Digital Publication Coordinator
The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press)
Vancouver, BC
Job Summary
The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press) seeks a Digital Publication Coordinator whose skills and approaches will advance our commitment to digital publishing for multiple forms of expression.
The Digital Publication Coordinator’s work will strengthen RavenSpace, a ground-breaking publishing platform for media-rich, networked, interactive books in Indigenous studies. Combining open-source database and publishing platforms, RavenSpace offers a suite of tools for linking data and analyses to digital content from around the world and for interacting in culturally sensitive ways with heritage materials. It serves as a powerful interactive and collaborative site of knowledge exchange between Indigenous scholars, communities, and a diversity of audiences.
The Digital Publication Coordinator will provide digital publication coordination to teams performing core responsibilities within the RavenSpace publishing system. The position provides support to the Principal Investigator (PI) in ensuring the overall progress of core activities; acts as a pivot between the PI, the platform developers, the book production team, the marketing staff, and external partners and vendors; and coordinates the technology-based activities related to the maintenance, research, and implementation and testing of the digital production platform system.
Because this position will participate in the documentation and assessment of existing workflows and the development of the future roadmap, strong analytical and communication skills are critical.
Work Performed
Publication, Coordination, and Communication
– Works closely with teams to clarify work objectives, encourage productive discussions between platform and book development teams, address and resolve communication issues, actively solicit various and possibly divergent points of view, and strengthen cross-team collaboration.
– Coordinates with teams to manage the overall priorities and schedule of activities for platform maintenance and research, integrating and tracking milestones and dependencies across streams of activities, and supporting the teams in the analysis of the system’s capabilities.
– Participates in and confers with the PI and the teams to ensure that the platform maintenance and development function effectively in support of the book production activities and are within scope and budget.
– Plans and coordinates production of new media assets.
– Researches, identifies, and, on approval from the PI, hires vendors, defining the scope and detail of the work and budget and assures the quality and delivery of the services or goods.
– Confirms that permissions are secured and provides support and advice on permissions and metadata.
– Consults with teams across technical ability and subject matter expertise to solicit status updates and ensures that teams are provided with project information such as documentation, meeting minutes, and updated project overviews and schedules.
– Ensures that documentation of systems and workflows are produced, updated, and subjected to quality assurance.
– Draws from team updates and conversations to evaluate implementation options, identify risks and benefits, assess complexity, etc., and presents recommendations to the PI for further discussion and follow-up action, as required.
Administration and Liaison
– Works closely with the PI to monitor budget expenditures and assist with reporting and grant applications.
– Consults with RavenSpace leadership to solicit, understand, and capture relevant information to prepare project management documentation.
– Regularly informs and presents project progress, results, insights, and recommendations to the PI and publisher
– Organizes meetings of the Publishing Advisory Board, author workshops, and user-testing sessions, and assists the marketing staff in organizing events such as launches.
– Organizes team meetings and vendor consultation meetings, and provides facilitation and coordination as needed to ensure the smooth flow of communication across cross-functional teams.
– Generates, assists with, and updates documentation of the workflows and systems.
– Acts as a liaison between RavenSpace teams and other UBC Press departments.
Qualifications
– Two year diploma in Journalism or Publishing or related digital production field.
– Minimum of two years’ experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
– Experience in publishing, digital projects, library and information sciences, or the equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
– Demonstrated facility with, and knowledge of, digital infrastructures and a good understanding of information technology/systems
– Successful experience and abilities in project management
– Excellent computer skills in word processing, spreadsheet programs, and software for shared files or team collaboration (e.g., GoogleDocs, Asana)
– Unusually strong written and oral communication skills
– An analytical approach to problem solving
– Proven abilities in project management
– Experience in developing collaborative and productive relationships with a wide range of cross-functional team members and stakeholders
– Ability to work with and supervise contract staff and vendors
– Excellent time management, organization, presentation, and prioritization skills
– Superior attention to detail and ability to manage small project activities such as event and meeting coordination
– Understanding of scholarly communication issues
– Evidence of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in a higher education setting.
– Excellent analytical abilities, particularly in using data and reports to inform recommendations for application implementation decisions and program improvements to larger product support team.
– Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills. Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to technical and non-technical personnel at various levels in the organization.
Preferred
– Familiarity with Indigenous intellectual property and cultural heritage rights
– Functional knowledge of XML and open source content management platforms such as Omeka, Scalar, and DSpace.
Demonstrated experience or competency in one or more areas of professional practice in scholarly publishing and repository management.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.