Department of Human Resources
OPSEU Job Description
Job Title:
Job Number:
NOC:
Band:
Department:
Supervisor Title:
Managing Editor
A-002
5122
11
Journal of Canadian Studies
Provost & Vice-President, Academic
Last Reviewed:
April 1, 2005
Job Purpose
The Managing Editor (MED) of the Journal of Canadian Studies (JCS) is responsible for the overall
administration of the JCS operation, to ensure its quality and timelines. Production, Manuscript
Review & Author Interaction, Strategic Planning, External Liaison, Financial Management, Book
Review.
Key Activities
1. Production
- Solely responsible for planning, managing and evaluating all phases of print and
electronic production of journals from inception to completion, including editorial
project scheduling.
- Delegates, prioritizes, schedules and monitors all projects.
- Negotiates directly with the copyeditors and the authors regarding changes and has the
authority to withhold a paper until it meets the JCS’s standards.
- Selects the lineup, chooses the cover, develops the table of contents, and signs off on
the final product.
- Is responsible for determining the staffing needs for each project and has the ability to
hire and to terminate contracts of production staff
- Negotiates printing, postal and circulation management contracts (up to $15,000 each).
- Writes several sections of the journal for each issue and writes abstracts when
necessary.
25%
2. Manuscript Review and Author Interaction
- Gives counsel to the Editorial Team regarding whether a paper should be accepted for
publication or not.
- Actively seek manuscripts for review and publication.
25%
Job Number: A-002
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Is responsible for developing new policies to ensure the integrity of the peer review
system e.g. making the decision to move to a minimum of 3 reviewers to improve the
quality of the system.
Reads each submission and determines whether an article makes the minimum
threshold to proceed in the evaluation process.
Researches each topic to determine who the experts are in a particular field and selects
the most qualified people to review the paper in conjunction with the Editorial Team.
Disseminates and coordinates manuscripts for peer review, utilizing the Editorial Board
when necessary.
Once the evaluations are received and it is time to make a final decision, negotiates with
the Editorial Team about how to proceed.
3. Strategic Planning
- Lead, design, implement and monitor a series of strategic reports.
- Diagnose short-term and long-term issues and recommended alternatives and
contingency plans. The reports are designed to provide the tools, insights and
information necessary to set the JCS direction, to create a business plan, gap analysis
and to provide an action plan to implement the changes conducted. A key part of this
planning requires complex financial analysis and forecasting (pro formas, key indicators
etc.).
- Monitors the progress of these developments and revises the business plans accordingly.
- Is responsible for presenting and defending strategic plans to the VP Academic
- Responsible for writing the SSHRC application and outlining the strategic direction of the
journal for evaluation by external evaluators.
20%
4. External Liaison
- Liaises directly with external research agencies, public and private sector partners,
federal government departments and granting agencies.
- Is responsible for researching and writing reports to SSHRC, the Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade, Department of Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada.
- Researches funding opportunities and actively seeks new contracts to negotiate
regarding electronic publishing rights (worth more than $20,000/year).
- Is responsible for ensuring that research projects comply with signed contractual
obligations and comply with intellectual property and copyright legislation.
13%
5. Financial Management
- Is responsible for ensuring that the JCS generates & has revenue sufficient to maintain its
quarterly operation
- Has day-to day authority over expenditures & is accountable for ensuring a yearly budget
balance
- Designs & implements a customized data base systems for subscriptions
- Compiles data and prepares statistical info for annual financial reports for Trent, funding
agencies & the Editorial Board
- Monitors fiscal resources to ensure budgetary balance & integrity
- Co-writes grant applications to federal & other funding bodies
- Grants permission for articles to be republished in books, magazines & other commercial
publications, administers the
- Applicable copyright contracts & negotiates permission fees
12%
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6. Book Review
- The Managing Editor has been responsible for the Book Review Editor’s duties since
March 2003. These include: liaising with publishers, selecting appropriate books for
review and creating thematic packages, finding academic reviewers to undertake the
reviews, scheduling the reviews, determining whether or not to accept a review for
publication, and negotiating copy edited changes.
