Vacancy (detailed duties)
JOURNAL AND ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Type: Full-time, permanent
Salary: £34,000 – £37,000 (dependent on experience), plus pension contribution of 10%
Location: Working from home, but with requirement to attend 3-4 in-person meetings and conferences in the UK annually
Hours: 5-day week of 37.5 hours
Holiday: 25 days annually (extending to 28 days after 2 years’ employment, and to 30 days after 5 years’ employment), plus public holidays
Reports to: Chief Operations Officer
Application deadline: 09:00 BST, Tuesday 14 April 2026
Detailed list of duties
IBIS:
- Peer Review
- Manage the peer review process and pre-production stages.
- Complete initial manuscript checks, highlighting any screening issues to EiC.
- Assisted by EiC, reject on receipt unsuitable manuscripts.
- Respond to author queries.
- Associate Editors
- Assign manuscripts to Associate Editors (AEs).
- Manage AEs, including noting periods of reduced capacity and identifying subject-specific gaps in AE coverage.
- Assist in assigning/inviting reviewers as required.
- Facilitate Editor and AE training by providing up-to-date AE welcome pack and new resources as required.
- Monitor reviewers and work with AEs to ensure manuscripts progress through the system at an appropriate rate.
- Editors
- Assign papers to Editors.
- Keep online Editor profiles up-to-date.
- Respond to Editor queries.
- Editorial Office
- Provide journal reports and statistics as required.
- Highlight any issues which prevent the journal from running effectively (e.g. shortage of papers/reviewers/associate editors).
- Identify any issues with, and potential for improving, journal workflow.
- Maintain a complete and up-to-date set of procedural documents, including email templates, relating to the editorial process.
- Attend, and take minutes for, editorial and other journal meetings as required.
- Organise nominations and voting for annual Best ECR IBIS Paper award.
- Produce end of year list of reviewers for annual acknowledgement.
- Maintain IBIS print member mailing list for printers.
BOU engagement and membership
- Engage with BOU members at events, both online and in-person.
- Attend conferences in-person to support delivery, including:
- Managing registration desk;
- Acting as point-of-contact for BOU members and conference delegates.
- With Engagement Committee, explore ways to recruit new BOU members from the wider ornithological community and seek to understand reasons behind lapsed membership.
- Act as main point-of-contact for BOU members, during membership sign-up, renewal and throughout their membership term.
- Maintain membership records within MemberPress.
- Organise mailing of print copies of twice-yearly member newsletter.
BOU Council, Standing Committee and office support
- Attend and minute Council and Standing Committee meetings (all online, except one in-person Council meeting annually).
- Assist with servicing of Council and Standing Committees as required, including:
- Processing grant applications;
- Tracking grant reporting;
- Arranging medal engraving.
- Manage conference bookings, including:
- Issuing booking confirmations and pre-conference information;
- Maintaining delegate registration details;
- Addressing enquiries;
- Managing conference feedback.
- Assist with banking and accounting items as required, including:
- Processing international payments;
- Recording Stripe and GoCardless payments;
- Processing membership/conference refunds;
- Maintaining expenses records;
- Contributing to end-of-year audit.
- Assist with website updates and maintenance as required.
- Proofread communications materials (e.g. eNewsletters, Member Newsletters, Annual Report).
- Respond to general enquiries.
- Support the Chief Operations Officer as required.
- Review systems to ensure streamlined and efficient processes are in place.