Overview

Join to apply for the Head of Publishing Operations role at BMJ

Job Title: Head of Publishing Operations

Contract: Permanent

Location: London/ Hybrid

Application Closing Date: Friday 31st October 2025

Job Purpose

We’re looking for a proactive and innovative professional to join BMJ in a brand-new role focused on transforming our editorial workflows. You’ll collaborate with key stakeholders both within BMJ and externally to plan and implement improvements across the entire publishing process, from pre-submission to post-publication. By driving the adoption of best practices, you’ll play a pivotal role in boosting editorial efficiency while ensuring an outstanding experience for editors, authors, and reviewers alike.

Responsibilities

• Drive Operational Excellence: Use data-driven insights to enhance cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and quality across BMJ’s end-to-end journal workflows, delivering continuous improvement and innovation that elevate the experience of authors, reviewers, and editors.
• Lead Workflow & Systems Projects: Manage workflow improvement and system implementation projects from inception to delivery, on time, within budget, and with strong stakeholder alignment.
• Optimise Resource Management: Oversee resource planning and allocation to ensure financial objectives and publication timelines are consistently achieved.
• Strengthen Vendor Partnerships: Contribute to the oversight of vendor and partner relationships, ensuring compliance with service level agreements and seamless collaboration.
• Champion Automation & Scalability: Lead initiatives to automate, standardise, and scale editorial workflows while safeguarding publication ethics and maintaining high editorial standards.
• Coordinate Cross-Functional Teams: Collaborate with internal departments, including Editorial, Publishing, Research Integrity, Production, Product, Platform, and Technology and external partners to design and implement optimised workflows that boost productivity and satisfaction.
• Enable Change & Innovation: Apply effective change management practices to promote the successful adoption of new processes, systems, and technologies.
• Stay Ahead of Industry Trends: Monitor and assess developments in the publishing industry, particularly the use of AI and machine learning, identifying opportunities to enhance BMJ’s editorial and publishing operations.
• Measure Performance: Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs), providing actionable insights and reports to inform strategic decision-making across BMJ.
• Manage Risk & Continuity: Identify operational risks and challenges, developing and implementing mitigation strategies to ensure business continuity.
• Foster a Culture of Innovation: Encourage the exploration of emerging tools, processes, and technologies that enhance operational effectiveness and deliver measurable impact.

Skills, Experience & Qualification

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in operations within STM publishing or a related industry.
• Proven record of process improvement, efficiency delivery, and team management.
• Strong background in scholarly publishing, with knowledge of STM publications preferred.
• Experience in project and change management; Lean Six Sigma or similar an advantage.
• Deep understanding of editorial and production workflows, business models, and the scholarly publishing landscape.
• Skilled in workflow analysis, problem-solving, and strategic decision-making.
• Experience with publishing software, workflow automation, and digital platforms.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong organisational abilities with capacity to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Proficiency in data analysis tools (MS Office, Google Suite) and peer review platforms (e.g., ScholarOne).

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Writing/Editing

Industries

• Writing and Editing