Manager, Digital Production

Baltimore, MD, United States

Johns Hopkins University Press seeks a Manager, Digital Production at Project MUSE who will lead high-level innovation and strategic direction within our digital production processes. This pivotal role will focus on staying abreast of industry standards, publisher needs, and emerging trends to enhance content for optimal user discovery and experience on the MUSE platform. The Manager, Digital Production will lead a dynamic team in developing and implementing innovative solutions that elevate our content delivery and engagement strategies. In addition to driving innovation, this position will manage the day-to-day operations of our production team, ensuring seamless coordination and efficient workflows. The Manager, Digital Production will supervise staff and manage the production system at Project MUSE, leveraging their expertise to streamline processes and maximize productivity while maintaining the highest quality standards. This position will help to ensure that the Press remains a driver in the selection and development of innovative ideas and scholarship, the creation of pioneering technologies to enhance discovery and learning, and the connection of people from around the globe to the most trusted, peer-reviewed scholarly content in the humanities and social sciences.

The Manager, Digital Production plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of our production processes by leading and cultivating a dynamic team. The Manager, Digital Production must have a proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment and have the industry, production, and management skills to quickly plan and implement solutions. Responsibilities include fostering an environment conducive to effective collaboration with external publishers and vendors, ultimately ensuring the timely and efficient delivery of our publishing program. This position works cross-departmentally at Project MUSE to define and support evolving business needs. This position works cross-divisionally at the Press and is a leader across the organization in industry standards for production, accessibility, and discoverability. The Manager, Digital Production is expected to actively engage in industry discussions and initiatives, ensuring our practices remain cutting-edge and compliant. The ideal candidate will have experience serving on industry standards committees, where awareness of forthcoming changes is crucial. This position reports to the Director, Publishing Technologies.

Project MUSE is an expert in the scholarly publishing space, connecting users to trusted scholarship from global researchers, scholars, and educators. The platform hosts a vast array of scholarly resources, including journals, books, reference materials, primary sources and other digital products produced from hundreds of publishers worldwide. This extensive collection caters to academic institutions and end users alike, providing access to a diverse range of materials, spanning various disciplines and subject areas in the humanities and social sciences. Project MUSE and the Press as a whole are committed to honoring every person's inherent dignity as human beings and making that the foundation of our organizational culture. We proactively find ways to ensure opportunities that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. We strive to publish courageously, giving voice to groundbreaking ideas. We support each other and our stakeholders and envision a future where knowledge enriches the lives of every person. The successful candidate will join a welcoming community that is inclusive and values the contributions and perspectives of individuals from all backgrounds, while leading initiatives to drive innovation and excellence in digital production at Project MUSE.

Key Responsibilities:

Create a positive and energetic team environment, providing trusted management in which your team members feel engaged and understand both what is expected of them and the value of their contribution to the business.

Set performance goals for your staff, and ensure that these are well communicated, cascaded into individual objectives and targets as appropriate, monitored regularly, with appropriate action taken as necessary.

Lead and manage the digital production team to ensure efficient and effective production processes.

Provide opportunities for digital production team members to grow professionally by encouraging them to expand their skillsets, work on special projects, and participate in the Press-wide mentorship program.

Develop and implement streamlined systems to facilitate quick and accessible content launches.

Foster a collaborative environment with external publishers and vendors to ensure timely delivery of the publishing program.

Serve as a liaison between various departments at Project MUSE, ensuring seamless cross-departmental collaboration.

Serve as a liaison with other production departments at the Press in order to facilitate efficiency and join projects and participate in Press-wide committees related to production.

Stay informed about and actively engaged in industry standards committees, providing leadership in standards for production and accessibility.

Proactively identify and implement improvements to enhance production efficiency and quality.

Track production performance and report on costs and production outputs to identify workflow efficiencies and establish quality control requirements.

Provide accurate production performance and cost data to other Project MUSE groups to support the development of new business models and strategies.

Manage the development, maintenance, and distribution of production process documentation.

Collaborate with the Director of Publishing Technologies to align production strategies with overall organizational goals.

Provide leadership and mentorship to the digital production team, fostering professional growth and development.

Monitor industry trends and advancements, incorporating relevant innovations into Project MUSE's production processes.

Report directly to the Director of Publishing Technologies, providing regular updates on production activities and initiatives.

Recruit, hire, train, supervise, and direct the work of staff, casual workers, contractors, students, and interns.

Weave diversity, equity, inclusion, and access principles into all aspects of the work.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required.

Five years of related experience.

Additional related experience may substitute for required education, as permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

Five plus years of publishing industry experience, preferably in a scholarly or academic publishing setting.

Proven experience in digital production, preferably in a publishing or academic environment.

Familiarity with industry standards and best practices for digital production.

Expert knowledge of EPUB and JATS XML

Keen awareness to accessibility in eBooks, PDF, and HTML

Thorough understanding of accessibility regulations and standards, international and domestic.

Detail oriented.

Proven ability to balance and effectively prioritize multiple competing projects in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, including the ability to set expectations and to identify and communicate when additional resources are required.

Three plus years of progressively increasing management experience including providing guidance and opportunities to direct reports for development and advancement.

Excellent critical thinking and communication skills.

Superior problem-solving skills including using analytics to drive decisions.

Creative thinker; embracing new ideas; passionate about developing the potential of Hopkins Press.

Inclusive in decision-making and problem-solving.

Excel in effective use of resources; keen self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses.

Knowledge of web technologies and standards, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, is a plus.

Experience with metadata standards is desirable.

Familiarity with agile development methodologies is an advantage.

Classified Title: Electronic Publishing Production Manager

Job Posting Title (Working Title):Manager, Digital Production

Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PE

Starting Salary Range: $72,600 - $127,000 Annually ($85,000 targeted; Commensurate with experience)

Employee group: Full Time

Schedule: M-F 8:30 am - 5:00 pm

Exempt Status:Exempt

Location:Homewood Campus

Department name: MUSE Tech Services

Personnel area: Academic and Business Centers

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