We are the world's largest university press. That means we serve the academic community as no other publisher can. We work in partnership with institutions and learned societies to bring a world of knowledge to the fingertips of students and researchers worldwide.
The goal is impact. Together with our academic communities, we curate and connect the ideas that push their fields forward, enabling a virtuous cycle of learning, discovery, and scholarship.
And because we are part of the academic community and guided in everything we do by our mission, we reinvest in our people, our publishing, and the world-leading research institution of which we are part.
For more than 100 years, OUP Music has also played a distinctive role in musical life, publishing works that have shaped concert halls, churches, schools, universities, and communities around the world. Our catalogue includes many of the most influential composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton, William Mathias, John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, Cecilia McDowall, Sarah Quartel, Reena Esmail, and many others. Today, we combine that rich heritage with a commitment to championing composers, reaching new audiences, and ensuring great music continues to inspire performers and listeners worldwide.
About the Role
We are looking for a Business Operations Executive for Data & Distribution to take ownership of the music metadata that powers our digital publishing and distribution activities. In this pivotal role, you'll ensure the accuracy, integrity, and discoverability of our catalogue across a range of platforms, managing music, audio, and streaming metadata while supporting the delivery of high-quality digital experiences for customers and partners worldwide.
Working at the heart of our Business Operations team, you'll lead the management of metadata standards, oversee digital asset repositories, and take ownership of key distribution partnerships, including CoreSource. You'll drive the digitisation and structuring of frontlist and backlist content, ensuring assets are organised, accessible, and optimised for distribution, licensing, and long-term preservation. You'll also play a key role in delivering licensed content to partners, maintaining smooth workflows and ensuring all assets and metadata meet contractual and operational requirements.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who combines exceptional attention to detail with strong organisational and stakeholder management skills. You'll thrive in a collaborative environment, working across teams to improve processes, enhance data quality, and deliver operational excellence. If you're motivated by creating order from complexity and want to help maximise the value and reach of a world-class music catalogue, we'd love to hear from you.
This is a 6-month fixed term contract. We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.
About You
Essential:
Strong attention to detail with a focus on data accuracy, consistency, and quality.
Experience working with metadata, data management, or digital content systems.
Ability to manage and prioritise multiple workflows with strong organisational skills.
Confident working across systems and managing structured datasets.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including external partners.
Proactive, solution-focused approach with a mindset for continuous improvement.
Ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.
Good understanding of digital distribution workflows and content lifecycle.
Desirable:
Experience in music publishing, media, or digital content environments.
Familiarity with metadata standards and best practices (e.g. music or audio metadata).
Experience with digital asset management systems (e.g. CoreSource, SMAL or similar).
Understanding of digital licensing and rights distribution processes.
Exposure to data models, semantic structures, or business intelligence tools.
Experience supporting digitisation or archive transformation projects.
Interest in music, repertoire management, or digital media ecosystems.
Benefits
We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.
We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.
This role comes with the added benefit of a discretionary annual payment.
Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.
Queries
Please contact
[email protected] with any queries relating to this role.
We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.
