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We are the world’s largest university press. We have both a worldwide reach and a personal understanding of local needs, partnering on the ground to adapt publications and resources to meet the individual needs of communities, societies, and countries. We partner with researchers, educators, and technology partners to stay ahead of the changing ways people around the world are accessing and sharing knowledge. With a presence in more than 50 countries and millions of customers around the world, an idea launched at OUP can have global impact.
About the Role
This is a great opportunity to join our vibrant and supportive journals team. The Senior Supplier Operations Manager is to manage the performance of front-list journals suppliers to ensure the ongoing timely delivery of high-quality journals content and to support continuous improvement. You will provide internal teams and external suppliers with accurate data, guidance and analysis relating to the efficiency and effectiveness of content operations, supporting effective supplier management, accurate reporting and cost management, and driving efficiencies. As a senior, you are responsible to independently identify, initiate and manage projects that contribute to the quality, efficiency, standardization and improvement of work undertaken by the department and production operations, and, as a subject matter expert, to deliver training to new and existing members of the department as required.
Key responsibilities in this role will include:
Manage performance of core content creation suppliers, using quality assurance and tracking methods to assess supplier performance and drive improvement.
Lead, participate in, and initiate projects that develop, standardize, and improve content creation process and document those processes to improve department performance and the quality of our products.
Own, create and maintain accurate documentation, product specifications and schedules for suppliers, ensuring suppliers are accurately briefed and use processes and tools appropriate for product requirements.
Resolve general and specific problems with supplier performance identified by stakeholders. Work with suppliers to set measurable targets and monitor response to feedback.
Collaborate with SOaD Production Manager and other internal teams in onboarding new suppliers, including data gathering, sample creation and approval, and supplier training, and monitoring initial output.
Manage the transition of established journals to new suppliers in collaboration with other internal teams, overseeing data gathering, documentation review, and sample creation and approval, and monitoring initial output.
Collaborate with suppliers to implement new requirements, processes and tools.
Employ appropriate quality-assurance, quality-control, data analysis, and tracking methods to assess supplier performance and drive CI at supplier level.
Collaborate with other production teams and internal stakeholders to achieve department and business goals and to ensure an outstanding experience for customers and clients during the production process.
Manage effective communication within the Department and with other Departments in the Press to ensure that good working relationships are maintained and development opportunities maximized.
We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.
About You
To be successful in this role, you will ideally have:
Experience in a publishing environment
Experience in production, including the management of new, sensitive, or significantly complex work
Excellent communication skills, including ability to communicate complex information about production processes and supplier management principles
Superior negotiation and influencing skills
Expertise in copyediting and typesetting processes
Familiarity with XML
Experience managing contractors or 3rd-party suppliers
Experience training colleagues and/or external parties
Ability to analyze data in various formats to assess performance and problem solve
Experience in creating or managing technical documentation
Superior organizational skills
Ability to work independently, handle multiple projects simultaneously, and work to tight deadlines
Ability to work in a team
Ability to learn quickly and work flexibly with varied software
Good IT skills
Experience managing and working with operational costs and budgets is desirable
Benefits
We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.
We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.
Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.
Please note this advert may be removed before the advertised end date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.
