Pipeline for Pre-press Operator, Printing Operator and Binding Operator - (PIP-MTCD-009)

Organization: MTCD-Division of Conference and Document Services

Primary Location: Austria-Vienna

Job Posting: 2025-08-29, 5:56:46 AM

Closing Date: 2025-09-19, 4:59:00 PM

This is a re-opening of the Pipeline posting. Candidates who already submitted their application do not need to re-apply again.

Organizational Setting

The Department of Management (MT) provides a ‘platform of services’ that serves as a foundation for the successful delivery of the IAEA’s scientific and technical programmes. Its mission statement is as follows: “MT is a partner and a business enabler that champions change and efficiency, leveraging a common purpose”. Thus, among other support activities, it assists a scientific manager in recruiting the right expert, helps a technical officer coordinate the purchase of radiation equipment, works with the press to help clarify the technically complex work of the IAEA, and ensures that all Board documents are translated and distributed on a timely basis to Member States.

One of the main functions assigned to the IAEA by its Statute is to foster the exchange of scientific and technical information and the dissemination of knowledge in the nuclear field among Member States. To facilitate the effective exchange and dissemination of information relevant to the IAEA’s work and mandate, the Division of Conference and Document Services coordinates and supports the implementation of these activities for its users and clients, both internal and external, by organizing meetings and conferences, issuing documents in the six official IAEA languages, i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and editing, printing and distributing publications.

The IAEA has an extensive publishing programme, implemented by its Publishing Section, which produces a wide range of publications on nuclear related issues in both print and electronic formats. Inputs in the form of manuscripts of scientific/technical publications, advocacy items, electronic publishing requests and graphic design proposals originating from all parts of the house are handled by the Publishing Section.

Roles

The purpose of this pipeline announcement is to build up the Agency’s roster of qualified (i) Pre-press Operators, (ii) Printing Operators and (iii) Binding Operators. Under the guidance of the Publishing Section Head and Production Unit Head:

i. The incumbent Pre-press Operator will work in a team with staff in the Production Unit and in the Section to troubleshot or adhere the technical qualities of the PDFs or other format files submitted for printing from the customers or find solutions to ensure standard of imposition and press features are embedded and applied to the files before sending them to the mass production. Print press or publishing online in line with the IAEA’s printing standards

ii. The incumbent Printing Operator will work in a team with staff in the Production Unit and in the Section to print IAEA publications in official IAEA languages and PMO documents for IAEA conferences and any other advocacy and awareness print product. Basic maintenance and troubleshooting of the printing equipment.

iii. The incumbent Binding Operator will work in a team with staff in the Production Unit and in the Section to bound IAEA publications in official IAEA languages and PMO documents for IAEA conferences and any other advocacy and awareness print product that requires binding. Basic maintenance and troubleshooting of the binding equipment.

Note: These are separate roles. In their motivation letter, candidates should clearly indicate for which of the two above roles they wish to be considered. Only suitably experienced and qualified candidates may be considered for both.

How does the Talent Pipeline work?

The talent pipeline is open to enable Pre-press Operators, Printing Operators and Binding Operators to express their interest in freelance employment with the IAEA.

The expression of interest received will be reviewed by responsible officers with a view to sourcing candidates for temporary opportunities.

These will be exclusively office-based with limited opportunities for home-based work.

Functions / Key Results Expected

i) Pre-press Operator

As a member of a team led by the Digital Supervisor of the print shop, the Pre-press Operator will be required to:

Apply the pre-press skills and prepare the files for the final print of publications in all six official IAEA languages, including other print items such as Agency documents, posters, certificates, leaflets, flyers, and brochures.
Receiving electronic files from customers and examining them for completeness and potential printing-related problems.
Add missing components or correct problematic files in close communication with the file originators to clarify issues related to format, format marks, missing images, colour definitions, font conflicts, margins, page bleeds, spine thickness, bindery specifications, etc.
Prepare and control the quality of PDF files to be printed digitally before final mass production.
Follow the instructions in the work order to prepare printable files according to the specific requirements of the printing equipment.
Record the pre-press work done in the production workflow management system used in the Publishing Section (Service Now).
Update and maintain archiving files, databases, and other record-keeping tools relevant to publishing and print shop workflows.
Perform other relevant automated or manual tasks if required.

