Rights Specialist

Ascend Learning is a national leader in data driven, online educational solutions for learners, educators and employers in high-growth, licensure-driven professions spanning healthcare, fitness and wellness, skilled trades, insurance and financial services. We are passionate about accelerating learning while impacting job readiness, employment success and employee retention with the belief that our work changes lives.

Our culture is intentionally results-driven and selfless, with a relentless focus on our customers. We believe in trust, transparency, freedom, and responsibility with a commitment to meritocracy, inclusion, and diversity of thought. Continual investment in our over 1400 employees is also a core principle realized through ongoing professional development and providing opportunities to grow, develop and lead. Ascend Learning is headquartered in Burlington, MA, with additional office locations and remote workers in cities across the U.S. and in the U.K

Jones & Bartlett Learning, a division of Ascend Learning, is a world-leading provider of instructional, assessment and learning-performance management solutions for the secondary, post-secondary, and professional markets.We develop educational programs and services that improve learning outcomes and enhance student achievement by combining authoritative content written by respected authors with innovative, proven, and engaging technology applications that meet the diverse needs of today's instructors, students, and professionals.

We are seeking a Rights Specialist to join our highly collaborative and dynamic team. As a member of the Rights Department, you will use your strong project management skills to manage copyright clearance for third-party content, research and compile image choices for author selection, and employ creative problem-solving to generate innovative solutions for representing concepts in an educational environment. Much of your day will be spent meeting with your Content Strategy and Production counterparts about current and upcoming projects, tracking project progress, coordinating tasks with outside vendors, corresponding directly with authors, and negotiating rights with copyright holders.

The Rights Specialist manages multiple projects concurrently, prioritizing effectively, utilizing vendors and freelancers to complete specific permission and media research tasks, and provides expertise and insight in all areas of copyright while simultaneously employing creative problem-solving to generate innovative solutions for representing concepts in an educational environment.

Day-to-day tasks and responsibilities include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Prepare rights and copyright clearance for vendors and freelancers, including product launch meetings, pre-assessments, element log review assessment and management, integrating information into required database, managing additional information from product managers, authors, and production required to ensure a smooth workflow.
• Coordinate with vendors to adhere to budgets and schedules.
• Troubleshoot independently with an understanding of when to elevate issues to manager. Demonstrate a proven ability to constantly reassess priorities.
• Work with cross-functional teams to schedule, troubleshoot, expedite, answer process/technology questions and take an active role in process improvement. Identify issues in existing workflows or processes, and propose solutions. Enforce schedules, team policies, and processes within the company and with our vendors.
• Train and mentor junior-level employees. May be asked to train other departments on Rights Department processes and initiatives. Serve as a delegate of the team. Communicate regularly with, and provide timely support to, employees from product management, production, digital products, sales, technology, and marketing departments.

All the above tasks are applied in order to establish effective collaboration with Jones & Bartlett Learning and Ascend Learning stakeholders, authors, and vendors to create unique and stimulating educational content.

A team member functioning at this level is expected to exhibit the following competencies in their role:

• Problem Solver:Uses rigorous logic or methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers.
• Decisive:Makes sound decisions based on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; most of his/her solutions and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions.
• Proactive:Doesn't wait for direction to take action; understands what needs to be done; seeks out new projects, is able to spot inefficiencies and suggest improvements.
• Adaptable:Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the complete picture.
• Resourceful:Can marshal resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done; can orchestrate multiple activities at once to achieve a goal better and faster.

Minimum Basic Qualifications:

• Four-year degree or equivalent experience. A focus in Library Science or Project Management preferred.
• One-to-two years of experience. Experience in Rights Clearance or Project Management desired.
• Microsoft Office proficiency with an emphasis on Excel. Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite/Cloud and database software. FileMaker experience is desirable.
• Strong understanding of copyright clearance preferred.
• General understanding of ontologies, metadata schemas, and taxonomies preferred.

This position requires that the employee be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless an exemption has been granted by Ascend Learning for a religious, health-related or other legally mandated reason, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law. Ascend will accept all COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved or authorized for Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or COVID-19 vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Individuals are considered "fully vaccinated" (1) two weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series (such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines); or (2) two weeks after a single-dose vaccine (such as Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine). Ascend Learning's current policy also requires that individuals visiting our offices be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

In line with our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our employees, if we choose to interview you and you are fully vaccinated, we may invite you to interview in our office. If you are not fully vaccinated and we choose to interview you, we will arrange for a virtual interview.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.