Deputy Manager-Journal Operations

About Our Team

The Open Access Customer Service Team oversee and respond to Sage open access portal related tickets (SOAP). In some cases, they coordinate closely with the OA Operations team or OA accounts receivable team. The Publishing Services Team is responsible for the pay to publish workflow for Sage journals. The team is dedicated to raising invoices and resolving customer queries which is essential for the financial health of an organization, contributing to revenue generation and compliance with financial regulations.

The Deputy Manager for Journal Operations team will play a pivotal role in ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency for both verticals of the author support process. They will work closely with the Journal Operations Sr. Manager and Asst. Manager in UK to uphold our commitment to delivering exceptional service to our authors.

• What is your team’s key role within the business?

As the first point of contact for authors, we play a pivotal role in shaping their experience with our company. We ensure smooth communication between authors and internal teams, uphold service quality standards, and act as a trusted resource for information. Our work directly impacts author workflow, open access revenue stream and efficiency of the publication process. Beyond answering inquiries, we act as a single point of contact coordinating with various stakeholders in the business such as account receivable, OA Operations and Production teams. By providing exceptional support in these key areas, we reinforce the company’s commitment to outstanding author experience and operational excellence. Beyond day-to-day interactions, our team actively identifies trends and feedback to help inform business decisions. We proactively identify opportunities to enhance author and internal interactions, streamline processes, and improve service delivery.

• Which other departments does your team closely collaborate with?

Our team works closely with multiple departments to ensure seamless operations and exceptional customer service. We liaise with:

• Account Receivable – To verify payments and other related queries

• OA Operations – To coordinate regarding OA deals related issues

• Editorial & Production Team – For production related queries and actions

• IT – For managing our fulfillment systems, online platforms, and technical workflows.

• Could You Be Our New Customer Service Associate?

The key qualities of this role are:

• Strong written & verbal communication
• Proficiency in MS Office
• A confident, proactive, organized, and detail-oriented approach
• Experience as a people manager – ability to motivate the team in a positive way to meet targets and SLAs

• Knowledge of publishing and able to contribute to strategy discussions by provide good insights
• Data-driven decision
• Exposure to working with a diverse group across global locations and working across different processes in a related area
• Ability to foster development and progression within the team
• Customer-focused mindset, putting CX at the heart of what we're doing
• Proactive and strategic decision making

Job Purpose

The Deputy Manager for Journal Operations team will play a pivotal role in ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency for both verticals of the author support process. They will work closely with the Journal Operations Sr. Manager and Asst. Manager in UK to uphold our commitment to delivering exceptional service to our authors.

The Open Access Customer Service Team openaccess@sagepub.com oversee and respond to Sage open access portal related tickets (SOAP). In some cases, they receive tickets that need to be triaged and assigned to either the OA Operations team OAOperations@sagepub.co.uk or OA accounts receivable team - OAAR@sagepub.co.uk

The Publishing Services Team is responsible for the pay to publish workflow for Sage journals. The team is dedicated to raising invoices and resolving customer queries which is essential for the financial health of an organization, contributing to revenue generation and compliance with financial regulations.

Key Accountabilities

• Ensure that the Journal Operations inboxes tickets are handled within SLA

• Implement quality assurance measures by regularly doing quality checks to monitor and evaluate the quality of customer interactions

• Ensure customer Opinion surveys are timely responded back

• Conduct quarterly performance evaluations, provide feedback, and implement performance improvement plans as necessary to drive individual and team success

• Support the manager with team data analysis and assist with work and resourcing forecasting

• Support the manager with proactive risk assessment and mitigation planning

• Drive continuous improvement culture in the team through IPOs and other related initiatives.

• Knowledge of all relevant business applications

• Ticket management/query handling via Fresh Desk with customer satisfaction

• Work closely with Journal Operations Specialists to achieve better streamlined processes

• Develop training programs and materials to equip team members with the knowledge and required skills

• Maintaining reports and keeping process documentation updated

• Implementation of Sage cultural imperatives

• Ensuring the team is efficient and fully utilized throughout the year

Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Functional Knowledge & skills

Customer service skills

Strategic awareness & execution

Process improvement skills

Accountability

Leadership & people Management

Applicable technical skills eg. Data analytics, Excel proficiency etc.

Change management

Qualifications & Experience

Graduate to Postgraduate

6 – 8 years of relevant experience

Sage Management Competencies

(Describe Management competencies relevant to the position)

Strategic Awareness Thinks strategically and globally about what needs to be done to achieve Sage’s vision.

Display ability to understand and disseminate strategic goals, drive actions according to the company’s business priorities and provide operational insight to the manager.

Leading People Inspires people to achieve the highest level of confidence and competence.

Lead the team effectively to achieve group objectives and develop the individuals for consistent skills development.

Interpersonal Effectiveness Effectively engages with others by understanding their feelings and communicating this awareness empathetically.

Communicate well within the Sage values framework and provide empathetic leadership to the team members.

Results Orientation Is focused and passionate about delivering outstanding results.

Drive team’s objective and enable the team to achieve the team’s SLA and quality targets consistently.

Demonstrates Personal Integrity Consistently demonstrates that one is responsible, reliable, and trustworthy.

Display high level of integrity and act as per Sage code of conduct at all times. Lead the team to do the same.

Business Judgment Is able to perform with insight, acuteness, and intelligence when analysing data, making decisions, and solving problems Inspiring/

Ability to apply good judgement towards ongoing and evolving business requirements and maintain a solution-oriented approach for problem solving.

Effective Communication Expresses oneself clearly and compellingly in all forms of communication and readily shares information.

Communicate effectively with all stakeholders and ensure that relevant information and updates are shared in clear, actionable format.

Accelerates Execution Shows tenacity to get things done in the most efficient and effective way.

Implement and drove a continuous improvement culture in the team and adopt the mindset to continuously improve processes.

Works Effectively with Others Is able to develop collaborative partnerships across the business.

Display ability to work outside of silos and collaborate well with various individuals and groups to drive business results.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that is representative of all sections of society and to sustaining a culture that celebrates difference, encourages authenticity, and creates a deep sense of belonging. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief as creating value through diversity is what makes us strong. As a business and as an organization with an increasingly agile workforce, we're open to flexible working arrangements where appropriate.