Program Manager, OA Workflow Transformation

The Program Manager, Workflow Transformation is responsible for driving the successful delivery of strategic workflow, technology, and AI-enabled initiatives across the journal publishing lifecycle. This role partners across Editorial, Production, Technology, Customer Service, and external vendors to improve operational efficiency, support organizational change, and ensure transformation efforts deliver measurable business outcomes.

About Our Team:

At Sage, our Journals Open Access team is passionate about expanding access to high-quality research and supporting a more open, equitable scholarly publishing landscape. We partner with researchers, institutions, societies, and internal stakeholders around the world to deliver innovative open access publishing solutions that increase the visibility, reach, and impact of academic research. Working collaboratively in a fast-paced and evolving environment, our team is committed to helping advance knowledge and drive positive changes across the global research community.

Your New Role:

• Own and design the delivery of an AI-enabled workflow transformation roadmap across the end-to-end article lifecycle. Partner with Editorial, Production, Technology, Customer Service, and other collaborators to define priorities and achieve strategic objectives.

• Identify, prioritize, and lead initiatives that improve operational efficiency, reduce task time, increase standardization, and enhance the experience of authors, editors, reviewers, and internal teams.

• Translate strategic objectives into clear business requirements, process designs, and implementation plans that support successful delivery while minimizing operational disruption.

• Coordinate cross-functional delivery by managing dependencies, risks, resources, and competing roadmaps to maintain momentum and achieve program goals.

• Facilitate alignment across collaborators by balancing journals needs, operational considerations, technology resource, timelines, and budgets.

• Oversee the planning and execution of user acceptance testing (UAT), pilots, and phased implementation. Ensure feedback is incorporated into sustainable and actionable solutions.

• Lead change management and communication of program activities across all collaborator groups, ensuring they are informed, prepared, and supported during implementation.

• Provide regular updates to collaborators and senior leadership, clearly communicating both progress as well as risk, dependencies, and blockers. Facilitate decision-making discussions and support to maintain on-time delivery.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators related to program outcomes.

• Evaluate program progress regularly, including collaborator feedback, market developments, emerging technologies, and new opportunities to support a strong timely roadmap of initiatives.

Can you be our new Program Manager?

• Experience in academic publishing, with strong knowledge of editorial, peer review, or production workflows.

• Demonstrated success leading projects, programs, roadmaps, or workstreams with clear delivery outcomes.

• Strong understanding of journal publishing systems, workflows, system integrations, and related technologies. ScholarOne experience strongly preferred.

• Proven ability to translate business objectives into clear requirements, process designs, and implementation plans.

• Experience partnering with technology teams, vendors, and internal collaborators to achieve successful project or program delivery.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with an ability to evaluate processes and idenfity opportunities for increased efficiency and standardization.

• Experience managing competing priorities, dependencies, risks, and collaborator expectations in a complex organizational environment.

• Demonstrated ability to influence and drive alignment across teams without direct authority over decision making.

• Experience with operational reporting and metrics, evaluating performance data, and translating this into digestible collaborator updates.

• Familiarity with, or strong interest in, AI-assisted workflows, workflow automation, or emerging technologies developed to solve timely process challenges in journal publishing operations.

If you have a disability and you need any support during the application process, please contact hr.resume@sagepub.com All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.

Pay Transparency & Benefits Package:

Sage Publishing is committed to being an inclusive employer where all individuals are treated with fairness and respect. Sage is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.

Compensation at Sage is influenced by several factors, including but not limited to skill set, nature and level of experience, qualifications, and other relevant considerations.  Please note that the compensation details listed in U.S. role postings reflect the base salary only and do not include bonuses or benefits. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range and additional aspects of the compensation/benefits package for this position during the hiring process. If your desired salary falls outside of this range, we hope you'll still apply as there may be other positions that better align.

In addition to compensation, Sage offers a highly competitive and comprehensive PPO medical, dental, and vision care benefits package with Sage covering most of the premium costs. Unique program benefits that support a healthy life, a company-sponsored anniversary trip every 5 years, a 401(k)-matching program of 100% up to 5% of pay, and other significant meaningful benefits. In alignment with our value for education, Sage offers financial support for bachelor's and graduate-level degree programs as well as learning for personal interest.

Sage offers freedom and autonomy in your day-to-day with hybrid or remote work, depending on the role. Join the nearly 2,000 Sage employees worldwide who deliver products and services that serve to fulfill our noble goal of education and dissemination of knowledge globally. We’d love to meet you!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Sage Publishing is committed to being an inclusive employer where all individuals are treated with fairness and respect, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage and partnership status, pregnancy and parental responsibilities, race, religion and belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We believe that diversity is a cornerstone of a vibrant culture. We want Sage to be an organization where the most talented staff and high-potential staff are recruited, have the opportunity to grow, and want to work. We strive to achieve a better representation of diverse talent at all levels, including leadership, across our workforce.