Editorial Operations Specialist (Open to Remote)

Zaner-Bloser is an educational curricula and digital resources provider in language arts/literacy. Our flexible, customizable solutions support educators in their mission to help students learn. We provide distinctive and effective educational products and services to inspire all students to become lifelong learners and partner with educators to improve results in the classroom. With an ever-growing number of digital technologies and evolving research shaping the education landscape, Zaner-Bloser is committed to meeting schools’ needs today and in the future. As a Highlights Company, Zaner-Bloser is driven to always do what's right for children and to strive to make a significant contribution to their education.

Position Summary:

The Editorial Operations Specialist is responsible for project management, freelance & vendor resource support and cross-functional communication for the learning design and editorial teams. Reporting to the Editorial Manager, the individual in this role will be a bridge-builder who collaborates across functional areas and recognizes the ways that product teams must work in concert at every stage of the product life cycle.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Responsible for creation of workflows/schedules for Learning Design team and editors/freelancers for various components.
• Lead sprint planning, including identifying level of effort & capacity required for tasks related to deliverables.
• Responsible for use of project management software, such as Workfront, Basecamp, or Asana. (Schedules will be approx. 80% waterfall and 20% agile.)
• Responsible for support of multiple projects at various stages across full LD/editorial team, including resource allocation.
• Coordinate communication of larger project timelines with cross-functional teams.
• Responsible for raising risks, problem solving, and facilitating team in mitigating risks.
  

Resource Support – Vendors & Freelance

• Coordinate identification of resource needs and time frame for LD/editorial team.
• Responsible for the creation of documentation and guidelines, including schedules, that meet the needs of freelancers/vendors.
• Coordinate recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of vendors, freelancers, and consultants.
• Responsible for tracking hours and deliverables related to work and scope of vendor/freelancer contract(s).
• Responsible for processing and organizing systems for invoicing and administrative work (SOWs, contracts, etc.).

Cross-functional Communication

• Lead and schedule team meetings for sprint work, calibration, and follow up.
• Responsible for maintaining and evolving documentation for LD/editorial team, status updates for team and cross-functional teams.
• Responsible for responding to cross-functional inquiries and attending meetings as needed.
• Coordinate with other internal departments and vendors to ensure strong, open, and ongoing communication during the development process.
• Responsible for contributing to a team climate that embraces continuous improvement, encourages fresh thinking, and pushes for ongoing learning, adaptation, and low-stakes experimentation.

What you should show up ready to teach anyone on your first day:

Your experience with and ideas for sprint planning or capacity/level of effort estimating.

Within your first month, you’ll:

Build product knowledge and organizational awareness with people and processes.

Within your first year, you’ll:

Gain independence with planning and leading sprint planning and capacity/level of effort estimating.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

None.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Preferred knowledge of K12 education publishing, but not mandatory

Qualifications:

• 3 years of experience in project management or operations role. Experience with priority setting, level of effort, sprint planning.
• 1-3 years of experience with publishing cycle, preferably print or print/digital.
• Extraordinary attention to detail, with ability to see big picture.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Comfortable with handling conflict with internal and external teams.
• Ability to set and meet project milestones and work under deadlines.
• Proficient use of technology, especially Microsoft Suite.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  

Reasonable Accommodation Notice Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

What Highlights Can Offer You:

• Free Fridays and Meeting-Free Zone
• Parental Leave of Absence
• Growing Family Benefits
• Care & Compassion Benefit
• Highlight Helps
• 401K Match Program, 100% Vested Immediately
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program
• EAP Program
• Calm – Mental Health Fitness
• Volunteer Time Off

If you don’t meet every single requirement listed, we encourage you to apply anyway. Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every qualification. Highlights for Children is committed to build a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace that fuels our innovation. So, if you are drawn to this role and your past experiences do not align perfectly to the job description, submit your application with us!