Commissioning Editor Adult ELT

Job Title: Commissioning Editor, Adult ELT (Language Learning) 

Location: London or Madrid – Hybrid Working Model 

Application Deadline: Wednesday 16th October 2024 

About Springer Nature Group  

Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for researchers, educators, clinicians and other professionals. Every day, around the globe, our imprints, books, journals, platforms and technology solutions reach millions of people. For over 175 years our brands and imprints have been a trusted source of knowledge to these communities and today, more than ever, we see it as our responsibility to ensure that fundamental knowledge can be found, verified, understood and used by our communities – enabling them to improve outcomes, make progress, and benefit the generations that follow. 

About the Role  

We are hiring for a Commissioning Editor to join Springer Nature in either our London or Madrid offices! In this role, you will commission and develop appropriate, profitable and quality ELT content (print or digital) from concept development through to publication as specified in the publishing plan. This involves commissioning authors and contributors and working closely with overseas markets, marketing, and the in-house or freelance project team to develop quality material that meets the needs of the key markets and is produced on schedule and within budget. 

You will collaborate with the Publisher, as well as Product, Operations, Sales and Marketing, and Production stakeholders ensuring the publishing meets the needs of the key audience and is aligned with pre-press investment. 

Role Responsibilities 

Market awareness/research 

• Work with relevant stakeholders to schedule and plan market research in line with the publishing plan. 

• Conduct market research to ensure the project meets the publishing vision and Macmillan business needs. 

• Keep up to date with other publishers’ material with a view to their potential impact on the publishing plan. 

Content/material development (print/digital) 

• Work with relevant stakeholders to schedule and plan projects effectively. 

• Develop the concept of the course in liaison with the Publisher, including the component list and briefs.  

• Identify appropriate authors and contributors and initiate and develop proposals in line with the publishing vision. 

• Commission and work with authors and contributors in the development of material ensuring it follows the brief. 

• Work with the content development team to ensure all briefing follows the project specification. 

• Work with the content development team to evaluate materials written by authors and contributors to ensure content meets the project specification. 

• Brief external content developers on project specification, tasks, schedules and ways of working. 

• Negotiate and administer content development contracts, with support from Editorial Services. 

• Understand segment digital requirements and feed into the digital roadmap as appropriate.  

• In liaison with the Publisher, fully resource content development stages in line with the editorial budget. 

• Make full use of in-house and external content development resources to ensure timely publication. 

• Ensure Publisher is updated on progress of the project(s) 

• Ensure all company content development procedures and best-practice guidelines are observed. 

• Ensure backlist title corrections are implemented 

• Ensure and maintain high quality author care. 

Budget/Financial Responsibility   

• Understand the Investment Approval process, and feed into IA documentation as required. 

• With the Publisher, prepare costings, forecasts, specifications and business case to be sent for P&L approval. 

• Demonstrate full awareness of the cost and schedule implications of all publishing processes. 

• Understand the budgeting process and financial implications of making changes. 

Staff Management  

• Manage performance, training and development of staff, working closely with the Content Development Manager and the Learning and Development Team. 

• Delegate appropriately and maintain awareness of Health and Safety and Equalities issues relevant to staff. 

• Recruit and induct new staff in line with management capacity.  

Personal development 

• Keep up to date on ELT/EFL issues, undertake background reading and attend conferences as appropriate. 

• Use and develop existing skills and participate in in-house/external training sessions. 

• Maintain and expand network of industry contacts to support publications. 

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

Essential 

• Educated to degree level or equivalent  

• Formal ELT/TEFL qualification 

• Knowledge of ELT markets and segments 

• Appreciation for a wide international range of teaching and learning situations 

• Excellent written English 

• An ability to work to tight deadlines and to manage numerous tasks 

• Understanding of publishing technologies 

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 

• A positive attitude and commitment to aims of the company 

• Excellent team-working and organisational skills 

• At least 3 years English language teaching experience  

• Demonstrable ELT publishing experience at project leadership level 

• Proven track record of successful ELT/EFL product development 

• Experience of successful team-working 

Desirable  

• Knowledge of a second language 

• A working understanding of content management systems 

• Experience of working with a range of new media 

• Experience of in-market research 

• Experience of concept development 

• Working knowledge of InCopy 

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