Job Description
W. W. Norton & Company is seeking an experienced Project Enablement Specialist to join the team responsible for managing operational complexity across various projects flowing through Digital Publishing, Production, and Design. Working closely with editorial colleagues, the Digital Publishing, Production, and Design group makes and delivers products in our College, High School, and Custom publishing programs. The group's responsibilities include design, production, and project management of print textbooks, ebooks, instructor resources, and media assets used across all of Norton's educational digital platforms.

As Norton's educational business grows, the operations to manage dependencies and schedules across projects and teams have also grown more complex. The Project Enablement Specialist is responsible for supporting Norton's print and digital production teams by identifying opportunities to reduce complexity, fostering trust and clear communication, removing blockers, orchestrating the delivery of critical dependencies, tracking comprehensive schedules and status, and aiding the evolution of production workflows by managing changes that affect production plans. The best candidates will demonstrate strong project management skills and inspire confidence through transparent, convivial, and honest communication.

This position reports to the Program Manager for Project Enablement.

Essential Job Responsibilities Include:

• For the disciplines assigned to you, monitor the overall schedule for product packages (print, ebook, media, and their dependencies), and be the trusted source of information for Production, College Publishing, and College Editorial teams.
• Track the status for each component of a product package, updating information based on the latest details from Manuscript Editors, Project Editors, Editors, Designers, and Producers, creating up-to-date dashboards and reports.
• Facilitate the coordination of production dependencies by identifying project milestones and proactively mitigating risks, helping the team create a production strategy for each project's unique needs.
• Coordinate changes to workflows or delivery plans based on factors like pre-publication promotional efforts and class tests, authoring delays, changes in editorial or marketing strategies, and flagging these factors to the Production and Publishing teams.
• Ensure that, as projects kick off, teams are supported by documenting project criteria, removing ambiguities, scheduling regular status meetings, and running any other necessary events that keep production teams aligned to their goals.
• Use data to oversee the health of each project in production, ensuring that expected delivery dates are aligned to the College Department's expectations; if not, communicate the expected delays and risks.
• Promote a culture of autonomous teamwork and continuous improvement, encouraging teams to collaborate on tasks, problem-solving, and retrospection.

Please note - this job description is not designed to cover all activities required of the employee.

Experience and Skills
Required Qualifications:

• 2+ years managing projects involving multiple dependencies, preferably in the publishing industry
• 2+ years of remote teamwork and leadership experience (desirable)
• Familiar with various project management methodologies and comfortable applying a hybrid approach
• Highly organized, disciplined, and self-motivated in a fast-paced environment where multiple projects need to be managed simultaneously
• Excellent communication skills in a position that demands collaboration across several different teams
• Effective analytical, problem identification, and problem-solving skills
• Strong leadership and diplomatic skills, communicating and resolving problems in a clear and professional manner
• Ability to adjust to different team styles and dynamics
• Develop rapport and trusting relationships with all levels of employees
• Must be detail-oriented, making sure that projects are handled with accuracy
• Manage priorities wisely between daily responsibilities and side projects
• Able to work full business hours
• Employment eligibility to work with W.W. Norton & Company in the US is required

Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of book production workflows, preferably in both digital and print publishing
• Proficiency with SharePoint or other documentation platforms
• Proficiency with Smartsheet, Excel, Jira, or other tools used for project management
• Experience creating data dashboards or other solutions that consolidate project metrics

Compensation and Benefits*

Currently available benefits include:

• Annual compensation for this position is $65,000-75,000. All salaries and salary ranges posted by Norton may vary depending on experience, skills, location, and like considerations.
• Generous paid time off, paid holidays, and summer Friday afternoons beginning in July
• Generous health benefits, including PPO and EPO medical insurance options, vision insurance, dental insurance, flexible spending accounts for healthcare, dependent care and commuter, gym membership reimbursement, and more. Coverage for spouses, domestic partners, and dependent children is available.
• Profit-Sharing and 401(k) benefit plan with discretionary contribution matching by employer
• Disability and life insurances
• FMLA, parental and other leave
• Employee Assistance Program (for mental health, financial planning, and other needs)
• Company-provided laptop
• Employee discounts on Norton books
• Limited matching of employee donations to eligible non-profit organizations

*All policies and benefits described are subject to change at any time.