Head of Researcher Engagement

Job Title: Head of Researcher Engagement (maternity cover)

Location: London

Closing Date: 21st March 2026

About Springer Nature

Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world. We publish the largest number of journals and books and are a pioneer in open research. Through our leading brands, trusted for more than 180 years, we provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services that help researchers to uncover new ideas and share their discoveries, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning. We are proud to be part of progress, working together with the communities we serve to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world. For more information, please visit about.springernature.com and @SpringerNature. 

Business Area and Mission

Publishing Performance & Intelligence

The goal of the Publishing Performance and Intelligence Group (PP&I) is to help deliver next generation digital publishing at Springer Nature and, as a result, grow the number of published articles, especially in Open Access (OA). Working closely with the Journals Group, Production, Technology, Marketing and Customer Services, we contribute to a wide variety of support work. This includes increasing the number of transfers of articles between journals, the commissioning of new collections and strengthening editor engagement, as well as supporting and enhancing the end-to-end publishing process

About the Role

The Head of Researcher Engagement leads a diverse team tasked with engaging academic researchers with Springer Nature, each other and the wider research community around the world via a range of channels, including online communities, blogs, and social media. The role is responsible for creating and implementing an engagement strategy that drives researcher participation and encourages engagement with the research published by Springer Nature; supporting authors to submit/resubmit to Springer Nature journals, researchers to review manuscripts, and editors/guest editors to contribute to the development of the journals.

Working with stakeholders across the business, but primarily within Research Publishing, Marketing, and Product and Platform Group (PPG), the role-holder is responsible for engaging researchers using a communities-centred approach. Researcher satisfaction is crucial to the success of the team: NPS and CSAT scores are therefore key metrics managed by the role. 

Role Responsibilities:

Engagement Strategy:

Own Springer Nature’s researcher communities' engagement strategy. Using the Recruit, Train, Support, Reward framework, build long-lasting relationships with academics that stretch throughout their careers. Responsibilities include:  

• Overseeing a large portfolio of online communities, blogs, and social media channels; including governance, best practice, and stakeholder engagement 

• Ensuring the researcher engagement strategy aligns with other key outreach departments across the wider business, e.g. Nature Conferences, Nature Careers, Marketing, Research Publishing and External Communications 

• Monitoring and evaluating engagement KPIs and working with relevant internal and external teams to scope activity required to achieve them 

• Aligning the researcher engagement strategy with the editor engagement strategy to ensure that the researcher and editor communities complement and support the goals of the organisation  

• Working closely with product managers in the PPG and external vendors to ensure the researcher engagement strategy is delivered through key technologies  

• Maintaining awareness of the wider industry and technological landscape and monitoring competitor activity. 

Researcher Communities:

Create and maintain a global virtual community that enables researchers to connect, collaborate, contribute and champion Springer Nature journals. Responsibilities include:  

• Being the face for researcher communities, both internally and externally 

• Collaborating with senior stakeholders to deliver engagement through 42 subject-based communities.  

• Working with stakeholders (e.g. PPG, Publishing teams) to assess additional platforms to support researcher engagement  

• Owning the delivery of the Research Communities’ content strategy, ensuring that the content, user experience, systems and processes meet the needs of researchers 

• Overseeing quality assurance, including ensuring that researcher engagement channels comply with relevant company policies  

• Managing the strategy, content, and delivery of the Nature Portfolio Instagram account. 

Team Management:

Ensure team resources are effectively deployed to meet the needs of the organisation and individual team members. Responsibilities include: 

• Guide, motivate, and mentor team members, set clear expectations, and provide regular feedback to foster a high-performing, growth-oriented team culture. 

• Well-practised in leading a programme of work with minimal supervision 

• Foster a supportive and inclusive work environment that prioritizes employee well-being, encourages work-life balance, promotes engagement, and advances diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. 

• Oversee team performance, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure workloads are balanced to meet organizational goals and deadlines. 

• Work closely with other teams and departments to align objectives, resolve issues, and ensure smooth communication and collaboration across the organization. 

• Collaborate with senior leadership to define team objectives, develop actionable plans, track progress, and ensure alignment with broader organizational goals. 

Experience, Skills & Qualifications:

Essential

• Significant experience of communities' platforms and community management 

• Demonstrable experience of managing the creation and tailoring of content and user experience for different audiences 

• An understanding of the publishing and scientific research landscape globally 

• Thorough understanding of editorial and peer review processes in journal publishing 

Desirable

• Excellent interpersonal and senior stakeholder management skills 

• Educated to degree level or equivalent  

• Experience of working on journals or magazines for the scientific community

• Experience working with, or an interest in, social media 

• Experience working with global teams

• Robust understanding and practical ability to create and improve digital user experience and accessibility 

• Clear understanding of audience segmentation and engagement of research audiences through digital platforms 

• Accomplished project manager, adept at working with large scale projects

Springer Nature Skills associated with this Job Profile include:

SN-Balances Stakeholder, SN-Project Management, SN-Action-Oriented, SN-Manages Ambiguity, SN-Consulting Skills, SN-Business Development, SN-Builds Effective Teams, SN-Operational Excellence, SN-Communicates Effectively, SN-Directs Work, SN-Multimedia Savvy

In return, we offer a competitive salary range and great employee benefits.

Please submit a CV and covering letter outlining your experience and interest for the role.

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