Job Summary:
The Research Integrity Consultant (RIC) ensures the integrity and ethical conduct of research accepted, processed, or published by JMIR Publications. The consultant plays a critical role in maintaining the quality and credibility of processed or published content, promoting responsible research practices, and safeguarding the publisher's reputation. This is a part-time or external consultant role.
Responsibilities:
Ethical Guidelines: The consultant advises on, applies, and enforces ethical guidelines for authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher in alignment with industry best practices and international research integrity standards.
Research Misconduct Investigations: The consultant conducts investigations into allegations of research misconduct, ensuring a fair and unbiased process. This can include addressing issues like; plagiarism, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, retractions, and corrections.
Compliance and Reporting: The consultant ensures compliance with industry standards, ethical guidelines, and relevant regulations. They also report on research integrity matters to the leadership team and external bodies.
Training and Education: The consultant, may upon request, develop and deliver training programs on research integrity and responsible publishing practices for authors, editors, and other stakeholders.
Qualifications:
Education: A graduate degree, preferably a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, in a relevant field such as ethics, publishing, or a related discipline.
Experience: Experience in research ethics, scholarly publishing, or related fields.
Technical Skills: A thorough understanding of industry standards and guidelines for research integrity and publication ethics (e.g., COPE guidelines) and their applications are required. Knowledge of plagiarism detection software and research misconduct investigation procedures is beneficial.
Competencies:
Strong analytical and investigative skills to handle misconduct allegations and ethical issues effectively.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with authors, editors, and stakeholders.
Managerial courage, including the ability to make fact-based decisions and speak candidly despite external pressures.
Specific working knowledge of how technology impacts publishing and practical suggestions for risk mitigation (AI, for instance).
Collaboration: The consultant collaborates closely with the Scientific Editorial Director and Executive Editor at JMIR Publications.
Applications:
Interested candidates should submit the following documents:
1. A current CV and/or resume
2. A cover letter (preferably in a Google Doc document) describing why you are a match for this position, as well as a description of any potential conflicts of interest
All interviews will be held via video conference. We wish to thank all those who apply; however, only those individuals whose skills and experience most closely match our requirements will be contacted by a member of our team.
We are committed to a diverse workforce and maintaining a learning and working environment that is welcoming to all.