Outreach Lead, Publishing Partnerships

We are on a mission to make all science open, enabling the research community to develop the solutions we all need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet.

Frontiers is one of the world’s largest and most impactful research publishers, dedicated to making peer-reviewed, quality-certified science openly accessible. Our articles have been viewed 4 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.

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www.frontiersin.org/about/annual-reports

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At Frontiers, our working model for new roles includes a balanced approach that fosters collaboration through regular engagement at our office hubs in key locations. While we value flexibility, we also believe that shared in-person time strengthens team culture, trust, and productivity.

We provide a range of benefits across our global locations, including but not limited to:

• 4 additional wellbeing days in addition to existing annual leave allowance

• Access to learning platforms and dedicated learning & development time

• A range of wellbeing initiatives, including free online yoga classes and an employee assistance plan

• Employees can dedicate three days each year to volunteer

• Additional benefits depending on your location (e.g. pension plan and private medical care)

Impact of the role  (Core Mission, Scope, Area of impact) 

• Contributes to Frontiers' reputation and brand by implementing a strategic society partnership expansion plan  

• Drives expansion of the society partner journals and community publishing program, leading to quality content growth in both proprietary and partner journals 

• Serves as trusted senior contact for prospective partners from lead generation to contract finalization  

• Develops partnership leads pipeline in collaboration with external facing teams and business intelligence.   

Key Responsibilities  

• External networks: Is responsible for growing the number of quality Frontiers’ society relationships, increasing the range and breadth of our network. Accountable for meeting strategic targets required for successful expansion of both journals and community partnerships programs. 

• Lead discovery: Uses market intelligence analysis to identify and establish new society leads for collaboration for journals, community and public relations teams working with stakeholders in publishing and external affairs to support lead development 

• Tender opportunity development: Establishes working relationships with relevant consultancies to enable successful participation in RFP processes. 

• Contractual agreements: Enables successful finalization of contractual agreements for both journals and community partnership program, in line with strategic program framework. 

• Supporting documentation and training: Develops and manages engaging program documentation for internal and external use to enable successful pitch Frontiers’ publishing platforms and services to external partners. 

• External networks: Works closely with prospective society and community partners to ensure smooth lead to onboarding journey.  

• Internal network: Works closely with the publishing team to enable successful expansion of the community partnerships program providing all necessary training and support.  

• Team Leadership: Manages the society outreach team, including upskilling, motivating and training to ensure that excellent customer service and targets are delivered.  

• Account Management: Serves as senior contact for prospective partners from lead generation to contract signage, as well as for existing partners during contract renewals and renegotiations.  

• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement: Monitors and reports on team key performance indicators and progress towards targets and identifies opportunities for improvement, applies enhancements to improve efficiency and effectiveness of processes, SOPs and resources, reducing bottlenecks and enhancing workflows.  

Nature of Impact (expected outcomes, how do you measure results/success)  

• Success is measured by reaching expansion targets for both the journals and community partnerships programs and by high retention rates of existing customers 

Key Relationships 

Line management / leadership responsibilities (direct or indirect) – reporting into?  

• Reports to the Head of Strategic Partnerships 

• Manages the society outreach team, and marketing specialist(s) 

Internal Stakeholders:  

• Outside business unit: Publishing, External Affairs, Institutional Partnerships, Legal  

• Within business unit: Partnerships operations and journal development teams 

External Stakeholders:  

• Society leaders, Society editors, Society membership, Publishing consultants 

Requirements / Knowledge 

Business expertise  

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in publishing or similar industry as a team lead 

• Thorough understanding of the academic publishing environment and its stakeholders 

• Proven track record in developing and executing successful engagement strategies focusing on academic partners  

• Ability to effectively negotiate terms with high-level stakeholders 

• Skilled in managing stakeholder relationships and collaborating with cross-functional teams 

• Experience in setting and achieving Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) within a business context 

• Demonstrated ability in establishing and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure and drive business success effectively 

Technical skills 

• Experience in project management from the initial planning stages through to completion 

Additional skills 

• Excellent presentation and communication skills. 

• Excellent organizational, analytical, project management skills 

• Ability to work independently, be highly organized and meet deadlines 

• Sound and mature judgment; decisive and tactful when working with multiple stakeholders 

Abilities / Competencies / Soft Skills 

• Strong team management skills 

• Excellent stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills 

• Superior communication and presentation skills 

Experience & Education 

• Degree educated, BA/BSc a must, PhD preferred 

• At least five years of relevant experience in a publishing environment. 

Please click the 'apply' button on this page and submit your application in English.

Please inform us if you require any special accommodations to participate fully in our recruitment experience. You can contact us at [email protected] for any additional support.