Pub Ethics - Associate Editor

*This role is to be filled by an employee working from a remote location within the UK. This is a 12 month fixed-term contract.

Role Summary

The PLOS Publication Ethics team works to uphold the integrity and reliability of PLOS publications, and supports PLOS journals in publication ethics-related issues and policy development. The team also engages with external parties and organizations in publication ethics-related discussions and initiatives. 

In this role, you will handle publication ethics cases for all PLOS journals and contribute to team-level initiatives and projects that address ethics and integrity issues at PLOS. You may also hold operational and/or reporting responsibilities. You will report to a Senior Editor, Team Manager for the PLOS Publication Ethics team. 

  Responsibilities

   Casework

• Fulfill assigned casework responsibilities in a timely, efficient, and organized manner. Assigned responsibilities may be operational, editorial, and/or administrative in nature.
• Serve as primary case handler for publication ethics cases as outlined in individual-level objectives. Follow COPE guidance and internal workflows, resolve cases efficiently, and prevent reputational damage to PLOS journals as feasible.
• Contribute to team-level efforts to evaluate and resolve megacases.
• Communicate rapidly and effectively about ethics cases with involved/affected stakeholders, including the journal’s editorial leads, Editorial Board members, authors, members of other PLOS teams, and any external consultants involved in supporting publication ethics case work.
• Support journal staff editors’ publication ethics work by addressing questions pertaining to publication ethics policies, processes, and/or specific cases.

   Other BAU responsibilities

• Contribute to publication ethics prevention efforts and other initiatives to help achieve team-level objectives.
• With other Publication Ethics team members, develop workflow and policy updates as needed to optimize detection and/or handling of publication ethics cases.
• You may be appointed as the team’s point-person for a domain of publication ethics work such as workflows, Salesforce-related questions, case tracking, or reporting.
• Contribute to internal discussions about publication ethics, research integrity, and related issues in team-level and interdepartmental/cross-team forums.
• Attend COPE Forums or other events as opportunities arise to develop your expertise in publication ethics and maintain an awareness of cross-industry issues and initiatives.
• You may be asked to represent PLOS Publication Ethics at meetings, workshops, and/or other forums relevant to publication ethics and research integrity, or to contribute to outward-facing communications about publication ethics issues.
• Help with recruitment and onboarding for vacant Publication Ethics team positions and help to train staff on other PLOS teams in publication ethics work.
• Uphold high standards of professionalism in all internal and external communications about publication ethics issues.

   Qualifications

   Required

• At least one of the following:
  1. Master's degree or PhD in a scientific discipline, or a similar clinical qualification; OR
  2. Bachelor’s degree (any discipline), and 2+ years’ experience in science, technical, and medical (STM) journals publishing, and a demonstrated aptitude for evaluating scientific articles or publication ethics issues
• Organized and efficient self-starter with a strong problem-solving ability and an eye for detail
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and oral
• Excellent analytical skills
• Familiarity with peer review and publishing standards for original research publications

   Preferred

• A Master’s degree or PhD in a scientific discipline, or a similar clinical qualification
• Experience in primary scientific research
• Experience in scientific or medical journals publishing in an editorial role or a role with firsthand involvement in publication ethics work
• Familiarity with publication ethics issues and standards

The base salary range we’ve established for this position is (UK) £35,000 - £47,000. The final salary will depend on several factors, including the candidate’s relevant work experience, skills, education, and other qualifications; the region in which the candidate resides, and internal pay equity with current PLOS employees in similar jobs. PLOS also offers a comprehensive benefits package that will be shared with candidates in the interview process.

The Organization:

PLOS is a non-profit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. PLOS journals propelled the movement for OA alternatives to subscription journals. We established the first multi-disciplinary publication inclusive of all excellent research regardless of novelty or impact and demonstrated the importance of open data availability. As we continue to lead the way in making research content more open, we need to make it a system that's open for everyone. We are intentionally spreading our roots deeper, globally. 

We believe in pushing the boundaries of 'Open' to create a more equitable system of scientific knowledge and understanding—it’s core to who we are, inside and out. Beyond accepting distinct perspectives, we seek and support divergent backgrounds among our staff because we know differences strengthen our teams, our work, and our communities. We’re ever-evolving in our journey for representation and equity, and strongly encourage applicants of diverse identities to apply: you’ll find a group of critical thinkers eager to challenge the status quo and learn with you as we continue breaking barriers to open science.

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