Development Editor, Higher Ed

Location: Remote

Position Overview:

The Development Editor is an experienced publishing professional serving as the editorial lead for a full range of digital and print-based projects in the Six Red Marbles higher education group. The candidate should have solid experience developing instructional materials for college courses and knowledge of educational publishing workflows and processes, preferably including online course development. Reporting to the Director/Managing Editor for Higher Education, the Development Editor will direct the creation of editorial content according to company and client guidelines, working closely with freelance writers, editors, and subject matter experts, as well as internal project managers and other stakeholders, to achieve our clients’ business goals. The Development Editor manages content development teams on college projects while developing select projects as assigned. The Development Editor is expected to be a thought partner with clients, developing relationships that lead to successful projects and enduring partnerships.

The position requires the successful candidate to have enough editorial experience and expertise to comfortably lead projects and manage project-based teams of writers and editors. The Development Editor will participate in creating project-specific guidelines and acceptance criteria, serve as the primary editorial contact to internal staff and clients, work with internal staff to locate and evaluate qualified project resources, review and take responsibility for the adherence to specifications and quality, work with the project management team to ensure timely delivery of content to internal departments and clients, and solve problems that arise during development. The candidate is responsible for checking the work of other team members and maintaining quality and adherence to client guidelines and may also generate and develop content. The Development Editor will be responsible to communicate project progress to clients and participate in client meetings.

Responsibilities

Identifies writing and editorial resources based on company and client specifications and leads in-house and freelance project teams from inception through post-launch
Assesses requirements and assigns resources for projects; ensures content produced by internal staff, freelance development editors, freelance writers, and outside vendors is clear and accurate, adheres to project guidelines and formats, and is consistent across deliverables; addresses subject matter expert and client feedback
Works directly and collaboratively with editorial, project management, production, design, and technical teams to manage resources, workflow, and schedules
Manages to budget and for efficiency, showing awareness of project financial performance and solving problems as needed
Supports project managers in staffing projects, balancing team members’ capabilities against the tasks required, building and overseeing a realistic schedule and budget, and monitoring time-on-task for team members
Communicates with project managers to ensure that projects meet client expectations and project deadlines; contributes to achieving goals by staying on time and within budgets
Serves as a point person and thought partner for clients as needed, reporting on project status and troubleshooting alongside project managers, contributing ideas for process improvements, and facilitating strong ongoing collaboration with clients
Makes sure that all material developed for clients is of high quality in terms of content, accuracy, presentation, and completeness and that deliverables meet with the client’s expectations in accordance with project plans, guidelines, and acceptance criteria
Communicates promptly with the Director/Managing Editor and other internal stakeholders to ensure pertinent information about projects is known at all times and that changes in the allocation of resources or scope of projects are dealt with quickly and effectively
Develops client relationships that contribute to project success and continued engagements
Assists the Director/Managing Editor in developing bids and budgets as needed

Leadership and Communication Skills

Demonstrates leadership and management skills in working with editorial and author project-based teams, including outside freelance development editors, authors, manuscript reviewers, and supplement writers
Shows evidence of strategic thinking and planning, team leadership, communication, negotiation, problem-solving, good judgment, and the ability to positively influence others
Demonstrates a positive customer service attitude, superior verbal and written communication skills, and collaborative interpersonal skills
Guides and mentors junior editors, such as assistant and associate editors, by modeling excellent editorial and communication practices
Communicates project requirements effectively to internal and external team members, including swift reporting on any changes in the scope of projects or budgets to internal teams
Thrives in a fast-paced environment, adapts quickly and effectively when faced with changing priorities and roles, and helps other editorial staff make similar adjustments
Establishes effective communication channels and regular touch points with internal and external project or team staff members; responds quickly and effectively to queries from team, management, or client
Keeps all project information well organized and up to date and employs excellent editorial management and problem-solving skills to keep projects on schedule and budget
Maintains professionalism, a calm approach, and commitment to projects even when under pressure
Solves problems and proactively identifies solutions to issues while working with team members to prevent difficulties
Anticipates the needs of freelancers and works proactively to address them
Manages multiple projects and priorities effectively and coordinates with other editorial and project managers
Fosters and maintains an engaged, positive, and creative project team through frequent and supportive communication with all team members

Desired Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree with at least 5 years of experience successfully managing content development projects in higher educational publishing
Developmental editing experience in higher educational publishing for introductory college courses required; online course development experience preferred
Successful management and performance of developmental editing on texts, supplements, and eLearning products for the higher education market
Experience guiding and working closely with multiple lead authors and contributing writers to develop introductory-level college textbooks in major markets from proposal to final draft
Mastery of the manuscript review process for developing college textbooks, including scheduling and conducting reviews, writing review summaries, and developing solid author revision plans for successive drafts
Experience developing and maintaining complex schedules for lengthy projects and developing and maintaining budgets for same
Experience in multiple higher education disciplines preferred; experience in nursing and health care fields highly desired
Strong computer skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office suite and Google tools; experience with content management systems is preferred

Why Six Red Marbles

Do you believe learning matters? Well, we do too.

In fact, our entire business is built around the idea that we are all always learning and therefore always students. We believe everyone deserves the most engaging and innovative learning experiences available, and our employees are the secret to our success. Our values include:

Doing right by our people and partners
Taking an innovative, tech-forward approach to engage students of all ages
Putting the learner first in the content we create
Being transparent in all we do and how we do it
Working together to find the best solution, not the easiest solution
Embracing that we are Always a Student

About Six Red Marbles

Six Red Marbles delivers high-quality educational programs at scale and has decades of experience developing custom materials and assessments that can align with any educational standard. We have developed thousands of interactive learning programs for schools, publishers, universities, and more with the support of our global network of subject matter experts. Six Red Marbles has offices in Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Delhi, India; and Chennai, India.

Apply for This Position

Six Red Marbles is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at resumes@sixredmarbles.com.