Job Description | Consultant Opportunity: RR\ID Program Coordinator, Global Academic Partnerships 

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 consultant to support our global program(s).  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).  This position will work closely with the RR\ID Editor-in-Chief and the Managing Director to support the expansion and growth of global offices in the Africa, Latin America, and Asia regions. 

Responsibilities

i. Relationship management, communications and global stewardship

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

• Meet regularly with in-country editorial office(s). Coordinate meetings and facilitate cross-country engagement and participation. 

• Work collaboratively with RR\ID Domains, assistant editors, and academic institutions to establish effective partnerships and facilitate preprint reviews from LMIC institutions.

• As necessary, contribute to business development efforts to identify potential partnerships and collaborations to expand the reach and impact of Rapid Reviews\Infectious Diseases

• As necessary, help serve as a liaison with LMIC institutions on communications (i.e., website/media/marketing) requests 

ii. Orientation, onboarding and training 

• Provide support to the expansion of RR\ID production by collaborating closely with LMIC academic partners and institutions to coordinate training and onboarding sessions/meetings for their editors and students

• 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.

• Introduce RR\ID tools, dashboards and technologies to editors and students in partner institutions (as necessary), and work closely with global teams to support their use of our shared tools.

• As necessary, adapt and modify RR\ID training materials specifically for our LMIC partners.

iii. Editorial workflow management and productivity management

• Serve as a liaison between the partner institution editorial teams and the UCB-based editorial office to ensure the synchronization of RR\ID timelines and expectations. 

• Ensure that LMIC partner academic calendars, needs and availability are considered/represented in the global RR\ID editorial calendar

• Drawing from existing RR\ID tools, dashboards and technologies–and working hand in glove with the RR\ID Operations Manager–develop and maintain production schedules, milestones, and deadlines for each of our editorial teams, closely monitoring progress to ensure that all teams are able to achieve timely recruitment of high-quality reviews of the preprints selected each week

• Help LMIC teams work collaboratively with RR/ID Domains, assistant editors, and other academic institutions to establish effective partnerships and facilitate preprint reviews

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

• Provide finance/admin support as necessary to support the program across partnering institutions. This includes working with the Managing Director and Operations Manager to ensure LMIC institutions are paid in a timely manner

• Establish new processes and systems to optimize global operations, including onboarding and monitoring of new team members

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree 

• Graduate training in a health sciences or medical-related field preferred

• Demonstrated experience managing programs with LMIC partners, preferably in a large/complex organization or project (e.g., a complex, multi-site research project).

• Comfortable discussing a range of global health research topics

• Experience training or teaching to support global capacity building preferred

• Someone with strong interpersonal skills who is approachable, personable, respectful, culturally competent, and able to easily engage with colleagues from around the world is essential for this role

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

• Ability to work flexibly across different time zones and with individuals from diverse professional and cultural contexts.

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders. Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal, are essential for this role. Proficiency in another language(s), particularly French or Spanish, is preferred.

• 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 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 a possibility of renewal. We are looking for someone who can support the project 10-20 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 work asynchronously (with weekly check-ins) across multiple time zones and editorial offices. Depending on the applicant pool, this position could be split into two separate (10 hours/week) consultancies that are regionally focused. 

There is also the potential to expand this job scope should there be an interest in combining this scope of work with the following part-time consultant opportunity: Consultant: RR\ID Editorial Operations Manager

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.