Junior Academic Editor (Durbanville)

Job description

Purpose

The Junior Academic Editor supports the lead academic editor by editing, proofreading, formatting and quality-checking assessment-related academic documents in line with STADIO’s language, style, referencing, formatting and quality assurance requirements. The role is focused on assessment documents and student-facing assessment documents and is suited to an early-career editor who is eager to learn, values high standards, works carefully and is receptive to guidance and quality control.

Key responsibilities

The junior academic editor will be responsible for:

• Editing, proofreading and formatting assessment-related academic documents, including examination papers, examination information documents, assignments, rubrics, memoranda, marking guidelines, assessment feedback documents and other student-facing assessment documents.
• Applying academic writing conventions, referencing styles, institutional templates and style guides to ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy and professional presentation.
• Checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, formatting, numbering, headings, tables, citations, reference lists, mark allocations and assessment instructions.
• Preserving author voice, academic meaning and assessment intent while improving readability, coherence and clarity.
• Identifying and flagging inconsistencies between assessment documents, unclear instructions, missing information, formatting issues, referencing concerns or potential ethical issues for review.
• Checking that assessment instructions are clear, student-facing and unambiguous.
• Checking that questions, sections, mark allocations, rubrics and memoranda are presented consistently and professionally.
• Using Microsoft Word, including Track Changes, Comments and Styles, to implement edits and communicate queries or feedback professionally.
• Managing multiple assessment documents and deadlines without compromising quality.
• Working within approved document management, workflow and quality assurance systems.
• Maintaining accurate version control, file naming, document tracking and records of editorial progress.
• Handling all assessment material with confidentiality, integrity and a strong sense of responsibility for the quality of the final output.

Skills and competencies

• Strong attention to detail and the ability to identify language, formatting, referencing and consistency errors in complex academic and assessment documents.
• The ability to follow institutional style guides, templates, editorial standards and quality assurance processes.
• A basic understanding of academic writing conventions, scholarly tone, assessment document structure and referencing systems.
• The ability to follow complex academic and assessment content and flag unclear, inconsistent or incomplete information.
• Awareness of academic integrity, plagiarism, copyright, third-party content, AI-generated content and ethical handling of assessment material.
• The ability to use AI-supported tools only in accordance with institutional policy and with appropriate human oversight, where applicable.
• Good time management skills and the ability to manage documents at different stages of editing.
• Professional communication skills, including the ability to raise editorial queries clearly, respectfully and constructively.
• Technological literacy and the ability to learn new systems, platforms and document management processes.
• A willingness to learn, receive feedback and develop best-practice academic editing habits.
• Comfortable working within established editorial standards and processes, and receptive to guidance and quality control.
• Strong written English (UK) skills, including excellent grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure.
• High attention to detail, with the ability to spot inconsistencies, errors and formatting issues in complex assessment documents.
• Basic understanding of academic writing conventions, including scholarly tone, structure and referencing systems.
• Ability to follow style guides and apply institutional guidelines consistently.
• Good time-management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple documents at different stages of editing.
• Computer literacy, especially confidence using Microsoft Word, including Track Changes, Styles and Comments.
• Familiarity with PDFs and Adobe Acrobat would be advantageous.
• Strong technological literacy with the ability to learn and adapt to new systems and platforms, specifically document management systems.
• Ability to troubleshoot basic technical issues and adapt to new technologies and software applications.

Qualifications and experience

• A qualification in English, linguistics, journalism, education, communication, publishing or a related discipline. Experience in academic editing, proofreading, educational publishing or higher education assessment support.
• Exposure to editing examination papers, assignments, rubrics, memoranda, assessment feedback documents, theses, dissertations, journal articles, research reports or other academic texts.
• Familiarity with referencing styles such as Harvard, APA or THRHR.
• Experience using Microsoft word track changes, comments, styles and document comparison tools.
• Familiarity with PDFs, Adobe Acrobat, MS teams, SharePoint or other document management systems.
• Interest in higher education, academic writing, assessment documentation and educational publishing.

Posted on 03 Jul 08:47, Closing date 19 Jul