Working Student, Publishing Policy Research

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Date: May 12, 2023

Location: Berlin, DE

Company: Springer Nature Group

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The Open Access (OA) team is responsible for overall OA revenue and strategy, including performance monitoring, policies, business model migration & transformative agreements. Working in close coordination with sales & publishing teams, our team supports all areas of Springer Nature’s OA ambitions and strategy.

 

The Working Student, Publishin Policy Research will support the business transition to open access by updating and maintaining Springer Nature’s OA funding and policy database. This database stores information on the OA requirements that funders, universities and research institutions apply to journal articles, books and chapters, and the funding that they provide to cover the cost of OA publication. The database is used to support authors in finding OA funding to make their work openly accessible, and to inform Springer Nature’s OA strategy and policy development. The Working Student, Publishin Policy Research will also support the OA team by carrying out additional desk research and reporting tasks as needed.

 

Main responsibilities:

  • Conduct internet searches to locate institutional and funder OA policy documentation, for example by searching on these organisations’ websites
  • Interpret these policy documents to identify key features of their OA policy requirements and OA funding conditions, using the framework and guidance developed by the Springer Nature OA team
  • Enter detailed information about these OA policies and funds into the OA funding and policy database using Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets, ensuring that data is captured in a clean and consistent way

 

Additional responsibilities:

  • Produce reports and basic analysis using data from the database, including monthly statistics on numbers of OA funds
  • Research details of funder or institutional policies on specific topics as required by the OA team
  • Conduct ad-hoc competitor and other desk research and reporting tasks as required, to support the OA team’s projects. Examples might include researching competitor publishers’ policies on a particular topic
  • Review lists of OA funding sources on our external website where required. Suggest updates to align with the data in the database

 

Requirements:

  • Proven experience of carrying out desk/web-based research is required. Previous experience or academic study of policy, publishing, or scholarly communications environment would be a bonus but is not mandatory.
  • Advanced English language skills required: C2 level of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
  • Excellent internet research skills. Able to interpret, analyse and report on complex policy and other technical information
  • Strong Excel/Google Sheets skills, including data entry, cleaning, reporting and data visualisation (e.g. pivot tables and graphs)
  • Able to adhere strictly to guidance/protocol to ensure that information is captured in a highly consistent and accurate way
  • Able to create clear and logical reports containing qualitative and quantitative information
  • Thorough and detail-oriented
  • Strong organisational skills with an ability to meet deadlines
  • Adaptable and flexible. Responds well to changing priorities to meet the needs of the team
  • Knowledge and understanding of open access publishing and policies would be desirable
  • Bachelor’s degree (BA/BSc) minimum requirement
  • The role involves interpreting complex policies and guidance containing technical language; a degree in political science, business, law or economics would therefore be an advantage but is not mandatory

 

Please submit your application in our ATS Success Factors, including your CV and a cover letter that outlines why you are suited to this role.

 

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At Springer Nature, we value the diversity of our teams and work to build an inclusive culture, where people are treated fairly and can bring their differences to work and thrive. We empower our colleagues and value their diverse perspectives as we strive to attract, nurture and develop the very best talent.

Springer Nature was awarded Diversity Team of the Year at the 2022 British Diversity Awards. Find out more about our DEI work here.

 

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