Technical Publications Support
Location
London
Job Type
Permanent
Salary
Competitive with excellent benefits
Purpose
The purpose of this role is to support the research department and Technical
Publications Manager with the publication of a range of RSSB’s research and information
products. This role will support the content writers and providers by developing a
coherent and engaging narrative in an accessible language.
The role also includes encouraging the use of and implementation of publications
standards and processes. As well as the correct use of Word templates, planning
processes, and writing styles, to make the publication process as efficient as possible.
Working with style and graphic design guidelines to ensure RSSB products are of a
consistently high quality and meet the needs of our audiences.
Principal responsibilities
 Ensure a high standard of written outputs including a clear narrative to ensure all
research is available to the right audiences in a well-written and suitable form.
 Support the content writers and providers to develop high quality clear briefs and
deliver quality raw material which meets the industry objectives.
 Use the most appropriate publishing tools to produce final outputs from RSSB
projects. This will include Adobe FrameMaker and InDesign.
 Ensure the quality of published outputs is in line with overall RSSB standards and
desired reputation.
 Provide technical support in the use of RSSB templates to RSSB employees and
external contractors including Word templates for content development and print
and PDF production.
 Work with the wider communications team to identify information and material
suitable for incorporation into the overall communications strategy and for use in
broader communications activity.
 Ensure RSSB remains current with developments in technical communications
including new tools, techniques and standards; including HTML5 and XML (DITA).
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Nature and scope
This role will involve working closely with the research department, the rest of the
communications team and other departments across the company. The aim is to
improve RSSB’s capability in developing a clear narrative and implement high standards
for RSSB’s outputs as well as explore the opportunities available for multi-channel
publishing of RSSB content.
 Familiarity with the concepts of topic-based writing, minimalism, single sourcing, and
content reuse are a must.
 Experience of interviewing or working with Subject Matter Experts to elicit
information to develop content.
 Demonstrable ability to grasp engineering and operational concepts, and turn them
into understandable language.
Key tasks
 Support and challenge members of staff to create consistent and clear narrative to
complex information.
 Provide proof reading and copy editing support to the R&D department in particular,
and across the company as needed.
 Import the content and images from Word documents into FrameMaker or InDesign
templates, and create books for PDF publication.
 Work with Subject Matter Experts to use Word templates and paragraph formats
effectively, to make the publication process as efficient as possible.
 Work with Subject Matter Experts to guide them towards good information design
decisions.
 Act as an advocate for the audience, to ensure the value and usability of RSSB
information products.
Core competencies
High level of English language skills, both spoken and written.
Ability to understand engineering terminology, and translate it into simple English where
appropriate.
Ability to see detail and recognise mismatches in information.
Confidence to communicate best practice principles of communication, technical
writing, and information design.
Knowledge of MS Word templates and paragraph formatting.
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Experience and qualifications
Essential:
 Writing, editing and proof reading content for technical and non-technical audiences.
 Experienced FrameMaker (Version 12 or 2015) user, with knowledge of, or willingness
to learn, InDesign.
 Understanding of the concepts of single sourcing and XML (DITA).
Desirable:
 Any other Creative Suite experience knowledge an advantage. (Such as InDesign,
Photoshop, DreamWeaver and Illustrator)
 Experience of creating and managing information architectures and metadata
taxonomies.
 Creating EPubs, and other outputs for multi-channel and multi-device delivery.
 Experience of change management projects.
 Word macros.
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