JOE Senior Editor

Position Description

Commitment

Term of Appointment: 3 years

Estimated Time Commitment: 8–10 hours per week on average

Overview

The Senior Editor (SE) provides high-level oversight of the intellectual content of the journal and has final authority regarding acceptance or rejection of all submissions. The SE is responsible for ensuring that the journal’s academic rigor and publishing processes meet generally acceptable standards for the scholarly journal industry. Because a focus of the journal is author development, the SE is involved in providing authors with feedback to foster development of their scholarly writing skills. The SE uses established materials and procedures to perform the duties of the role and may delegate tasks to the Associate Senior Editor as needed or desired. The SE is expected to obtain institutional support to fulfill the duties of the role, and the SE’s institution is recognized on the journal’s masthead. The SE reports to the editorial committee of the Extension Journal Inc. (EJI) board of directors.

The SE is expected to

• establish a collegial and productive working relationship with other members of the JOE editorial leadership team (i.e., Associate Senior Editor, Associate Editors);
• apply objectivity, fairness, and courtesy when communicating with authors and other members of the JOE editorial leadership team; and
• protect confidentiality as applicable in all communications.

Duties

1. Serve as an ex officio member of the EJI board of directors, attending the board’s six bimonthly board meetings per year via virtual participation in five meetings and in-person attendance at the first of the board’s two annual face-to-face meetings (in-person attendance at both face-to-face meetings is encouraged).
2. Carry out decisions of the board.
3. Serve as an ex officio member of the EJI editorial committee, attending committee meetings (via virtual participation other than at the first face-to-face EJI board meeting annually) and working closely with other committee members to set editorial policy and direction for JOE, recommend to the board best practices for JOE’s success, and maintain an active, qualified panel of peer reviewers.
4. As needed, address problems such as ethical breaches by authors, slow advancement of manuscripts through the publication process, lack of appropriate rigor or quality of manuscripts recommended for publication, and reviewer inadequacies.
5. Consult with the Associate Editors regarding disposition decisions for submissions.
6. Manage a process of inviting Commentary submissions from thought leaders in the field.
7. Contribute editorials to the journal as needed or desired.
8. Provide input regarding developing and updating JOE author and peer reviewer resources as needed.
9. Assist with JOE workload planning by tracking hours worked.
10. Promote readership of and authorship in the journal when opportunities to do so exist.

Qualifications

• Must have a PhD and expertise in a discipline or disciplines found commonly within Cooperative Extension nationally. (May be a current or recently retired Extension educator [100%] or academic faculty member who has/had an Extension appointment [e.g., 20% Extension, 30% teaching, 50% research].)
• Must have a proven, demonstrated record of research and successful publishing in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, preferably including JOE, and understanding of and appreciation for the mission and values of JOE. Additional experience as a peer reviewer for JOE or another scholarly journal or as an Associate Editor for a scholarly peer-reviewed journal is preferable.
• Must possess demonstrated education and/or experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
• Must have strong composition and writing skills and the ability to recognize and provide feedback on a wide array of editorial issues and must have knowledge of style requirements identified in the current edition of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
• Must have a demonstrated record of effectively managing others and proven organizational skills applicable to managing workflows and meeting deadlines.
• Must have authorization from institutional department head (direct supervisor) and Extension director to serve 3 years as the JOE SE and commitment from these individuals to provide time and resources required for completing the JOE SE duties.
• Must be willing to serve 3 years as the JOE SE.

Application Process

An applicant for the JOE Senior Editor position will provide the items listed below. (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the application period will remain open until positions are filled. Application materials may be uploaded at any time; however, the sooner a candidate submits an application, the sooner that candidate’s application will be reviewed.)

1. A cover letter (maximum two pages): The cover letter should include the following elements: (a) identification of the position for which the candidate is applying (i.e., JOE SE), (b) reasons the candidate desires the JOE SE position, (c) specifics of the qualifications the candidate possesses for the JOE SE position, (d) an explanation of the commitment the candidate’s institution is willing to make to facilitate a successful candidate’s work with JOE, and (e) the candidate’s name, title, institution, address, phone number, and email address.
2. A resume (maximum five pages): The resume should include (a) education, (b) work experience, (c) documentation of published peer-reviewed scholarly articles, and (d) any experience with peer-reviewed journals, such as editorial positions, reviewer positions (when, what, for how long).
3. Published article samples (three): The candidate will provide three copies (PDFs) of articles the candidate has successfully published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
4. Letters: The candidate will provide two letters of reference (maximum two pages) from people who can speak to the candidate’s abilities and experiences relative to the duties and qualifications associated with the JOE SE role. At least one letter of reference should be from an individual from outside the candidate’s institution. The candidate also will provide one letter from a supervisor from the candidate’s institution informing of the institution’s willingness to support the candidate’s efforts as the JOE SE if selected.

Upload all application materials here

Due to the open application period resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EJI editorial committee will conduct application reviews and fill positions on an ongoing basis. Candidates advanced to the interview stage will receive notification of such and will participate in virtual interviews for those positions. After completion of individual interviews, the EJI editorial committee will extend offers to successful candidates.

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