Associate Publishing Editor

This position is responsible for the financial, editorial management and development of society and Sage-owned journals in a select subject area or subject areas. The Associate Publishing Editor position is expected to manage a workload of approximately 10-15 titles in Science, Technology, and Medicine, but quantity may vary. Additionally, this position provides support for Publishing Editors on the US Journals Editorial team. This position also has specific responsibilities related to journals on Publishing Editor's lists. This position, like all other editorial roles, includes strategic project responsibility to improve our content and support our teams and shared processes. We are looking for a candidate who is eager to learn about and grow within the academic publishing industry, and is able to quickly pick up new information, think critically and creatively, and engage meaningfully with the daily work.

This position is based remotely, with the option of working in our Thousand Oaks, California office if local.

Please note that this position does not focus on writing or editing of our content as it primarily supports the business, technical, and administrative aspects of journal publishing.

Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities

Editorial Management

Service editorial development and performance goals on an individual journal basis, as well as assess comprehensive performance of department and division level journal portfolio.
Manage the quotidian operations of assigned science, technical, and medical journals.
Conduct research, reporting, tracking, and analysis of various journal performance bibliometrics, subject areas, and industry within scholarly communications writ large.
Address ad hoc requests in a timely manner and track task process through structured workflows.
Understand and work to include each journal in the Journal Citation Reports, PubMed, and other major indices based on each journal’s potential via frequent communication with the journal editor and/or society publications manager regarding editorial practices. This activity will include manuscript submission, peer review process, revision and resubmission policies, and optimal editorial board function.
Work closely with the journal editor to increase article usage and citations. This will include helping to explain to and direct journal editors and societies how our marketing efforts may help drive usage and citations, and also encouraging the editorial office to make some changes to help increase citations and journal profile.
Prepare internal and external reports as required (with administrative support). These reports primarily include publisher reports to societies and editors, varying in frequency from monthly to annual. This also includes various other reports, including ad hoc, Impact Factor, etc., depending on individual journal need.
Arrange annual editorial board meetings for journals in portfolio where required and permitted by budget and strategy factors.
Rotate journal editors as needed and oversee contract renewals. This means not automatically renewing editors but instead, reviewing specific journal metrics to gauge how well an editor is doing and then make a decision regarding whether we renew the editor. Maintain plans for editor succession proactively.
Increase the number of titles indexed in ISI and/or other relevant A&I services such as Scopus and Medline.
Increase the number of cascade submissions via Sage Path from journals on list to other participating Sage journals. Facilitate journal participation to Sage Path as scheduled.
Support retaining of submissions within Sage family of journals.

Relationship Management

Manage external relationships proactively with journal editors, society contacts, and others as appropriate.
Maintain external relationships with sales reps, ed board members, authors and potential authors, and customers.
Manage global internal relationships with colleagues that influence journal performance. Departments include marketing, sales, production, circulation, art, commercial sales, customer service, IT and finance.
Manage internal relationships with colleagues in your division and department. Effectively problem-solve and creatively brainstorm in collaborative spaces with other team members.

Financial Management

Monitor the performance of journals in the assigned portfolio by reviewing finances and profit-and-loss statements regularly to ensure revenues are maximized and controllable costs are at acceptable levels.
Develop an annual strategic plan for each journal in the portfolio, as requested by manager, that outlines specific actions designed to increase goals of publication or, in cases where journal Operating Profit is unacceptable, develop an improvement plan.
Meet financial targets set on a department, division, and portfolio level, as outlined in annual strategy.

Contract Renewal and Management

Renew all society contracts Sage wishes to renew for assigned journals early or before expiration of contract notice period.
Work with Sage’s contracts department to ensure that all editor and society contracts are current.
Issue contract amendments, letters of assignment, renewals, and extensions as required.
Ensure that all contracts are signed and returned in a timely fashion, preferably within 4 weeks of submission to society or editor.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Participate in Sage pillar and cross-pillar efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within our business, both internally and externally.
Strategize with editors and society partners to improve diversity, equity, and belonging in our author, editor, and editorial board member pools externally
Support efforts to improve accessibility of scholarship within research domains as well as in public, policy, and practice.
Enforce and uphold anti oppressive conduct, principles, and content.
Support Research Pillar DEI streams (Application, Representation, Content, and Data) through membership engagement or project participation as needed.

Open Access (OA)

Stay abreast with OA trends and developments and Sage’s position and activities, which could include listening to webinars on the topic, reading various reports such as Outsell reports, and listening to colleagues who report on Sage’s OA activities.
Stay current with trends specifically in the way of transformative agreements, as well as the state of market and government policies around OA, both locally and globally.

List and Subject Area Expertise

Develop a comprehensive understanding of each journal on the list, which includes understanding the business model, finances, audience, etc. The expectation is that this position be familiar with the paper flow of each journal on their list, the current circulation, the overall financial health, and the general objectives for each publication.
Develop an expertise in core discipline(s) which includes understanding industry and subject area trends, competitors, related societies, etc.
Develop an expertise in industry developments.
Travel and provide support for conferences as determined in conjunction with your manager and leadership.

General Office Management

Monitor travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses and other controllable operational costs.
Maintain and process expense reports and check requests per company policy and department budgeting restrictions in a timely fashion.
Maintain accurate files and logs for each journal.

Administrative Support for Publications

Pull data for publisher reports; draft and review final reports before distributing.
Take accurate minutes on calls with editors and societies.
Process T&E reports for self through online expense reporting tool.
Handle podcasts and other social media responsibilities.
Prepare updated Impact Factor packets once per year.
Run various reports such as the citation analysis, which would be done on an ad hoc basis (no more than 1X/year) for select journals on your list.
Respond to miscellaneous inquiries in a timely manner.
Support external journal editor visits and meetings as approved and needed.
Update internal and external databases, websites, and resources as required.
Oversee the administrative tasks completed by department assistants and check for quality before distributing

Departmental Participation

Pitch and complete ad hoc special projects and administrative tasks as needed.
Engage with new, emerging, or otherwise untapped technologies to develop efficiencies and streamline existing work processes.
Leverage technology solutions in Microsoft Suite and otherwise inventively and proficiently.
Perform ancillary work on department-wide projects, journal acquisitions, and for specific journals

Required

Qualifications & Education

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
At least three years of professional experience required, preferably with an academic or scientific publisher.
Demonstrated excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, Teams, and PowerPoint.
Effective public speaking and interpersonal skills.
Exceptional organizational, problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills.
Strong attention to detail.
Able to follow directions, learn, and understand departmental procedures required.
Understanding of how scientific research is conducted.

Preferred

Solid understanding of the journal publication process.
Experience as editorial assistant, associate/assistant editor, managing editor, production editor or related positions
Intermediate-to-advanced Excel skills, including VBA and Macros
Familiarity with R or Python programming languages
Proficiency with HTML

Language, Analytical Skills, And Specifications

Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to reason and problem solve.
Ability to negotiate effectively.
Ability to plan and manage multiple projects and effectively multi-task.
Ability to manage and motivate external professional relationships and internal staff.
Ability to effectively manage time to meet established timelines and work professionally under pressure.
Ability to effectively monitor financial statements, analyze costs and perform financial reporting.
Ability to foresee trends, situations, or challenges and address appropriately.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and work with diplomacy.
Ability to work with constant interruptions.
Ability to learn new software.
Ability to work effectively in a team or independently, with minimal direction.
Ability to complete and follow through on priorities.
Proficient analytical and mathematical skills.
Ability to effectively make presentations to internal/external groups.
Occasional overnight out-of-town travel