OPERAS is the Research Infrastructure supporting open scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in the European Research Area (ERA). Its mission is to coordinate and federate resources in Europe to efficiently address the scholarly communication needs of European researchers in the field of SSH.
OPERAS is an international not-for-profit association (AISBL), established in 2020 under Belgian law. OPERAS is also currently managing the development of the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) programme, which aims to facilitate a distributed, community-owned, high-quality, and sustainable scholarly communication infrastructure in the ERA.
OPERAS will support ecosystem alignment, community engagement, and coherent communications for ORE, working closely with the CERN-based ORE Communications Manager and the EDCH Coordination Team.
Open Research Europe (ORE) is an open-access scholarly publishing platform launched by the European Commission in March 2021 enabling researchers to publish research results free of charge and in full compliance with EU open science and open access policies. OPERAS will serve as strategic outreach and community engagement partner for the new ORE, for two key groups:
- The Diamond OA Community, which includes journals, publishers, platforms and members of European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH)
- Researchers as authors particularly within Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
Job Summary
The OPERAS-ORE Communications Officer will contribute to the outreach, engagement, and communication strategy of ORE by designing and leading campaigns in close collaboration with the CERN-based ORE Communications Manager, the OPERAS communication team, and the EDCH coordination team.
Key responsibilities
Targeted communications
- Contribute to the alignment of messaging, vocabulary, and narrative framing across ORE, OPERAS, and EDCH in collaboration with all project partners.
- Devise targeted communication campaigns to drive engagement and usage of the ORE platform.
- Contribute to communication materials that address key challenges identified for ORE, including materials that promote and solidify the benefits
- for key stakeholder groups.
Outreach & stakeholder engagement
- Identify and develop communication plans and strategies for effective engagement with stakeholders across scientific disciplines. Especially (but not limited to):
- SSH researchers and research communities
- Diamond OA journals, publishers, and service providers
- learned societies and scholarly associations
- Support disciplinary, national and European engagement campaigns in collaboration with CERN, OPERAS and EDCH partners and stakeholders.
Internal coordination
- Act as OPERAS’ designated representative for ORE Communications, meeting regularly with the ORE Communications Manager, and ORE governance representatives.
- Coordinate communication activities with the OPERAS Communication Team and the EDCH Coordination Team to ensure consistency and efficient use of resources.
- Support the preparation of deliverables, reports, briefings, and presentations to ORE governance where relevant.
Events and representation
- Support the communication and outreach components of events, webinars, and workshops related to ORE, particularly those targeting SSH, Diamond OA, and learned societies.
- Represent OPERAS’ role in the ORE governance at relevant conferences and community events, in coordination with CERN and EDCH partners.
Monitoring & Reporting
- Track engagement via setting and monitoring communication KPIs.
- Provide regular reports to ORE Governance, and internal OPERAS/EDCH teams.
Relationships
- Daily collaboration with the ORE Coordination team and ORE Communications Manager.
- Regular collaboration with the EDCH Coordination Team and the EDCH Communications and Outreach Officer.
Job requirements
- A Master’s degree in Communications, or Science and Scholarly Communication Journalism, or Public Relations or any other related field, and a minimum of 3 year experience in a relevant position;
- Proficiency with social media management, content management systems (Drupal, WordPress) and email marketing platforms (e.g. Mailchimp);
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English;
- Strong social skills, with ability to work in a multilingual European environment;
- Strong organisational skills, and ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently;
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team;
- Ability to work under pressure and work with conflicting deadlines.
Offer
- This is a full-time position offered for a fixed period until 31/12/2028 and which can be further extended depending on the funding and the employee performance.
- Remote working and/or part-time opportunities can be considered.
- Salary depends on the experience of the successful candidate and the country of living. The full package may vary depending on the country of living if working from a different country than Belgium.
Equal opportunities
OPERAS AISBL is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.
Process and timescale
- This is an open process. Qualified applicants, with the right experience, will be interviewed as their applications come in, on a first come – first served basis.
- The search will stop as soon as we find the right fit and the successful applicant is expected to start as soon as possible.
Information to apply
Please send a cover letter and your CV to 202602-ore-co@operas-eu.org. An assessment may be part of the selection process. Only direct applications from candidates are considered. OPERAS AISBL does not appreciate any acquisition by third parties regarding this position. For additional information about this position, you may contact OPERAS’ Human Resource team at HR@operas-eu.org.