ii) Printing Operator

As a member of a team led by the Digital Supervisor of the print shop, the Printing Operator will be required to:

Operate all digital printing equipment and program and calibrate state-of-the-art digital printing high-volume devices.
Apply quality control at the beginning of the process in connection with paper size, colour standards, pagination, and content and through random checks throughout the printing process. Adjust ink density, ink coverage, colour matching, alignment, and registration while taking into account external factors such as humidity and room temperature.
Perform minor repairs and troubleshooting on printing equipment.
Support the print technician in weekly and monthly maintenance and servicing of printing equipment according to manufacturer standards and schedules.
Record the printing work done in the production workflow management system in the Publishing Section (Service Now).
Monitor inventory parts and supplies regularly and request new orders or replacement parts from the manufacturer when necessary.
Follow all the safety guidelines to ensure a safe working environment.

iii) Binding Operator

As a member of a team led by the Digital Supervisor of the print shop, the Binding Operator will be required to:

Prepare and operate bindery equipment and folding, cutters, stitchers, and perfect binding machines.
Program and calibrate state-of-the-art bookbinding systems, adjusting the equipment settings to the technical specifications provided with each job, considering paper types, sizes, room humidity conditions, type of glue, colours, creasing of the paper, trimming, folding, alignment and finishing. etc., Inspect the quality of bound books. Or the need to use several machines for the same publication
Calibrate, operate and maintain state-of-the-art guillotines and other cutting equipment adapting to the grammage, grain direction and behaviour of different paper types to avoid curling and/or other unwanted effects.
Calibrate, operate, e and maintain traditional folding, collating, stitching, perfect binding, and booklet-making equipment.
Perform routine maintenance and cleaning of the bindery equipment and troubleshooting.
Follow all the safety guidelines to ensure a safe working environment.
Perform other relevant automated or manual print digital or bookbinding tasks.

Education, Experience and Language Skills

i) Pre-press Operator

Completed secondary education.
Five years of continuous relevant working experience in a printing company and related operations.
In-depth knowledge of specialized printing production software, Adobe Creative Suite and other relevant pre-press software such as PitStop and Quite Imposing.
Knowledge of finishing and binding processes, especially for digital printing operations, PDF production and colour management.
Good general understanding of all publishing and printing processes, especially digital printing.
Good oral and written command of English.

Note: Testing may be part of the recruitment process.

ii) Printing Operator

Completed secondary education.
Five years of continuous relevant working experience in an industrial printing company and related operations.
In-depth knowledge of specialized modern offset and digital printing equipment.
Knowledge of finishing and binding processes, especially for digital printing operations and colour management.
In-depth understanding of all publishing and printing processes and exceptionally high-volume digital printing operations.
Good oral and written command of English.

Note: Testing may be part of the recruitment process.

iii) Binding Operator
Completed secondary education.
Five years of continuous relevant working experience in a high-volume bookbinding and printing company and related operations.
In-depth knowledge of specialized modern binding equipment.
Knowledge of finishing and binding processes, especially for bookbinding in high-volume digital printing operations.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Good oral and written command of English.

Note: Testing may be part of the recruitment process.

Organizational Core and Functional Competencies

Core competencies

Planning and organization
Teamwork
Achieving results
Communication

Functional Competencies

Knowledge sharing and learning
Judgement/decision making
Commitment to continuous process improvement
Client orientation
Resilience

Appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical report. Recruitment will be on a LOCAL BASIS ONLY, thus applicants must be legal residents in Austria. English language test is part of the screening process. Registration in the Pipeline does not constitute any formal obligation on the side of the IAEA to offer any type of employment. Updates will only be provided to candidates who are being considered for opportunities.

Applicants should be aware that IAEA personnel are bound to a code of conduct and may not accept instructions from any other authority external to the Organization. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values): Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity. The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment against this pipeline, or to make an appointment at a lower grade or with a different contract type, or to make an appointment with a modified job description. Testing may be part of the selection process.