Open to opportunities

Nicci Schmidt

@niccischmidt

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Editorial leader driving AI-enabled quality and scalable remote editorial teams.

South Africa

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What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can scale remote editorial operations, implement AI-enabled workflows, improve quality metrics, mentor teams, and drive measurable client satisfaction.

I am an editorial leader with 20+ years' experience across academic, medical, and technical editing, specializing in building and scaling remote teams and processes that deliver high-quality content. I founded and lead a boutique agency and have led distributed teams of 300+ editors, implementing AI-driven initiatives, standardized SOPs, and automated workflows that produced measurable quality and efficiency gains.

My career highlights include growing a team by 650% while reducing client complaints by 33%, maintaining 4.9/5 client satisfaction, editing 600+ manuscripts, and creating comprehensive training and knowledge bases to strengthen remote collaboration. I bring deep style-guide expertise, hands-on editing experience, and practical implementation of editorial technology to improve output and client outcomes.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Lead Editor

Current

Cambridge Proofreading

Apr 2019 - Present (6 years 7 months)

Led a distributed team of 300+ academic and subject-matter editors, growing headcount 650% in 2.5 years while reducing client complaints by 33% and sustaining a 4.9/5 Trustpilot rating. Standardized editorial SOPs and implemented AI-supported review processes and Monday.com automations handling 5,000+ actions monthly to improve throughput and quality.

SOP Development Quality Assurance Monday.Com Workflow Automation WordPress

Current

Founder & Lead Editor

Current

Refinery Editing

Jun 2016 - Present (9 years 5 months)

Founded and operated a boutique remote editing agency delivering line, copy, and substantive edits for academic, healthcare, and business clients with a 100% client satisfaction record and hundreds of completed projects. Integrated AI workflows to revise healthcare transcripts and improve accuracy and relevance.

Copy Editing Line Editing Substantive Editing Client Management Quality Assurance Remote Team Management

Office Coordinator

Simmons & Simmons Middle East

Jan 2011 - Feb 2016 (5 years 1 month)

Coordinated office operations and administrative projects for a major law firm, managing 10+ staff and editing legal documents and pitches to meet tight turnaround and compliance requirements; promoted for process and quality-control improvements.

Office Management Process Improvement Compliance Project Management Quality Assurance Team Supervision

Client Relationship & Operations Manager

Exigent Global

Jan 2009 - Oct 2010 (1 year 9 months)

Managed editing and document-production teams servicing major law firm clients, refined workflows and communications to accelerate quality improvement by 20%, and developed training programs and resources for 20+ staff to ensure SLA compliance for 24/7 delivery.

Client Relationship Management Operations Workflow Optimization Training Development SLA Management Recruitment