Editorial Operations Director

Company Description

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books and reference works. We empower learners, thinkers and doers with trusted knowledge that advances research and enriches lives. We bring together diverse people, ideas and opinions to validate and publish the experts, theories and truths that matter. And we’ve been doing this in an unbroken arc since 1798.

Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge.  We strongly believe that this requires us to encourage and examine different ideas and voices, so that any work that meets our exacting levels of quality deserves to be included in our publications. This requires open minds, the opportunity for robust debate, and the courage to defend perspectives that stand up to scrutiny, even if they conflict with our personal beliefs or values. Because that’s the only way to find the best obtainable version of the truth and, ultimately, foster human progress. If you agree, then we’d love to hear from you.

Job Description

We're looking for an Editorial Operations Director (Books) to provide visionary leadership across our editorial operations, leading a team of four Editorial Workflow Managers. This is a senior leadership role for someone who thrives on shaping strategy, driving transformation, and ensuring editorial operations deliver real, sustainable advantage for the business.

You'll be a key voice at the leadership table, translating big-picture strategy into actionable plans, championing innovation, and building a culture where people and processes can genuinely excel.

What you'll be doing:

Leadership & Team Development

- Lead, coach, and develop a team of four Editorial Workflow Managers 
- Build organizational capability and strengthen the leadership pipeline beneath you 
- Champion succession planning and talent development at senior levels 
- Foster a culture of innovation and excellence across editorial operations

Strategic Vision & Planning

- Shape multi-year strategic plans aligned with wider business objectives 
- Partner closely with Publishing Directors to bring editorial strategy and vision to life 
- Lead initiatives that drive genuine competitive advantage 
- Turn organizational strategy into clear, actionable roadmaps

Operational Performance

- Establish enterprise-wide KPIs and performance frameworks 
- Oversee portfolio performance and profitability across business units 
- Drive process improvements that scale with the business 
- Keep a close eye on the competitive landscape to inform decision-making 
- Partner with teams across the matrix to ensure delivery and achievement of key operational metrics

Stakeholder Engagement

- Represent editorial operations in executive forums and strategic sessions 
- Build strong relationships with senior leaders across the organization 
- Influence strategy and advocate for editorial operations enterprise-wide

Digital Transformation & Innovation

- Drive the digital transformation strategy for editorial operations 
- Champion emerging technologies and smarter ways of working 
- Lead the evaluation and rollout of enterprise-level systems 
- Keep editorial operations at the leading edge of industry innovation

Financial & Resource Strategy

- Own and manage the editorial operations budget across portfolios 
- Make strategic calls on investment in technology, people, and infrastructure 
- Optimize resources to maximize return on investment 
- Present financial performance and investment proposals to senior leadership

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

Essential

- Significant experience leading leaders/managers at an executive level 
- A proven track record in strategic planning and organizational transformation 
- Deep knowledge of academic publishing and its industry dynamics 
- Strong financial acumen, including P&L management experience 
- A track record of influencing senior executives effectively 
- The ability to develop talent, build vision, and navigate complex stakeholder landscapes 
- Strong strategic and business acumen, including comfort making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information 
- Confident, credible communication with board-level and C-suite audiences 
- Leads with vision, authenticity, and a genuine commitment to our values 
- Shows courage in tough decisions and resilience under pressure 
- Takes full accountability for outcomes and leads cultural change by example

Desirable

- Extensive, progressive leadership experience within academic publishing 
- International or multi-market experience 
- Models continuous learning, intellectual humility, and openness to feedback 
- Champions diversity, equity, and inclusion as a core priority

Additional Information

Closing Date: 10th November 2026

The successful candidate will be able to utilise our balanced working model. We ask that candidates live within a commutable distance of our offices to ensure that as a balanced worker they can make it to our office locations to collaborate as required. There is an expectation for a minimum of 3 days per week in-person time, with those 3 days a week spent in our office in Milton Park, Oxfordshire.

Please note that our Milton Park office will be relocating to Oxford city centre in late 2027 / early 2028, offering an exciting new workplace in the heart of the city.

Taylor & Francis Group an Informa Business

We want all our candidates to shine in our recruitment process. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to ensure you are able to show us your best self. This could include having the application form in a different format, more time for questions, or anything else – please ask us, we are happy to be flexible! Please contact [email protected]

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above. At Taylor & Francis, we are at our best and most successful when colleagues can be themselves and contribute regardless of their identity or background. As a colleague, you will have the opportunity to further innovate and develop in areas that you are passionate about. Our goal is to empower you with the resources, incentives, and flexibility you need to enjoy success at work and to live a healthy, balanced life.

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves. Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit-based factor.

We genuinely care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about. To find out more about our business and the great career opportunities please go to our Careers Site:  http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/careers

Or better yet check out our LinkedIn ‘Life’ Page, highlighting our accomplishments, employees, and company culture. It’s also a good way of meeting our recruitment team, who will be happy to advise you on your journey here at T&F.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/taylor-&-francis-group/life/79e0c27c-afdf-4bbb-84e6-5f8ed5e10bb8/