Applications for this vacancy are now closed. We have received 15 applications and will call candidates for interview during April and May. If you do not hear from us, then your application was unsuccessful. Thank you to everyone who applied.
We are now seeking an experienced Project Leader to work full-time in one of our teams providing editing and other services to publishers and public sector organisations. This is a permanent role with a 6-month probationary period.
About the job
You will join one of our production teams and will work on documents such as research articles, policy documents and long-form reports, in the fields of science, medicine, public health, the environment, law, international affairs, and finance and banking, among others.
As a Project Leader you will be expected to manage business projects, including individual client contracts. You will be the main point of contact for one or more clients and will be responsible for meeting, and preferably exceeding, their expectations. You will prepare schedules, budgets and quotations for new work and may on occasion travel to represent the company to existing and potential clients.
You will collaborate closely with team managers to allocate your clients’ tasks to more junior colleagues and other team members, providing coaching and training as required. You will be personally responsible for the overall quality of work returned and will provide comprehensive feedback to your colleagues when necessary.
You will also take on a portion of these tasks yourself, and a substantial part of your role will be copy-editing and rewriting text on a wide variety of topics, often written by authors whose first language is not English. You will need to have an excellent command of English and be able to understand complex ideas and explain them clearly. Some assignments must be carried out to short deadlines, so speed is as important as high quality and teamwork.
The salary for this post will be in the range £30,000 to £37,500. Successful applicants with copy-editing experience but without significant experience in project management and contract management will begin at the entry level of the grade. All relevant experience and qualifications, such as a postgraduate degree in publishing or relevant subject areas, will be taken into consideration when determining starting salary.
If you have significant experience of the publishing industry, including substantial copy-editing, proofreading and project management experience and a good track record of client management, we may consider you for the post of Principal Project Leader, for which the salary scale from August is £33,750 to £41,250. Principal Project Leaders do all the above tasks, and also help managers and directors to grow the company, for example by developing new services or tendering for contracts.
This position is based in our office in Perth. Experienced candidates may, after a period of time, be able to carry out this role partly from home.
About you
For this post you must have a good degree in an academic subject and considerable previous publishing experience. A postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
We are looking for individuals with a strong background in publishing, and in particular we want people with advanced copy-editing and rewriting skills. Publishing experience in at least one of law, science, medicine, social sciences or humanities is essential, and experience of client contract management is desirable.
You must also be completely at ease with new technology and be able to make advanced use of software packages such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
You will need to be productive, well organised and meticulous, and able to solve problems on your own. Enthusiasm, resourcefulness and proven ability are essential. You will be expected to contribute from the start.
You will be an effective communicator, able to liaise appropriately with authors, academic editors, clients and suppliers. You must be comfortable collaborating with and directing others, but you also need to be able to work on your own.
You must be eligible to work in the UK.
How to apply
If you are interested, here is what to do:
- describe your publishing career and experience and explain why you are suitable for this post
- attach a full CV in MS Word or PDF format
- include your current salary and/or salary expectations.
Address your application to Dr Lucy Harrier using our application form. Please let us know where you first saw this vacancy.
Applications close at noon on Friday 19 April 2024. Interviews will take place in Perth in April. The interview will include a short test of your English-language abilities and a longer editing test.
If we receive strong applications then we may commence interviews sooner than the closing date.
FAQ
- Apply as soon as possible. If we receive strong applications then we may commence interviews sooner than the closing date.
- Follow our requirements closely (and avoid our red flags!).
- Submit as comprehensive an application as possible. If you don’t explain why you are suitable or supply a full CV you are unlikely to be interviewed.
- Your cover letter is vital, as it tells us how good you are at conveying information – the core service we provide. It should have impeccable spelling and grammar. Tell us what you can offer, not just how you expect to benefit from the job.
- Please try not to ask us questions that have been answered in this list.
- Note that possessing a degree in a publishing or academic subject is essential.
There will be two tests in the interview. The first test is part of the interview for every role at Prepress Projects, and its overall objective is to assess your English-language abilities. We use this test to benchmark your skills against Project Editor and internship candidates.
You will be asked to make singular words plural (e.g. plural of millennium) and vice versa (e.g. singular of algae), distinguish between common confusables (e.g. averse and adverse) and improve, clarify or correct sentences containing errors. You will have 25 minutes.
The second test is an on-screen editing test, which will also be used as a benchmarking exercise. You will be provided with a test document for editing in Microsoft Word. You will be assessed on your attention to detail, your ability to make confusing phrases clearer and your understanding of the author’s aims. You will have one hour to edit the document.
As long as you possess a degree in an academic subject we have no preference. For information, about half of our employees have a degree in a science subject (mostly life sciences but also engineering and mathematics) and the other half have a degree in a humanities subject (mostly English but also languages and history). Some of us have a PhD. A postgraduate publishing qualification will be advantageous.
Yes. Reasonable travel expenses from a UK address to our offices in Perth and back will be paid. At the interview you will receive an expense claim form.
Reasonable travel expenses might include, for example, the cost of an economy class train or bus ticket and a simple meal or sandwich.
To start with you will work in the office full time. Once you have sufficient experience of the work, our processes, the software we use and the company, you may request a hybrid role, working at home up to two days a week. This can be discussed further at interview.
No. The nature of the writing, editing or proofreading work we undertake makes job sharing virtually impossible: you alone will be responsible for completing the projects you are assigned, and, in general, it is not possible to share this work with someone else.
Reduced-hours posts can be requested and management team will consider these in the light of prevailing and expected business environment and the impact on the business, clients and colleagues. We cannot guarantee agreeing to requests for such posts. This advertisement is for a full-time post.
We currently have 17 employees.
You will be a valued member of an organisation that works for the long-term benefit of its employees, prioritising sustainable growth over short-term gains. You’ll be kept in the loop on company performance and goals and get to share in our successes through discretionary payments on top of your salary. And you’ll have a say in the decisions that shape the future of the company.
Our company culture is characterised by collaboration, innovation and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. We foster an environment where employees are encouraged to share ideas, learn from one another and contribute to the overall success of the business. We value transparency and we strive to maintain a positive and supportive atmosphere.
We believe in investing in our employees’ growth and development. Here are some avenues for professional advancement within Prepress Projects:
Training: We provide team training sessions and in-house workshops on editing principles and technical skills. We arrange for all our employees to attend external training from accredited providers such as Publishing Scotland and the CIEP.
Coaching: ILM-accredited coaches provide guidance and support to help our employees navigate their careers. We currently have five members of staff who are qualified coaches.
Internal mobility: we encourage employees to explore their role within the company. You will have opportunities for lateral moves or promotions as your skills improve.
Performance appraisals: regular performance reviews provide constructive feedback and identify areas for improvement based on our company values. You will have the chance to feed back to your manager too.
Leadership development: aspiring leaders can participate in leadership programmes and apprenticeships to develop management and strategic skills.