Director Production Project Management

Joining Springer Publishing, means working in an innovative, tech-driven, highly collaborative environment.   Our culture is focused on supporting our customers from education to career.  Our mission is to build and foster a team of individuals working together to learn, grow and deliver in an environment that empowers everyone to apply their experiences, knowledge, and skills.  When you pair great people, with our common purpose, amazing things are possible.  Find your place, develop your passion, and build your future with us.

 

We are looking to recruit an ambitious, experienced and hands-on Project leader to be responsible for and lead all aspects of the production process of our Nursing, Health and Behavioral Sciences products.  The successful individual will have a proven track record of leading content production projects, driving production efficiency along with delivering on-time on-budget high-quality products.  This individual will establish and maintain strong lines of communication with internal and external parties. The ideal candidate will have in-depth experience in production expense budgeting, production and vendor management and performance/budget evaluation. Management and development of personnel is a must.

 

Job Purpose:  Manage vendor relationships and the project teams handling new books and supplements in print and digital form from unedited manuscript through to release for press and digital presentation.

 

Duties & Responsibilities:

Vendors:

·       Work with the product team to manage vendors to Springer’s schedule, quality, and budget requirements and assist in developing department standards, ensuring that today’s challenges and requirements are met, and that future needs are addressed.

·       Support and expand the “partnering” relationships Springer has developed with vendors so that we benefit from their expertise and their experience with other, larger houses, especially in the digital arena.

·       Ensure that we maximize existing staff, exploring offshore support for administrative aspects of the production process while maintaining quality and budgets.

·       Improve time to market for print and digital product

 

Budgets and costs:

·       Help evaluate existing P&L pricing formulas to ensure continued validity as product profiles evolve

·       Pursue ways to save on direct costs and/or increase the services provided by our vendors

 

Project Management:

·       Plan and direct projects within the Production team to include but not limited to; process efficiency planning, quality and schedule control projects, tools and technology updates, multi-media project initiatives, change planning and implementations, vendor management, etc.

·       Project lead production organization workflow around new emerging technologies

·       Project plan and direct top notch quality processes and resources to ensure delivery of highest quality products.  Establish and manage processes of quality checks.

·       Build relationships with all participants and develop communication channels to ensure smooth workflow; liaison between internal stakeholders, freelancers and suppliers to guarantee quality, on-time delivery within budget parameters.

·       Manage projects to assigned budgets and create and manage toward required schedules.

·       Manage Rights and Permissions process and vendor, ensuring that timing coincides with project schedule and budgets.

 

Staff:

·       Employ a publishing-centric and content-centric view, vs a print-centric or department-centric view, ensuring the department’s culture is one of content support, business support, and flexibility and innovation for company success.

·       Ensure staff is always challenged and growing, helping them to develop skills to support the company’s long-term goals and innovations.

·       Ensure that our production workflow is flexible and supports Sales and Marketing, as well as Editorial and Authors.

·       Ensure staff continues to participate in procedures and guidelines development and refinement, vendor evaluations, etc.

·       Oversee the project managers who supervise discipline-specific project editors and are responsible for workload management, per-project schedules, and editorial criteria for various product types.

·       Support communication outside of the department by maintaining the status report, vendor meetings, etc.

·       Lead teamwork and team dynamics ensuring cross functional communications are clear and timely,

·       Hire, manage, coach, develop and counsel team establishing and reviewing clear objectives to ensure highest levels of performance, engagement and career growth

 

Product and Technology:

·       Stay abreast of trends and innovations in the industry via networking, research, vendor alliances, and competitors.

 

Requirements:

·       A minimum of 10+ years managing textbook publishing production / project management editorial teams

·       10+ years publishing textbooks with robust supplementary instructor materials packages

·       Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree (in business or publishing) a plus

·       Project leadership in content production environment experience is a must

·       Proven ability to coach and grow internal talent and manage a stable of vendors and consultants

·       Ability to work in a matrixed team environment, manage competing priorities, and maintain visibility and transparency with stakeholders

·       Experience in managing and scheduling the processes and people involved in book production

·       Experience working with managing content production in all formats

·       Excellent project management skills – Must be deadline driven and results-oriented

·       Knowledge of APA and AMA style

·       A strong communicator with high level coaching and negotiation skills

·       Ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks.

·       Experience with a CMS, audio/video and XML workflow a plus

 

About Springer Publishing Company:

 

At Springer Publishing we are dedicated to turning ideas into knowledge, connecting education to careers, and empowering the people who care for the world. We bring the ideas and innovation that help healthcare educators, learners, and professionals move confidently between education and employment to achieve their goals.

Named one of the fastest growing independent publishers in the United States by Publishers Weekly, we continue to grow our product portfolio in nursing, public health, healthcare administration, social work, counseling and medicine.

Join us and grow your career at Springer Publishing!

Interested candidates can forward their letter and resume to:   humanresources@springerpub.com

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against applicants due to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability.