Managing Editor – Academic Publications

The Society

The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is the learned society and professional body for geography and geographers. It is also a charity and a membership organisation. The Society was founded in 1830 and has been one of the most active of the learned societies ever since. It was pivotal in establishing geography as a teaching and research discipline in British universities, and continues to play a key role in geographical and environmental education. The Society is a leading world centre for geographical learning – supporting education, teaching, research and scientific expeditions, as well as promoting public understanding and enjoyment of geography and providing advice to policymakers.

The Society has an international membership of approximately 16,000, 31 specialist research groups, and a programme of activities that extends far beyond its membership to broad engagement with more than three million people per year. Over 200 lectures, conferences and other events are organised each year including a major four-day Annual Conference, a programme of popular lectures, professional development for geographers, and policy-related discussions.

The Society also publishes, under contract, scholarly journals and the popular Geographical magazine. It empowers others through a programme of grant-giving in support of research, fieldwork and expeditions, and teaching. The Society’s information resources include its historic geographical Collections of maps, images, books, manuscript archives and artefacts. The Society offers professional accreditation to members through Chartered Geographer status.

The Society is based in a listed building in its own grounds in Kensington opposite Hyde Park, and operates nine regional branches in the UK and two overseas. There are 54 permanent full-time staff, together with part-time, temporary and volunteer staff.

Applicants are strongly recommended to familiarise themselves with the current work of the Society set out on our website: www.rgs.org

The position

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is seeking to appoint a Managing Editor: Academic Publications to manage the editorial office function and ongoing development and strategy of the Society’s portfolio of academic publications, ensuring that these publications maintain high standards of quality and maximising their success in terms of readership, impact, and author experience. The Society’s academic publications (www.rgs.org/journals) currently include the journals Area, Geo: Geography and Environment, The Geographical Journal, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers and WIREs Climate Change, and the RGS-IBG Book Series, all published in partnership with Wiley. The Society also hosts the widely accessed Geography Directions blog (www.geographydirections.com) which publishes analysis and opinions by expert geographers on contemporary topics and issues.

The Society’s scholarly publications are a core element of our current strategy and provide an outlet for the dissemination of high quality research across the breadth of the discipline. In 2022, our journals were accessed online over 1 million times and read in more than 160 countries. Significant changes are occurring in scholarly publishing, particularly around digital developments and Open Access, and this is an exciting time to be involved. The Managing Editor: Academic Journals will work closely with, and report to, the Head of Research and Higher Education.

Key responsibilities for the post fall under the following areas:

• Management of the complete journal submission and review process for each of the Society’s journals through ScholarOne Manuscripts and reporting on peer review trends, publication flows, and production targets.
• Management of the Society’s Geography Directions blog.
• Close liaison with the Editors of each of the journals and the book series, and with Wiley to ensure high quality, timely publications, and to support the selection of reviewers.
• Maintaining knowledge of and promoting best practice and resources to assist the wider geography community, particularly in relation to early career researchers and equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Ensuring that the maximum visibility and outreach is attained for all publications.
• Working closely with the Editors and the Head of Research and Higher Education to set and monitor the Society’s publication strategy alongside strategies for individual journals.

This position would suit a motivated, hard-working and very well organised individual with experience and interest in academic geography and publishing. 

Salary and application details

This is a permanent, full time post subject to successful completion of a probationary period of three months. The salary range for this post is £35,534 - £42,173 per annum depending on experience and qualifications. The post is based in Kensington, London.

There are a range of benefits at the Society which include the following:

• 35-hour working week with core working hours between 10.00am and 4.00pm.
• Flexible working arrangements are available with a mix of office based and home working.
• 25 days annual leave per annum plus public bank holidays.
• Society closure between Christmas and New Year, in addition to the basic annual leave allowance.
• Generous pension scheme - 3% employee, 7.5% employer.
• Group Life Assurance at four-times basic annual salary.
• Corporate eye care vouchers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Free 24-hour Employee Assistance helpline with available counselling support
• Complimentary Membership or Fellowship, depending on your eligibility.

The Society aims to be an equal opportunities employer. 

To apply please email HR@rgs.org with a copy of your CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability for the post and how you fulfil the selection criteria, along with the monitoring form.

Applications must be received by 24 April 2023 at noon. Interviews will be held in the week of 1 May 2023. We thank, in advance, all candidates for applying and regret we are unable to write separately to those who are not selected for interview.

Job description for the post of Managing Editor: Academic Publications

Post: Managing Editor: Academic Publications

Responsible to: Head of Research and Higher Education

This position is supported by a 0.4 FTE administrative assistant.

Location: South Kensington, London

Purpose of post

The Managing Editor: Academic Publications is the primary point of contact for authors submitting material to the Society’s journals, working closely with the Editors of each of the Society’s journals and the book series, and with our publishing partner Wiley, to ensure timely publications of the highest quality that advance geographical knowledge. The Managing Editor also edits the Geography Directions blog. 

Duties and responsibilities

Journal procedures

• Supported by the Editorial Assistant (0.4 FTE), oversee the full submission process through ScholarOne manuscripts, ensuring accuracy and speed of processing, and answering any queries that arise from authors or Editors.
• Assign papers to Editors ensuring parity of workload amongst the teams, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and alignment with subject specific knowledge where possible, and actively supporting them in selection of reviewers.
• Maintain oversight of journal processing times, ensuring that these remain within the set targets and that the editorial office is run effectively to ensure good author experience, liaising with authors, editors, reviewers and the publisher where needed.
• Check that all accepted manuscripts are ready for publication, and work with the publication team to ensure an accurate, smooth, and efficient publishing process. Where production problems arise, ensure these are resolved in a timely manner.
• Coordinate responses to any complaints in a fair and impartial manner, drawing on guidance from the Committee on Publishing Ethics and other best practice guidance.
• Work with the Head of Higher Education to publish the Society’s annual meeting minutes, medals and awards ceremonies, and any obituaries in the Geographical Journal.
• Archive all journal records.

Managing the Editorial teams

• Manage the performance of Editorial teams in accordance with best practice guidance and personal circumstances.
• Maintain regular contact with the Editors to update them on both academic publishing and publication-specific development and plans..
• Ensure ongoing training and development needs of Editors are met to enable them to fulfil the continuing requirements of their position and in line with their journal’s specific strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Arrange, contribute to and service meetings for Editors of individual publications and the overall scholarly publishing portfolio as required.
• Provide input into the recruitment process for new Editors.
• Onboard new Editors, so that the journal team works effectively and towards a common set of objectives.
• Act as a source of professional advice to Editors on all aspects of journal publishing.
• Manage renumeration processes for Editors, and editorial board members.

Journal development and strategy

• Actively contribute to the overall Society publications strategy.
• Work with the Editors to produce, review and report against strategic Journal Development Plans.
• Ensure that new features introduced by the Publisher are discussed and implemented in an appropriate manner that fits with the publication strategies of the individual and collective publications.
• Work with Editors to identify and implement ways of attracting new submissions and audiences, to further increase impact and representativeness of the publications.

Promoting best practice, resources, and training

• Maintain knowledge of the academic publishing landscape, including new initiatives from other journals/publishers/funders and new developments in the broader field.
• Identify and implement new practices and procedures to improve journal performance and reputation.
• Share good practice with the wider geography community to ensure an improved publication system for the whole of the geography discipline.
• Maintain and update the Society’s resources related to academic publications, including the ‘Getting Published and Read’ guide.
• Monitor and report on demographic data for the Society’s journals, promote and develop best practice around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion across a range of categories including gender, race, career status, geographical location, and language for authors, reviewers, and editors.

Outreach

• Manage and provide editorial oversight for the Geography Directions blog. This includes soliciting, editing and promoting blog posts in line with wider trends in current events, and strategic priorities of both the Society and the wider geography community.
• Work with the publisher to develop an Annual Marketing Plan and to liaise on its implementation.
• Actively liaise with Publisher, Head of Research and Higher Education, and Editors to develop effective strategies for the wider dissemination and readership of publications.
• Manage and maintain social media (twitter) activities related to the publications.
• Attend the RGS-IBG Annual Conference and represent the publications.
• Organise and run workshops for geographers to facilitate better knowledge and understanding of the journals publishing process. This may be in partnership with external parties (e.g. AuthorAid)
• Administer the Area Prize.
• Ensure that the Society and Wiley webpages relating to the academic publications are up-to-date.

Selection criteria

The following are the ideal requirements for the post. These are the criteria against which candidates will be short-listed and judged. Candidates are encouraged to outline how they meet these requirements in their letter of application, as well as documenting previous relevant experience.

Personal skills

• An advanced degree in geography or equivalent professional experience and demonstrable knowledge of the subject.
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic publishing professional.
• Well-developed inter-personal skills, with an ability to communicate very effectively, tactfully and discreetly with the Editors of the journals, authors and reviewers of individual papers, and the Publisher (Wiley).
• A well-organised and efficient approach to work, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a wide range of people under pressure to meet strict and multiple deadlines.
• Team player with a collaborative, flexible and adaptable approach to work.
• Ability to motivate others.
• Ability to identify and develop opportunities for collaboration and development.

Specific job skills

• A sound knowledge of the publishing and the peer-review process.
• A sound knowledge of contemporary academic geography.
• An active interest in current developments in scholarly publishing.
• Good networking skills and the ability to represent Society journals at key events.
• Skills to undertake and clearly report on data gathering and research to support the assessment of the publication process and dissemination activities.
• The ability to support all meetings associated with the journals, including assembling reports and papers.
• Strong copy-editing and proof-reading skills.

IT skills

• Experience of, or ability to learn quickly, the web-based electronic submission system ScholarOne Manuscripts and related software.
• Competent in Microsoft Office (particularly Word, Excel and Outlook).
• Good understanding of social media and other digital publishing tools.
• Confident in the use of email, phone and video-calling for a wide variety of communications.