Job Overview

The BMJ is one of the world’s leading general medical journals. Our mission is to lead the debate on health and to engage, inform, and stimulate doctors, researchers, and other health professionals in ways that will improve outcomes for patients. We are looking for a freelance associate research editor to join us and work within the research editorial team to read, select, and handle the peer review and editing of research papers.

The Research section of the journal handles approximately 3600 research papers a year.

Ideally, the successful candidate will work flexibly for The BMJ one to two days a week and continue with outside clinical and/or academic work on other days. The job holder has the option of working remotely and we encourage applications from candidates based outside the UK.

Responsibilities:

• Reading, appraising, and managing peer review of research articles using a web based manuscript tracking system

• Attending the weekly manuscript committee meeting on Thursdays (in person or by phone) to discuss submitted papers

• Liaising with authors, reviewers and technical editors regarding revisions

• Assisting with screening of research papers, teaching and interacting with trainees, liaising with patient reviewers and The BMJ patient editor

• As negotiated, representing The BMJ at professional meetings or outside venues.

Qualifications & skills:

Essential attributes:

• Medical degree - please do not apply if you do not hold a medical degree

• strong communication skills

• fluency in written and spoken English

• ability to work well alone and in a team

• experience in appraising medical research

Desirable attributes:

• Active in clinical practice and/or clinical research

• experience of medical editing and journal peer review

• critical appraisal skills

• willing to travel to conferences / professional meetings / London office

Why work for us

Help us create a healthier world. We are a global healthcare knowledge provider. We publish The BMJ, one of the world’s most impactful medical journals and over 70 influential speciality journals. We offer digital tools to help health professionals worldwide tackle critical healthcare challenges. Find out more about us here.