Head of Operational Excellence - Washington, United States - American Physical Society

American Physical Society

Verified Company

Washington, United States

3 hours ago

Posted by:

Mark Lane

beBee recruiter

Description

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals and scientific meetings, as well as its education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities.

APS represents 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Position Summary:

We are looking for a dynamic individual to take on the pivotal role of Head of Operational Excellence for APS Publications.

In this key position, you'll be responsible for ensuring efficiency and quality in journal workflows through continuous improvement and innovation, optimizing the end-to-end workflow for our prestigious portfolio of journals.

If you're passionate about optimizing end-to-end processes, driving excellence, and collaborating with visionary leaders to achieve our mission and goals, this is the opportunity you've been waiting for.

Join our team and make a meaningful impact on the world of scholarly communication.

Key Responsibilities:

Workflow Analysis and Process Optimization:

Continually assess and analyze operational workflows within our publishing portfolio, identify areas for improvement, and implement solutions to optimize workflows, reduce publication time and enhance productivity to provide a superior service to researchers.
Collaborate with crossfunctional teams to design and implement optimized workflows.

Project Management:

Lead and manage projects related to workflow improvements and system implementations.
Develop project plans, timelines, and budgets.
Utilize change management principles to ensure the successful adoption of new processes.

Technology Integration:

Collaborate with IS and the Editorial Management system Product Owner to identify and prioritize technology solutions and automation tools to streamline operations, improve scalability, and enhance user experience.

Quality Assurance and Compliance:

Implement quality assurance measures to ensure accuracy and consistency in content production.
Establish and enforce quality standards throughout the publishing lifecycle, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and adherence to industry best practices and regulatory requirements.

Collaboration and Communication:

Work closely with other departments, including Editorial, Publishing, Marketing and IS, to align operational goals, foster collaboration, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Change Management:

Contribute to change management initiatives to facilitate adopting new processes and technologies.
Develop training programs and documentation and provide ongoing support to staff members to ensure competency in new processes, tools, and technologies, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Continuous Improvement and Innovation:

Establish a culture of continuous improvement within the organization.
Identify and monitor key performance indicators and implement adjustments as needed.
Seek feedback from customers and use it to drive ongoing enhancements.
Foster an environment of innovation to explore new tools, processes, and technologies that can enhance operational workflows.
Lead the exploration and opportunity assessment of relevant AI and machine learning tools to increase operational effectiveness and efficiency

Risk Management:

Identify potential risks and challenges in publishing operations, develop mitigation strategies, and implement robust contingency plans to minimize disruptions and ensure business continuity.

Scope & Relationships:

Internal relationships with editorial, publishing, IS, marketing and APS staff in other departments.
Relationships with external constituents (e.g. vendors, consultants, publishing industry organizations).

Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor's degree, preferably with a focus relevant to the defined responsibilities of the role. Directly applicable experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years experience in a senior operational role within STM publishing or a related industry.
Minimum of 3 years' experience in staff management.
A combination of experiences including some or all of the following is preferred:
Proven experience with scholarly publications and products, within the scholarly publishing industry and or similar industries.
Project management and/or leadership.
Business planning.
Change management leadership experience.
Process/continuous improvement experience in Shingo, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent. Six Sigma Black Belt.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Proven experience in a senior operational role within STM publishing or a related industry.
Indepth understanding of the publishing process, including editorial, production, distribution, and digi