Publishing Team Administrator

The Royal Society is the UK’s national academy for science.

Its purpose is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science, and encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

Scholarly communication has been central to the Society’s mission since it launched the world’s first scientific journal,

Philosophical Transactions , in 1665.

Researchers who have published in the journals of The Royal Society include Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, Benjamin Franklin, Caroline Herschel, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Dorothy Hodgkin, James Clerk Maxwell, Albert Einstein, Kathleen Lonsdale, Alan Turing and Stephen Hawking.

The Publishing section publishes a portfolio of 11 prestigious journals, which disseminate high-quality research worldwide and generate a positive financial return for The Royal Society.

The Society is committed to making all of its journals Open Access on sustainable models.

The Publishing Team Administrator provides essential administrative and operational support to the Publishing department.

This role involves monitoring inboxes, coordinating Board meetings, maintaining databases and documentation and generally providing support to allow the team to carry out their activities.

• Reports to: Workflow Operations Manager
• Line manages: n/a
• Pay band: B

Application closing date: 22 November 2026 at 23:59.

Interview date: 9 December 2026.

Key responsibilities and tasks

• Monitor selected shared mailboxes and physical post; triage messages so that they reach the right recipient and are answered promptly.
• Co-ordinate with Editorial team on Editorial Board Meeting arrangements: send invitations, finalise attendance list, arrange accommodation, process expense claims.
• Co-ordinate with Marketing on conference arrangements: prepare and dispatch materials and confirm receipt; process invoices.
• Arrange
• Publishing
• Board

Meetings: send invitations, finalise attendance list, circulate documents, take minutes, arrange accommodation and dinner, circulate minutes and process expense claims.

• Arrange staff publishing meetings: send invitations, book room, compile slides.
• Support the Workflow Operations Manager with day-to-day operational activities including compiling and maintaining process documents, providing support for workshops, taking minutes, compiling reports and updating tracking documents and schedules.
• Support the team with general administrative work as directed by the Head of Editorial & Production, Head of Sales & Marketing and Publishing Director, including making travel queries and bookings on occasion
• Perform additional duties as assigned by Workflow Operations Manager and Publishing Senior Management Team.
• Key knowledge and skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (essential).
• Proactive and highly organised (essential).
• Keen eye for detail (essential)
• Proficient in well known software (Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat) (essential) and accounting software (eg Xledger, Vena) (desirable)
• Knowledge of STM Publishing (desirable).
• Competencies
• Self-management
• Enthusiastic and positive attitude
• Reliable and consistent
• Output is accurate and of high quality
• Punctual and meets deadlines
• Confident of own abilities
• Knows personal values, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and limits
• Gains insight and learns from mistakes
• Learns from challenges and can implement changes to avoid similar in the future
• Is open when faced with constructive criticism
• Ensures actions are consistent
• Works within the Royal Society Values at all times
• Working with others
• Willing to cooperate and share knowledge within the team, Shares all relevant, critical and useful information
• Listens to and acts upon feedback from senior colleagues and willingly learns from others
• Offers their assistance if they have the capacity, without the need to be asked.
• Actively seeks opportunities for gaining feedback from others
• Presents with confidence within own section and area of remit.
• Communicates confidently, asks questions and checks for understanding.
• Values the input of others, balances that with a sense of purpose to get the job done
• Possesses self-awareness and senses situations prior to acting or communicating.
• Resource management
• Is aware of and works within budgetary and resource constraints
• Organises own workload prioritising according to business need
• Is flexible and adapts to changing circumstances and priorities
• Looks for ways to improve quality or results
• Meets the standards of quality expected of their role
• Can multitask and manage urgency in a calm and practical manner
• Performs a wide variety of tasks and changes focus quickly as demands change
• Undertakes additional responsibilities and responds to situations as they arise with minimal supervision.
• Critical thinking
• Thinks tasks, queries and problems through
• Uses relevant information when providing a service, solving a problem or dealing with a query
• Is open to new ideas and willing to try them
• Makes decisions within well-defined guidelines
• Uses initiative to select most appropriate solution to straightforward problems
• Analyses both successes and failures to improve
• Prepares for problems or opportunities in advance
• Highlights any issues or problems with tasks
• Proposes various solutions or options for consideration defining the pros and cons of each
• Adaptability
• Adapts to changes in workload without letting standards slip
• Listens to and accommodates the alternative views of others
• Takes on new challenges when asked to do so
• Is receptive and accommodating when asked to take on new projects outside of their usual work
• Remains open-minded and changes opinions on the basis of new information
• Performs a wide variety of tasks and changes focus quickly as demands change and with minimal disruption
• Managing people and relationships
• Values and appreciates the importance of feedback
• Shares responsibility for the performance and workload of the team where appropriate
• Handles requests promptly
• Respects opinions and deals appropriately with complaints
• Works to improve the performance of oneself and others by pursuing opportunities for continuous learning.
• Constructively helps others in their development.
• Exhibits a “can-do, will-do” approach
• Asks questions and probes to understand stated and underlying needs, issues, concerns and problems
• Addresses concerns and problems fairly, empathetically, decisively and promptly, maintaining a diplomatic and professional manner
• Manages expectations and keeps everyone concerned up to date on progress
• Raises concerns and recommends potential solutions for those processes that negatively impact on relationships, customer service or the fair treatment of others