Business Operations Analyst

^{The position is anticipated to be short-term, and not expected to exceed 12 months. Please note that there is no guaranteed duration of the position, and your employment will be at will and for no fixed duration. As such, it can be terminated by you or the organization at any time, with or without notice or cause, for any reason not otherwise prohibited by law.}

This position is fully remote/home based. Applications will be accepted from candidates based in the UK and the following US states: FL,GA, MA, MD, NY, PA, VA, VT.

Role Summary 

PLOS is a nonprofit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication.

As a Business Operations Analyst, you will report to the Associate Director of Workflows and Content Transformation and work across the Publishing Operations team to improve the quality and efficiency of our publishing workflow. You must be analytical in your approach to solving problems, action-oriented in deploying solutions and know how to partner and build consensus to deliver effective changes in support of the organization’s objectives.  

You will collaborate with department leaders to provide analysis that supports effective vendor management, accurate performance reporting, cost management and continuous improvement. You will work on a dynamic team responsible for driving efficiencies across the end-to-end publishing workflow all in support of PLOS’s transformative mission to promote open science. 

 Responsibilities 

Continuous Workflow Improvement

• Lead and participate in projects and initiatives to improve the efficiency of our publishing workflows.  

• Analyze existing and future processes to identify and act on opportunities for improvement and alignment across our portfolio of journals.  

• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop and pilot new end-to-end publishing workflows and processes including for new products and research outputs, in line with PLOS objectives.  

• Conduct root-cause analysis to proactively identify and design solutions for inefficiencies and errors in our publishing workflows and make recommendations for improvement and standardization.  

• Spearhead development of business requirements for systems functionality necessary to support efficient publishing workflows and act as a power user - configuring systems and processes in support of these activities.  

• Collaborate with teams and suppliers across Publishing Operations and other functions to create plans for process change and ensure successful change management.  

• Define and develop appropriate metrics and measures of performance in publishing workflows that support continuous improvement, management of third-party suppliers and excellent change management.  

• Partner with Research Insights and Data teams to ensure that Publishing Operations has the data required to successfully manage BAU processes.  

• Analyze cost and performance data to recommend opportunities to improve performance, simplify processes, deliver cost savings and drive efficiencies.  

• Build consensus around change initiatives to get buy-in from stakeholders across the organization.  

• Be the expert about our end-to-end publishing workflow and model excellence in continuous improvement and change management practices.  

 Teamwork

• Partner with relevant stakeholders on cross-functional initiatives and projects in support of PLOS’s objectives.  

• Represent Publishing Operations in design and deployment of new products, tools and business systems to ensure support of publishing requirements.  

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, such as Product, Publishing, Finance, Editorial, Sales and Open Science to ensure optimized value.  

• Solve complex performance issues.  

• Ensure coverage for colleagues as necessary.  

• Foster an environment of continuous improvement: exemplify growth mindset, run regular retrospectives, provide & seek future focused feedback and embrace change.  

 General  

• Represent PLOS externally (e.g., at conferences, events)  

• Maintain and grow awareness of wider publishing landscape, especially in how it relates to operational and content delivery and transformation workflows.  

• Reflect the company values and culture in all written and oral communication  

• Drive creation of quality initiatives, process change initiatives, and other lean initiatives to enable their functional area to meet and exceed business objectives 

 Knowledge and Skills 

• Analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities 

• Strong project management skills 

• Adaptable and capable of working in various paced environments 

• Takes initiative and seeks high performance standards 

• Technological and computer knowledge 

• Knowledge on business policies and regulations 

• Able to multi-task and prioritize  

• Self-motivated and able to work independently 

• Synthesizes, documents, and presents data effectively 

• Demonstrated scholarly publishing experience preferably in operational or business analytics functions  

• Familiar with process improvement methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma  

• Confident in working with data in a variety of tools and applications including BI tools like Sisense and Tableau  

• Familiar with database management software, SQL and VBA a plus  

• Uses data to analyze, diagnose and solve content workflow errors  

• Collaboration skills and ability to achieve consensus with others 

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and oral  

• Must be highly organized, detail oriented, and proactive in solving problems.  

• growth mindset  

• Must be able to work under tight deadlines while achieving a high standard of quality and accuracy. 

Qualifications 

Degree in a related field is required. 

Physical Requirements and Work Environment 

• Prolonged periods stationary at a desk and working on a computer 
• Some national and international travel may/will be required 
• Some flexibility to work across time zones 

The base salary range we’ve established for this position is (US) $55,644 - $75,000 (UK) £42,000- £49,500 . 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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