We are looking for a highly experienced editor to help us provide world-class editing and document production support to publishers and public sector organisations worldwide. This is a full-time, permanent role with a 6-month probationary period.
Our company
We provide publishing support services to a wide range of organisations including publishers, government departments, and national and international public sector organisations. Our services include copy-editing, substantive editing, writing, design and layout, proofreading, and production management. We have a reputation for delivering high-quality work coupled with attentive, personalised service.
We have a modern, spacious office in Perth, and currently have 16 employees. We provide a comprehensive training package to all new employees and have a range of resources to encourage professional development. We have been Investors In People since 2005 and currently hold a Silver award for Investors In People and a Gold award for Investors In Young People.
Your responsibilities
As a senior editor, you will work closely with the rest of your team to prepare documents such as research articles, policy documents and long-form reports for publication. These documents cover a wide range of topics in the fields of science, medicine, public health, the environment, law, international affairs, and finance and banking, among others, and may be aimed at technical audiences or the general public.
You will:
- Copy-edit, rewrite and proofread documents to ensure consistency, accuracy and appropriateness to the target audience
- Write new content according to client briefs
- Check, correct and provide feedback on your colleagues’ work
- Approve final versions of edited documents before sending back to the client
- Manage work projects, allocating team members and freelancers to individual tasks and ensuring that work is delivered to schedule and meets our clients’ quality standards
- Develop and maintain internal process guides and style sheets
- Be the main point of contact for one or more of our clients, establishing and maintaining good relationships and dealing with any problems
- Help us win new work by preparing schedules, budgets and quotations in collaboration with senior staff, and occasionally by visiting existing and potential clients
- Provide coaching and training to other members of your team to help them improve the quality of their work and match the requirements of our clients.
Your salary
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 a more senior role with a salary scale of £33,750 to £41,250. In this role, you will do all the tasks listed above, and also help managers and directors to grow the company, for example by developing new services or tendering for contracts.
Our requirements
Essential
- A good degree in any academic subject
- Advanced copy-editing and rewriting skills
- Substantial copy-editing experience: you must have edited the equivalent of at least 10,000 pages (20,000 pages if you do not have a degree in a language-related field)
- Publishing experience in at least one of law, science, medicine, social sciences or humanities
- Confidence with advanced features of Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat and the ability to teach yourself new skills.
Optional but advantageous
- A post-graduate qualification (in publishing or any other field)
- Experience of client contract management
- Experience of editing documents authored by people whose first language is not English.
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 25 April 2025. Interviews will take place in Perth in early May. The interview will include a short test of your English-language abilities and a 1-hour on-screen editing test.
If we receive strong applications then we may commence interviews before the closing date.
FAQ
- Read up on what we want to see in your application.
- Apply as soon as possible. If we receive strong applications then we may commence interviews sooner than the closing date.
- Submit as comprehensive an application as possible. IExplain why you are suitable and supply a full CV.
- 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.
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. We work on documents with a wide range of topics and our clients appreciate that we can offer editors with an equally wide range of specialities.
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.
This is a requirement set by one of our major clients, which needs to approve each individual editor working on its projects and measures editing experience in this way.
We don’t require any formal certificates or attestations, but the more detail you can provide about what you have done the better!
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. If you anticipate incurring additional costs, such as hotel stays or flights, these must be discussed with us and approved in advance to ensure reimbursement.
To start with you will work in our office in Perth 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 16 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.