionally, having language skills in official South African languages (such as Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana) can be advantageous.

8. Educational Background: A relevant undergraduate degree, often in English and Linguistics, is a common qualification for this role. This educational foundation provides the necessary language and communication skills.

9. Customer Service Experience: Given the collaborative nature of scholarly publishing, customer service experience is valuable. The Junior Editorial Coordinator interacts with authors, editors, and reviewers, requiring strong interpersonal skills.

10. Organizational and Time-Management Skills: The role demands a high level of organization and self-motivation. Junior Editorial Coordinators must manage multiple tasks simultaneously, work under pressure, and adhere to project timelines.

11. Team Collaboration: While the ability to work independently is important, being a team player is equally crucial. Junior Editorial Coordinators collaborate with various stakeholders in the editorial process.

12. Technological Proficiency: Excellent skills in Microsoft Office applications, especially Word, Excel, and Outlook, are often specified. Familiarity with workflow management systems and online submission platforms is an added advantage.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary commensurate with industry standards
• Opportunities for career growth and professional development
• Inclusive and collaborative work environment
• Comprehensive training and support

Eligibility: To be eligible for this position, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Relevant undergraduate degree, e.g., bachelor’s degree in English and Linguistics
• Customer service experience
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent proficiency in English (reading, writing, understanding, and speaking)
• Good language skills in any of the following official South African languages would be advantageous: Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana (understand and read)
• Excellent MS Office skills, especially in MS Word, Excel, and Outlook
• Highly organized and self-motivated, with strong time-management and project management skills
• Ability to work well under pressure in an open-plan environment
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Requirements: As a Junior Editorial Coordinator, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Conducting initial manuscript quality and permission checks
• Implementing checks (e.g., checklists, plagiarism) on various process points and documents to evaluate the standard of work/task
• Applying standard procedures to manuscripts allocated to enhance customer experience
• Transmitting actions, tasks, or decisions from the Editor-in-Chief/Commissioning Editor/Section Editor/Guest Editors onto the workflow management system
• Monitoring the timeliness of work/task against average desired timelines and taking corrective action to resolve delays
• Transferring (e.g., masking), applying versioning, and maintaining sound record-keeping on electronic documents at various process points
• Liaising with authors, editors, and reviewers and providing support with publishing-related queries on using and navigating the workflow management system
• Managing the online submission system and inbox

How to Apply: To apply for the Junior Editorial Coordinator position, please send your CV along with your salary expectations to ilana@personastaff.co.za.

Closing Date: The deadline for applications is December 29, 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not receive feedback within 48 hours, please consider your application as unsuccessful.

Official Contact: For any inquiries or additional information, please contact Persona Staff at ilana@personastaff.co.za. Persona Staff CC is POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013) compliant, ensuring that all personal information is protected according to legislation. If you have concerns regarding your Personal Information and our compliance with the legislation, you are welcome to request our POPI Act Policy.

About Persona Staff: Vision: Persona’s vision is to allow our clients to focus on their core activities while we manage the responsibility of staff recruitment, ensuring the perfect fit between candidate and client for the most efficient and effective workforce. Persona is committed to delivering the best service to our clients and candidates.

Industries we recruit in: Financial Services, Manufacturing, Engineering, Retail, Banking, Telecommunications, Information technology, Electronics, Logistics, Mechanical, Sales & Marketing, Office Support, Warehousing, Distribution, and Supervision Staff.

Services offered: To our clients:

• Recruitment of permanent staff at all levels
• In-depth staff selection
• Salary surveys
• Advertising of available positions
• Comprehensive interviewing
• Screening of potential candidates according to client’s specifications
• Reference checks (on possible candidate)
• ITC checks (on possible candidate)
• Criminal checks (on possible candidate)
• More background checks on request
• Psychometric testing (additional services)
• Preparing job descriptions

To possible candidates and job seekers:

• Professional resume
• Regular correspondence
• Interviewing tips
• Summary of client information
• Assistance to find the perfect job

Persona commits to adhere to industry standards and policies, providing a professional and reliable recruitment service for both clients and candidates. Join us in shaping the future of scholarly publishing and make a positive impact on education.