Head of Book Operations, Academic

We are the world’s largest university press. We have both a worldwide reach and a personal understanding of local needs, partnering on the ground to adapt publications and resources to meet the individual needs of communities, societies, and countries. We partner with researchers, educators, and technology partners to stay aHead of the changing ways people around the world are accessing and sharing knowledge. With a presence in more than 50 countries and millions of customers around the world, an idea launched at OUP can have global impact.

About the Role

As our new Head of Book Operations, Academic you will be responsible for the effective delivery of Content Operations services for Academic books products, managing a global department to ensure motivated, high-performing staff, freelancers, and content-creation suppliers.

You will be responsible for the delivery of final files and corrected revisions for all book and reference formats according to schedule, budget, and quality standards as agreed with the Academic business and supporting OUP’s position as publisher of choice.  Alongside this, you will manage the design and provision of Book Project Manager services to support authors throughout the production process.  You will define strategy and prioritise work within the team’s remit, and provide subject-matter expertise and support on behalf of Operations Delivery in business-wide projects.

You will be expected to drive innovation in support of convergence and execution of departmental strategy, and partner seamlessly with equivalent roles in Academic to deliver end-to-end process efficiency.

Other duties of the role will include:

1. Lead a global department of production staff to ensure products and services are delivered to the required standards of timeliness, cost, quality and service
2. Develop and deliver on a global strategy for Books Content Delivery which supports broader Technology and Operations and Academic goals, collaborating with peers, challenging the status quo, launching business-wide initiatives
3. Actively manage costs to deliver the programme within budget and to identify ways of increasing efficiency, in both first cost and overhead
4. Work with Head of Business Process and Requirements to identify, and create an environment of, process improvement, including successful delivery of change in the business, increasing efficiency and improving services, in collaboration with key stakeholders
5. Manage content-creation supplier performance to ensure they meet agreed service levels, identifying workflow solutions, coordinating department-wide solutions and constantly assessing our approach to supplier management as needs change, in conjunction with Group Procurement stakeholders and specialists
6. Proactively manage client relationships to ensure expectations are understood and OUP is viewed favourably in the marketplace, resolving persistent or significant issues that are escalated by others, ensuring that problems are addressed promptly, and expectations are understood on an ongoing basis

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office. 

About You

Essential:

• Experience of managing high-performing operational functions/staff, including digital delivery
• Experience in producing content that supports multiple mediums such as print, digital, apps, etc., with working knowledge of current production tools, systems and workflows
• Experience of managing off-shore suppliers, which includes selection, on-boarding, and performance management
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
• Ability to develop compelling and concise, data-driven reporting to influence stakeholders

Desirable:

• Experience in business process transformation that yields cost-effective, sustainable, and portable solutions

Benefits

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies. 

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts. 

This role comes with the added benefit of private medical insurance and a discretionary annual management bonus.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.

Queries

Please contact grace.mcfadyen@oup.com with any queries relating to this role. 

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.