Digital Publishing Coordinator
The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA),Virginia’s academic library consortium, with its central office at the George Mason University Libraries, seeks to fill the position of Digital Publishing Coordinator. VIVA and George Mason University have a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among their faculty and staff, and strongly encourage candidates to apply who will enrich VIVA’s and Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environments.
About the Position:
The Digital Publishing Coordinator will be an integral part of the VIVA program, supporting the VIVA Open Grant program and publishing activities of grant recipients, including developing a wide range of awarded digital publishing projects across institutions of higher education in Virginia. Working closely with the Open and Sustainable Learning Coordinator and the Assessment and E-Resources Program Analyst, this position is responsible for the project management, performance, and completion of VIVA supported digital publishing projects. This includes managing up to $500,000 annually in outsourced publishing services, depending on program and project needs. Essential to the position is a detail-oriented workstyle, an ability to support complex projects, and a desire to work closely and collaboratively with consortial colleagues, publishing vendors, and faculty across the state. The Digital Publishing Coordinator will have an understanding of the digital publishing landscape, demonstrated success working effectively as part of a team, and an eagerness to grow with the latest trends and best practices in digital-first, open access publishing.
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- Manages the outsourced publishing services in support of VIVA Open Grant projects, including services such as book design, graphic content creation/illustration, copy-editing, digital file creation and format conversion, accessible design/remediation, rights-clearance, print-on-demand services, and multimedia content inclusion/creation;
- In consultation with the Open and Sustainable Learning Coordinator, develops priorities and schedules for ongoing grantee support. Creates and maintains internal project documentation and records;
- Works with faculty publishing partners from VIVA member institutions to support varied publication workflows and schedules, and ensures timely completion of projects;
- Supports faculty in choosing design and platform options that are disciplinarily and institutionally relevant for awarded publishing projects;
- Liaises with VIVA publishing vendors to troubleshoot platform, accessibility, and design concerns;
- In consultation with the VIVA Deputy Director, tracks and reports grant program budget and grant fund dispersal;
- Reviews manuscripts for completeness and potential issues prior to production. Proofreads for structural, grammatical, or stylistic errors;
- Prepares and validates materials for online publication in digital formats, such as EPUB, XML, and PDF, in addition to print formats;
- In consultation with the Assessment and E-Resources Analyst, creates and maintains project metadata, and prepares files for upload, in existing VIVA systems;
- Participates as needed in VIVA committees, task forces, and advisory groups; and
- Identifies, evaluates, and communicates on behalf of VIVA about current issues, emerging trends, and best practices in library and digital publishing, open education, and higher education.
Applicants should bring the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to this position:
- Master’s Degree in a relevant field, such as Publishing, Information Science, or Communications, or certified foreign equivalent, or an equivalent combination of relevant graduate study and experience;
- Demonstrably successful experience in digital publishing or relevant field (typically a minimum of 2 years);
- Solid interpersonal skills to facilitate work with faculty, library colleagues, and VIVA central staff in today’s evolving digital publishing service environment;
- Excellent analytical, oral, and written communication skills;
- Proven organizational and project management skills, including the ability to adapt to changing workflows and tools, and engage in creative problem solving;
- Demonstrated fluency with office tools, spreadsheets, and database applications; willingness to learn new tools and technologies;
- Ability to organize workflows, including creating and following documentation;
- Knowledge of scholarly publishing platforms (e.g., EPrints, Pressbooks, OpenAuthor, WordPress, OJS) and/or design software (e.g., InDesign);
- Copy editing experience;
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a complex and culturally diverse setting. Values the importance of inclusion as demonstrated through a commitment to apply and incorporate the differences, complexities, and opportunities that diversity brings to an organization; and
- Willing and able to travel to meetings and to attend conferences and meetings representing VIVA.
The following education and/or skill sets are preferred:
- Demonstrated skills or experience with open publishing, including platforms such as PressBooks or OpenAuthor;
- Experience with digital publishing production or editorial processes;
- Knowledge of publishing trends, issues, and strategies as well as current digital publishing technologies, standards, and best practices;
- Experience working with XML, HTML, or another markup language;
- Experience or demonstrated skills with design software, such as InDesign;
- Understanding of the library publishing landscape and alternative publishing models, with an emphasis on open content;
- Experience with editing web pages and websites;
- Experience providing digital publishing or repository outreach in an academic setting or experience with reference, teaching, and/or outreach in an academic library setting;
- Experience with navigating issues relating to copyright, fair use, and rights management; and
- Experience working across organizational boundaries and managing stakeholder groups to move projects forward.
12-month professional faculty appointment; health plan options and paid life insurance; several retirement plans, including TIAA–CREF; 24 vacation days and 12 paid holidays; tuition waiver for self. Salary is commensurate with education and professional experience and not less than $75,000.