Job Description | Consultant opportunity: RR\ID Operations Management 

Summary

RR\ID is an open-access overlay journal that accelerates peer review of important infectious disease-related research preprints. With its central editorial office based at UC Berkeley and led by Editor-in-Chief, Stefano Bertozzi, RR\ID it is a publication of the MIT Press. 

Rapid Reviews/Infectious Diseases (RR\ID) is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented consultant to support the management of RR\ID operations. The consultant would oversee editorial production, recruitment of new collaborators, development and operation of our management information systems, and business operations. In a new collaboration with Gates Open Research, RR\ID will be extending its reach to a global network of editorial offices and academic institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). You will play a critical role in managing business operations of the RR\ID editorial operations on a global scale–making sure that our editorial workflow and global RR\ID teams are working in an efficient and synchronized manner to generate timely, high-quality peer reviews of infectious disease preprints from around the world.

This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with a strong background in managing and coordinating large projects and teams, who has an interest in open science/scholarly publishing, and who is passionate about improving equitable access to scientific information and equitable participation in its production and evaluation. A genuine interest in improving health globally and a dedication to open science principles are important qualities we seek for this role. 

Responsibilities

i. Editorial Workflow Management:

• Oversee the end-to-end editorial production process of all RR\ID editorial offices, from preprint selection, to peer reviewer selection, peer-reviewer solicitation, management of quality assurance of reviews, and final publication of reviews. This while ensuring adherence to established timelines and quality standards.

• Develop and maintain production schedules, milestones, and deadlines for RR\ID, closely monitoring progress to ensure timely delivery of reviews for preprints selected each week

• Implement and optimize production workflows across the organization, incorporating best practices and industry standards to streamline processes and enhance productivity.  This includes co-managing the collaborative relationships we have with the organization that hosts our reviews (PubPub) and the one that provides our review management system (Janeway).

• Oversee the building and maintenance of tools/technologies to support workflow management. Help develop and maintain tracking and performance dashboards and platforms to support RR\ID productivity. 

ii. Production Schedule Management/Quality Control and Accountability:

• Monitor productivity at the team and individual level and ensure that the respective managers have the data necessary for effective performance management. 

• Ensure that each domain is meeting peer review targets for each preprint; and that assistant editors are regularly conducting quality checks of the selected peer reviewers. 

• Collaborate closely with RR/ID domains and assistant editors to facilitate timely resolution of any production-related issues or bottlenecks. Anticipate and manage potential delays or conflicts, promptly communicating any necessary adjustments to those involved.

• Ensure clear and consistent communication and on-boarding regarding expectations for people in different roles. This is especially important for RR\ID because of the high turnover inherent in any organization that makes extensive use of student contributors.

•  Facilitate effective communication among authors, reviewers, and the editorial teams as necessary.

iii. Operations, Finance, Human Resources, and Administrative Support:

• Streamline operations, administrative, and finance processes across the organization

• Oversee recruitment efforts, including the hiring and onboarding of new partnering institutions and team members (i.e., editors, graduate student assistants, global hires, etc)

• Provide finance/administrative support, including managing budgets, tracking expenses, and coordinating logistical aspects of the RR\ID hiring process

• Oversee the vendoring, procurement and payment process with global partners 

iv. Collaboration with Academic Institutions in LMIC:

• Provide support to the expansion of Rapid Reviews/Infectious Disease production by collaborating closely with RR\ID program coordinator(s) for global academic partnerships, LMIC academic partners and institutions.

• Provide finance/admin support as necessary to support the program across partnering institutions.

• Ensure timely and efficient communication with academic institutions, addressing their needs and queries related to RR\ID processes.

• As necessary, contribute to business development efforts to team members who are identifying potential partnerships and collaborations to expand the reach and impact of RR\ID

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree 

• Graduate degree in a health- or publishing-related field preferred

• Demonstrated experience in operations, administration and finance for a large/complex organization or project (e.g., a complex, multi-site research project).

• Experience working with global projects or organizations preferred. 

• Outstanding project management skills, including experience with performance management of large teams.

• Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong attention to detail and a keen eye for quality control, ensuring accurate and error-free outputs.

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make informed decisions independently.

• Proficient in data analysis and interpretation.

• Experience working on health topics, particularly with infectious diseases, preferred but not required. 

• Experience with scientific publishing (as an author, editor, reviewer, publisher, etc.) preferred but not required.

This is a remote work opportunity. 12 month limited engagement with possibility of renewal. We are looking for someone who can support the project at a minimum of 20 hours/wk. The position is fully remote and we are open to candidates from any country; however, the ideal candidate would be available to connect synchronously with the US editorial office in Berkeley, California (Pacific Time Zone) for a few hours per day and be available to help manage operations (asynchronously, with weekly check-ins) across multiple time zones and editorial offices (Africa, South Asia and Latin America). There is also the potential to expand this job scope to 40 hours per week should there be an interest in combining this scope of work with the following part-time consultant opportunity: RR\ID Program Coordinator, Global Academic Partnerships.

Application:

Interested and qualified applicants should apply here: https://forms.gle/QV5BhyTavFgSdMW46. Please direct any questions about the position to Managing Director, Hildy Fong Baker at  [email protected]. Please include "RR\ID Consultant" in the subject line of your email.