Assistant Managing Editor

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the world’s largest scientific membership association, with a mission to “advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people”.

ACS Publications is a Division of the ACS and has all the characteristics of a medium-large scientific and technical publishing organization. It is one of two Divisions charged with serving the dual function of generating a reliable annual surplus to support the Society’s programmatic activities, while also fulfilling a core goal of the Society in advancing knowledge in the field of chemistry and the chemical enterprise. The Division publishes 75+ high-quality peer-reviewed journals covering the breadth of chemistry and allied fields, as well as numerous other high-quality products and services of benefit to the global community.

The Journals Publishing Group consists of five main teams: Business Intelligence & Analytics, Global Editorial Operations, Global Production Operations and two teams in Editorial Development (ACS Proprietary Journals and Research Integrity and Global Developments). These teams collaborate to optimize the editorial direction and production of our journals, and to ensure that our authors and reviewers have a positive publishing experience. In support of that mission, the Editorial Development -ACS Proprietary Journals team- focuses on the effective operations and strategic development of the suite of ACS Publication’s journals, both hybrid and open access titles. This team delivers new products on an annual and ongoing basis, based on an assessment of the existing portfolio relative to the research landscape. The Editorial Development ACS Proprietary Journals team also provides strategic guidance to ACS Editors-in-Chief to maximize the impact and success of the journals and is central to ensuring the Editors and editorial direction of the journals optimally serve the mission of the ACS.

Position Summary:

The Assistant Managing Editor / Managing Editor is responsible for the day-to-day management of a portfolio of medicinal and biological chemistry journals. They will work with ACS staff and Editors to develop and implement publishing strategies and editorial initiatives to sustain and enhance the journals’ standing within the global chemistry community to ensure their continued growth and success. They will ensure that the publications are produced on time, on budget, and with appropriate levels of quality. The Assistant Managing Editor / Managing Editor will collaborate with the Editors in planning, recruiting, and editing commissioned content, and monitor progress of the journal against competitors. They will work with ACS staff from Global Production Operations; Editorial Services; Digital Strategy and Publishing Platforms; and Marketing and Sales to implement strategic initiatives for the journal. The Assistant Managing Editor / Managing Editor will represent the journal(s) within the scientific community through laboratory visits and conferences, both domestic and international.

The incumbent reports to the Senior Associate Publisher, Editorial Development, ACS Proprietary Journals.

Responsibilities:

• Define and drive strategic growth of this segment of the medicinal and biological chemistry journal portfolio through development and management of editorial initiatives; monitor competitor journals and industry developments, and report on issues/trends to Editors and ACS staff at regular intervals, including during annual Editors’ and Editorial Advisory Board Meetings; develop and implement near and long-term strategic plans and priorities.
• Identify, implement, and promote strategies for the assigned journals to grow authorship, personalize outreach to key communities, establish the role of the journals within the medicinal and biological chemistry portfolio, and monitor emerging trends to identify new opportunities for collaboration among sister and related journals.
• Identify, build relationships with, and recruit new authors and research communities for the assigned journals to commission high quality content, including reviews, research articles, invited content, front matter, and special issues.
• Collaborate with the Editors, ACS Publications staff, and other stakeholders to identify new and emerging areas of content for the journal, and solicit and track submissions in these areas.
• Effectively represent the journal in correspondence and at outreach events, site visits, strategic scientific conferences, and exhibits to acquire and maintain a deep understanding of the needs and trends within the communities served by the journal and publications portfolio.
• Collaborate with the Editors-in-Chief to identify and recruit new Associate Editors and Editorial Advisory Board members for the journal.
• Using established best practices, monitor journal and competitor statistics, prepare data reports for internal and external reporting, and draft monitoring reports under guidance of ACS Publications staff.
• Coordinate with other departments (Global Production Operations; Global Editorial Operations; Business Intelligence & Analytics; Digital Transformation; Marketing; and Sales amongst others) to ensure efficiency, timeliness, and overall high quality of the published product and to move forward strategic initiatives.
• Assist ACS Publication staff with developing and implementing features, products, and services for journals and supporting the overall portfolio as necessary.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in chemistry, biology, or allied sciences is required. An advanced degree (Ph.D.) is preferred. Broad subject expertise in biological chemistry and related fields would be an advantage.
• Combined 4+ years of relevant training and experience in an academic or industrial research setting required.
• Experience in STM publishing, trends in publishing, funding/publishing policy, and publication ethics required for Managing Editor position.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities with both technical and nontechnical audiences is required. The ideal candidate is a dynamic and proactive self-starter with strong analytical skills and attention to detail, ability to make well-reasoned strategic decisions, strong relationship building capabilities and ability to influence diverse stakeholders and communities.
• The successful applicant is expected to have strong multitasking and organizational skills to balance both long term goals/projects and day-to-day deliverables and be able to effectively prioritize tasks and projects to meet deadlines while contributing to and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

This position is based in the Washington, DC or Oxford, UK, offices of the American Chemical Society. Some travel will be required.

This position is based in the Washington, DC or Oxford, UK, offices of the American Chemical Society. ACS employees work a hybrid work schedule, consisting of working onsite, three days per week. ACS employees are in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday with the third in-office day scheduled in consultation with the manager. While always welcome to work in the office, employees may work the other two days of the week from a location of their choice. New employees are immediately eligible for this hybrid work arrangement. ACS offers relocation assistance, if applicable.

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American Chemical Society