Systems Support Executive, Journals - Cambridge in Chesterton

We are seeking a motivated and technically skilled Systems Support Executive on a 12 month fixed term contract to join our Journals publishing team. This role supports the publishing systems used by our journals department, including ScholarOne (submission & peer review) and Resource (our in-house production system). Working as part of the publishing team, you will support our customers and staff in their interactions with our publishing systems, and work closely with our Technology department, software vendors and other departments to develop and support our systems as needed.

The role is an excellent opportunity to flex your technical and troubleshooting skills, and to grow your network working alongside a wide variety of contacts, including the agile development teams delivering the Publishing Business Modernisation (PBM) programme and our Journals Platform Launch (JPL) project, Technology support staff, key publishing organisations like Crossref and other important data consumers, as well as Silverchair (providers of ScholarOne and the Silverchair content hosting platform) and other software suppliers.

At the RSC we embrace flexibility and offer hybrid working, which means our teams come together when they need to collaborate. Although this role is contractually based at our Cambridge office, you will be able to work from home within the UK, with the expectation that you will attend the office as needed for your role. In this role it is expected that you will attend the office on an ad-hoc basis. If you need flexible working arrangements, please outline this in your application.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor and maintain the day-to-day running of publishing systems, resolving technical issues and responding to user queries.
• Design and implement configuration changes across publishing platforms.
• Work closely with cross-departmental teams — including product managers, developers and QA testers — to support and develop current and future systems.
• Proactively gather and define system requirements to inform product development.
• Coordinate user testing, collate feedback, and communicate findings to relevant system owners.
• Design and build custom ScholarOne reports to meet departmental needs.
• Create and maintain up-to-date system documentation.
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including authors, reviewers, text & data mining subscribers, publishing indexes (e.g. Web of Science, PubMed Central, Crossref) and software suppliers.
• Deliver systems training workshops for new starters.
• Champion digital innovation to support the RSC’s publishing strategy and commitment to high-quality, accessible, impactful content.

Qualifications and Skills:

Essential:

• A quick aptitude for learning and applying new technologies effectively.
• Proactive, solution-oriented approach to problem solving.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines under pressure.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and switch between competing responsibilities with ease.
• High attention to detail.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.

Desirable:

• Understanding of publishing, editorial and production processes.
• Experience with data handling, data management or file manipulation.

About Us:

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a not-for-profit organisation with a thriving international community of over 60,000 members, an internationally renowned publisher of high-quality chemical science knowledge, and the professional body for chemists in the UK. Our purpose is to help the chemical science community make the world a better place.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in this role, please apply before the closing date. When applying, please provide an up-to-date CV and a supporting statement (no more than 500 words) indicating how your skills and experience match the competencies outlined in the Job Description.

Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge. At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.

As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who have a substantial physical or mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team.