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Executive Editor Vacancy

The British Ecological Society is a thriving learned society established in 1913 whose vision is advancing ecology and making it count. It publishes four successful journals, and a quarterly newsletter, the Bulletin, that is distributed to its 4,000 members worldwide. At present, the BES is seeking an outstanding applied ecologist to coordinate and drive the development of Journal of Applied Ecology.

Journal of Applied Ecology is a highly ranked international journal with a reputation for publishing papers that combine the highest standards of ecological science with direct relevance to environmental management across all animal and plant taxa and across a broad range of habitats and ecosystems. Manuscript submissions have risen markedly over the past five years and will probably exceed 900 in 2008. Over the same period, the ISI Impact Factor has more than doubled to 4.53 so that the Journal is currently ranked 9th of 114 ecological journals worldwide. To capitalise on the international success of the journal, and to raise its profile worldwide, we are seeking an Executive Editor to join the current team of four editors. The Executive Editor will work with the other members of this team to ensure that the Journal publishes top quality, timely material and to plan and implement strategies that will enhance its profile and expand its readership. The editors are supported by an international Associate Editorial Board and an administrative team of a Managing Editor and a part time Editorial Assistant. Information about the journal can be found on the journals pages at  www.britishecologicalsociety.org, with further detail at  www.blackwellpublishing.com/jpe and current content accessible from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/jpe. The Executive Editor will be responsible for the overall coordination of journal development and will be a central point of contact between the Journal and the BES.

All Editors must be highly motivated, decisive, outstanding communicators and must act with the highest probity. They must have an excellent understanding of their own field of ecology, as well as of the wider discipline, and have experience of the peer review and editing processes and a commitment to maintaining the high editorial standards of the Journal. Executive Editors should have proven leadership abilities. This post is part-time (current salary £4,793 per annum), based at the post-holder’s normal place of work and is available from mid-June. Journal of Applied Ecology has an operating budget to allow editors to attend editorial meetings, to publicise the Journal and to interact with other ecologists at important international events, as well as covering editorial costs.

Informal enquiries may be made to the BES Publications Committee Chair, Prof S Hartley (S.Hartley@sussex.ac.uk).

Responsibilities:
Coordinate and drive Journal development

Ensure that the Journal acts promptly, correctly, ethically and defensibly

Act as a central point of contact with the BES, ensuring that best practice is shared and that the Journal remains within agreed page and financial budgets

Identify key subject areas on which the Journal should focus and solicit the submission of high quality manuscripts in all relevant areas

Champion the Journal at conferences and meetings and use information gained to drive changes in procedure and to take advantage of new opportunities

Identify and recruit Associate Editors and assess and manage their performance

Coordinate and present the production of an annual development plan for the Journal and an annual report to be presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Society

Contribute to the development of the Society’s journal portfolio through attendance at meetings of the Publications Committee

Oversee manuscript processing by:

    making decisions based on Associate Editors’ recommendations

    pre-screening submitted manuscripts for suitability for the Journal

    assigning manuscripts to an appropriate Associate Editor

    taking full responsibility for a limited number of manuscripts

Selection criteria:
Strong publication record

Knowledge and understanding of the subject area, complementary to that of the other editors

Ability to work independently and to prioritise from a range of active projects

Ability to form, and operate in, scientific networks

Ability to think strategically and act decisively

Proven leadership skills

Experience of editorial work is highly desirable

Applications:please send your CV, plus a letter explaining what you have to offer to the Journal, how you fulfil the criteria above and how you would like to see the Journal develop in the next five years, to Dr L Haddon, BES Publications Manager, Lindsay@BritishEcologicalSociety.org.

Closing date: 12noon (BST) on Monday June 2nd 2008

Selected candidates will be interviewed on Tuesday 17th June, in person or by phone depending on their location.

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