Job Description:

Nature Portfolio is a flagship portfolio of journals, products and services including Nature and Nature-branded journals, dedicated to serving the scientific community.

Editor-in-Chief

Nature Communications

Location – London, New York, Berlin or Shanghai

Permanent position

Closing date Wednesday 7th April 2021  

Nature Communications is the Nature Portfolio flagship Open Access journal and publishes high quality research across the full spectrum of the natural and social sciences. The journal has flourished since its launch in 2010 attracting in excess of 41000 submissions and publishing over 6100 papers in 2020. Nature Communications pioneered a new model of academic publishing; one that combines Open Access with selectivity and high impact. The top 100 papers published in any given year would rival those in the Nature Research Journals.  This success is built on the belief that research important to specific scientific fields should still benefit from the high visibility offered by Nature Portfolio and ensuring our authors have choices and remain in control of their peer review procedure.  Nature Communications allows authors to choose between double or single-blind peer review, publish referee reports as well as give the authors the ability to easily transfer manuscripts between the Nature journals.

As the global head of our flagship fully Open Access journal, the newly appointed Editor-in-Chief will ensure that Nature Portfolio leads and innovates in the Open Research arena. This OA advocate will create an editorial strategy for the journal and support an implementation plan to achieve these strategic goals. They will be the ‘face’ of the journal, both within Nature Portfolio and externally, where they will need to be able to speak knowledgeably about its aims, scope and policies.

The Editor-in-Chief will report to the VP Editorial, Nature Journals and become part of a senior Executive Editorial team that manages and oversees all of the Nature Journals. As such they will have the opportunity to contribute to discussions that affect all of the Nature journals. They will be responsible for the performance of Nature Communications editorial staff and will work with other parts of the business, including the Publishing team, to forecast journal performance and develop new policies and processes. The Editor-in-Chief has oversight of an international team of over 110 manuscript-handling editors. Editors belong to one of 16 subject-based teams, each of which is led by a Team Manager. The editorial teams are supported by a Chief Life Science Editor, a Chief Physical Sciences Editor, and a Managing Editor, each of whom reports to the Editor-in-Chief.

The successful candidate will display a clear vision for the future development of Nature Communications, with a particular emphasis on how the journal can meet the needs of its main customer groups. They will need to be able to operate as part of a close-knit team, and to lead the journal through changes in policies, workflows and processes. In return, they will be able to play a part in strengthening and developing one of the most exciting brands in science publishing, and in enhancing job satisfaction for the staff who work on Nature Communications.

The journal’s management team is primarily based in London, which would be the preferred location for this role. However, editors are also currently based in New York, Berlin and Shanghai. Applications for these offices will also be considered. To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter along with a statement outlining your vision and editorial priorities for the journal if you were to be successful in securing this exciting role.

Requirements

• Significant experience in a senior editorial management role.


• Significant experience in a manuscript-handling editorial role. 


• Science-based higher degree and research experience.


• Excellent management and communication skills.  


• Excellent leadership and team-building qualities.  


• Thorough understanding of the scientific process as it pertains to STM publishing.  


• Thorough understanding of the needs of authors and referees as key customers.  


• Strong analytical skills.  


• Enthusiasm and passion for excellence in science.   


• Credibility and respect from editorial teams.

The journal’s management team is primarily based in London. Editors are also currently based in New York, Berlin and Shanghai. Applications for these offices will also be considered. To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter along with a statement outlining your vision and editorial priorities for the journal if you were to be successful in securing this exciting role. 

Once hired, the on-boarding and induction plan will take place remotely. All our teams are working remotely, so although the role is based from one of our campuses, the role holder will be expected to work on this basis until we return to offices. 

If you are an internal candidate please inform your line manager of your application.

At Springer Nature we value and celebrate the diversity of our people. We recognise the many benefits of a diverse workforce and strive for an inclusive workplace that empowers all our colleagues to thrive. Our search for the best talent fully encompasses and embraces these values and principles.

 

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