The purpose of this role is to provide administrative support to the Executive Editor and senior publishing staff in publishing of the journals New Phytologist and Plants, People, Planet.
The New Phytologist Foundation is an independent, non-profit-making organization dedicated to the promotion of plant science.
The Foundation’s main activity is the publication of the journals New Phytologist, an international, online-only journal, which publishes original research on all aspects of plant science and Plants, People, Planet, an open access journal that considers cross- and inter-disciplinary plant focused research with societal impact. The Foundation receives income through its publishing activities and any excess revenue from the publication of the journals is put straight back into supporting plant science. This is achieved by funding a wide range of activities, for example: the organisation and sponsorship of symposia, workshops and meetings; numerous grant schemes; sponsorship of various awards for early-stage career scientists; and ensuring that research published in the journals is as widely and openly available as possible. All of these actions have a common goal to promote emerging areas of plant science and to encourage continued progress and innovation in the field.
The Foundation is overseen by a group of Trustees, all of whom are either editors or former editors of the journal, or notable individuals with expertise in publishing, academic research or financial services.
The Foundation’s offices are based at the University of Lancaster, UK.
Key responsibilities
- Assessing newly submitted manuscripts. Checking for plagiarism, checking submissions fall within the scope of the journal, checking submissions are in written in the correct format etc.
- Helping with the administration of the peer review process. Assisting both editors of the journal and acting as a point of contact for those carrying out peer review.
- Taking responsibility for the email accounts used by the journals run by the New Phytologist Foundation.
- Ensuring information (for example correspondence details) regarding papers that have been published are stored in an easily accessible fashion.
- Helping with the organisation of events, such as editorial meetings and annual symposia.
- Preparing accepted papers for publication, liaising with editors, authors, and the production manager.
- Developing ideas for marketing and promotion of the New Phytologist Foundation.
Person Specification
- Undergraduate degree in plant science, or a related discipline
- IT competency across a range of applications, including: file management, use of internet, email, etc. and use of computer programs (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and databases.
- The ability to work with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail also demonstrating excellent written English.
- Good organisation and time management, including ability to prioritise workload to meet competing deadlines.
- Ability to deal with queries/concerns in a professional manner, both in person, email and over the telephone.
- Effective communication skills.
- To convey an appropriate rationale and interest in applying for this particular post.
- Ability to work in a team and have a flexible approach to work
- An understanding of issues affecting scientific publishing
- Experience of administrative processes (e.g. record keeping and filing of documents, both hardcopy and electronic forms)
- Editorial/publishing experience
Contact: Sarah Lennon s.lennon@lancaster.ac.uk
If needed, the host organisation is willing to provide additional funding for accommodation and travel. If you are not sure how to approach this, please consult your local PIPS Contact:
Leeds – Catherine Liddle, email: c.m.liddle@leeds.ac.uk
Sheffield – Linda Harris, email: linda.harris@sheffield.ac.uk
York – Phil Lang, email: phil.lang@york.ac.uk