Content Architect, Technology

The role will add capacity and expertise to the Content Architecture team at Bloomsbury. We are responsible for defining the company’s content quality standards for XML, as well as managing and delivering content and metadata to drive publication of a wide range of both textual and multimedia content on our award-winning digital platforms.

The successful applicant will provide technical and operational leadership of a team of Content Analysts to deliver to these defined levels of quality and to schedule.

We collaborate closely with production and product management colleagues to ensure business delivery priorities and long-term single-source content strategy are balanced appropriately.

This role reports to the Chief Content Architect, the team lead.

We are part of Digital Technology, within the Technology department. 

The role

• Manage the Digital QA team, ensuring delivery is effectively and efficiently managed in line with business need.
• Manage and monitor team resourcing, the allocation of work to team members and the appropriate prioritisation of that work in line with the company’s goals.
• Manage relationships and lines of communication with direct reports and the wide range of internal and external colleagues and suppliers necessary to deliver products.
• Work with digital, editorial and production colleagues to ensure that content creation and product delivery requirements and digital production best practices are captured, communicated and applied.
• Maintain and develop the team’s codebase of tools and automated processes, to support both project-based and business-as-usual needs.
• Ensure that bibliographical conventions are adhered to, to meet content management and delivery requirements (i.e. eISBNs, DOIs, unique IDs, etc.).
• Monitor and maintain QA procedures and standards to ensure supplier delivery of accurate and useable content and metadata.
• Maintain an active interest in developments in markup technologies, to ensure that content/metadata management processes are up-to-date and fit for purpose.
• Contribute actively to the continuous enhancement and growth of the Digital QA team’s skillset, to ensure they are able to support and maintain production processes.

Knowledge, skills and experience 

• Extensive experience in a publishing production setting
• Line management experience, preferably evidence of successfully managing geographically dispersed teams to improve efficiency and productivity to achieve targets
• Firm professional knowledge of XML and its function in delivering publishing products, and familiarity with schemas and the structure of complex XML documents
• Experience of using and maintaining a management system to store and process XML
• Strong, proven experience of systems and coding optimization of the handling of large documents and collections of documents, with specific reference to processing efficiency
• Proven track record of building and maintaining unit testing frameworks within a continuous integration environment
• An innovative and inventive approach to both technical and non-technical problem-solving
• Excellent grasp of and proven track record in editorial and digital processes
• Technical leadership in creating and managing digital content production workflows
• Keen attention to detail and focus on accuracy
• A logical and analytical approach to content/metadata validation and management.
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to manage relationships with colleagues and suppliers at all levels
• Influencing skills which enable the team as a whole to provide the best service to stakeholders by offering the consultancy perspective of a “critical friend”
• The drive and sense of purpose to promote the team and its offering internally, while remaining collegial and helpful at all times
• Excellent time management skills, and experience of working to tight deadlines
• Flexible, proactive approach, and the ability to work unsupervised, and manage own workload and priorities
• Willingness to work on a range of different projects and products and to learn and apply developing technologies

Technical skills:

• XQuery 3.1; XSLT 3.0; Schematron (essential)
• RELAX NG, XSD, DTD (highly desirable)
• XProc 3.0/Ant or other suitable batch processing and pipelining tools
• A scripting language, such as Python
• Experience in a high-level compiled language, such as Java/C#
• Practical experience of source code version control systems, such as Git

Additional information

The role is a full-time permanent position.

Salary Range: Up to £65,000 per annum

The role is based at our London office 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP on a hybrid-working pattern of 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred).  Allocated office days for this role are: Wednesday and Thursday

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via the ‘APPLY NOW’ button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by 26th July 2024

For best results, please use a desktop to apply as some mobile browsers may not fully support the application portal.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award-winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package:

Working Pattern

• hybrid working pattern of: 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits

• Two paid Personal Wellness Days
• Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 30 minutes earlier in the week
• Season Ticket Loan
• Share Save Scheme
• AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)
• In-house Doctor
• Eye Care Voucher Scheme

Company culture – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom (BAME), Accessibility, Mental Health, Pride, and Parents, Guardians and Carers, Multi-Faith) and 21 Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

For additional benefits see below

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK – Bloomsbury Publishing do not sponsor visa applications

The Company

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes, and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names. Read Our Story for how it all began. 

 Bloomsbury is committed to creating a working environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration, is respectful of difference, is inclusive and ethical in its practice, and promotes well-being. We are determined to nurture and develop our employees to reach their highest potential, and we know that our success is down to the passion, commitment and hard work of our talented people. We recognise the urgent need to attract and support applicants from all backgrounds and identities to become part of the global publishing industry, allowing diverse voices to reflect and shape our culture and society.

Please read more on our Missions and Values here.

Please read our environmental policy here.