Research Integrity Lead

In this role, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for research integrity and publishing ethics across the Health Research journals portfolio. You will establish and embed best‑practice frameworks to prevent, detect and manage integrity risks throughout the publication lifecycle, including paper mills, peer‑review manipulation, data and image fabrication and AI misuse. Acting as a central expert function, you will advise senior publishing leadership, support editors and publishers in complex cases, and ensure consistent, transparent and proportionate responses aligned with COPE and industry standards. You will drive the effective use of integrity screening tools, oversee policy development and training, represent the organization in cross‑industry initiatives, and promote a culture of preventive integrity to safeguard the credibility of the scholarly record.

This role operates as a center‑of‑expertise function, working closely with Publishing, Legal and Operations teams. Initially, this position does not include line management responsibility but is expected to exert influence through expertise, governance and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain a clear, proportionate research integrity framework, covering pre‑publication screening, investigations and post‑publication actions.
• Translate high‑level integrity principles into operational guidance, escalation pathways and decision frameworks usable by publishers and editors.
• Advise senior publishing leadership and individual publishers on emerging integrity risks, resourcing needs and reputational exposure.
• Act as a senior advisor on complex or high‑risk integrity cases, including suspected paper‑mill activity, fabricated data, manipulated images, authorship disputes and AI‑related concerns.
• Ensure investigations and outcomes (corrections, retractions, expressions of concern) are handled consistently, transparently, and in line with COPE guidance, while respecting confidentiality and legal constraints.
• Support publishers and editors in applying sound editorial judgement rather than mechanistic rule‑following.
• Lead the adoption and effective use of integrity screening tools and signals, in collaboration with Technology and Editorial Operations (e.g. plagiarism, image manipulation, paper‑mill indicators).
• Act as the organizational owner for engagement with relevant collaborative industry initiatives.
• Continuously assess the effectiveness, limitations and unintended consequences of automated screening.
• Maintain and update research integrity, publishing ethics and AI‑use policies in line with evolving industry standards.
• Develop targeted training and guidance for publishers, editors, and society partners to strengthen early detection and consistent handling of integrity issues.
• Promote a culture of preventive integrity, not solely post‑publication correction.
• Represent the organization in industry forums and working groups (e.g. STM, COPE, cross‑publisher initiatives).
• Monitor external developments (Retraction Watch trends, regulatory changes, funder expectations) and assess implications for the portfolio.
• Contribute to the organization’s external credibility as a responsible, transparent publisher.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in STM publishing, research integrity, publication ethics, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in research integrity and publishing ethics, including misconduct investigations, pre‑ and post‑publication actions, and complex judgement‑based cases.
• Strong working knowledge of COPE Core Practices, STM guidance, and standard correction and retraction workflows.
• Experience advising or working with editors, publishers, legal and operations teams on sensitive integrity issues.
• Proven ability to operate effectively without formal authority, influencing through expertise and credibility.
• Availability to travel globally (<10%).

Preferred

• Advanced degree (PhD or Master’s) in a Health or Medical discipline, research methods, information science, or related field.
• Participation in cross‑industry integrity initiatives or working groups.
• Experience implementing or overseeing integrity screening tools and portfolio‑level policies.
• Prior experience in a publisher, editorial leadership, or research administration environment.

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