10%
Education
Master’s of Arts Degree.
Experience Required
1. A minimum of two to four years of directly related experience with proven editorial/writing
skills, a thorough knowledge of English grammar and experience with scholarly texts
required, plus two years of administrative and accounting experience.
2. Working knowledge of French required; functional bilingualism, if not fluency, preferred.
3. Excellent communication, diplomacy and interpersonal skills
4. Excellent time-management skills and demonstrated ability to handle multiple projects and
deadlines simultaneously; organizational skills include short-and long-term planning
5. Must demonstrate a high degree of judgement, attention to detail, self-motivation and
ability to work with a minimum of supervision.
6. Proficient at word processing, database and spreadsheet programmes, as well as the
Internet
7. Must be able to work non-standard schedules to deal with deadlines
Responsibility for the Work of Others
Direct Responsibility
Job Title
Copyeditors (3)
Graphic Designers (2)
Typists/typesetters (2)
Web Designer
Proofreaders (2)
Office Assistants (2)
Position Type
Contractor
Contractor
Contractor
Contractor
Upper-Year or Graduate Students
Upper-Year Students
Indirect Responsibility
JCS uses the services of French translators on a regular basis to translate correspondence &
academic abstracts. The Managing Editor organizes, assigns & schedules the work for the
translator. The Managing Editor acts as a liaison between the Editor & the translator & the
designers and the translator.
The MED indirectly supervises the work of the Production Manager of the company that prints
the JCS. MED ensures that the Production Manager has interpreted corrections & conformed to
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the production requirements & quality standards set by the MED. The MED must review & give
final approval to the work performed by the Production Manager.
Communication
Internal:
- Trent Faculty - to advise Trent faculty who are members of the Board & the Board
Executive on the activities and day-to-day management of the JCS to locate, contact &
help secure assessors & provide them with written guidelines. To advise quest editors &
authors in the preparation of manuscripts. To act as a resource person in matters
related to Canadian Studies & publishing in general.
- Financial Services (Manager, Budget Office) - To work with the manager to calculate
accrued charges & appropriations, to calculate & to allocate deferred income properly.
To review the status of the trust accounts & interest earned on a semi-annual basis. To
consult with the Manager, Budget Services & the Editor to prepare annual financial
statements on a line-item-by-line item basis that monitors the financial health of the
journal.
- Manager, Purchasing & Buyer - To consult with & solicit advice from the Purchasing
Department on issues. Unlike other departments at Trent, the JCS receives most of its
invoices directly. The MED & the Buyer confer on such things as GST rebates &
evaluating tenders received for the best service.
- Accounts Receivable - To submit & confirm a deposit of subscription &/or other
revenues into the JCS's account.
- Manager, Systems & Operations - To seek advice on developing & improving electronic
communication between the JCS office & the various communities it serves.
- Publications Co-ordinator - To solicit advice & to utilize the book design services of the
Design office for special projects.
- Physical Resources Staff - To co-ordinate the bulk mailing of subscription notices &
publication 2nd class licenses; to negotiate office space & storage of inventory of back
issues; to co-ordinate with Security Staff on access to the building after hours for editors
& production staff.
External:
- Production Manager & Accounts Manager, printing company - To manage the business
relationship with printer. To liaise & negotiate print specifications. To develop a
production schedule. To provide approval of a colour proof of the cover & the text
proofs
- External Faculty - To advise & counsel the Board Executive, Committee Chairs & Board
members on the activities & day-to-day management of the JCS. To contact & help
secure assessors & provide them with written guidelines & determine deadlines for the
manuscript review process. To advise guest editors & authors in the preparation of
manuscripts. To act as a person in matters related to Canadian Studies & publishing in
general.
- Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council - To provide annual financial statements
& reports. To discuss these reports & grant applications & provide information as
requested.
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Account Manager, Canada Post - To rationalize financial issues related to the Canada
Post 2nd Class Licence. To negotiate the quarterly Statement of Mailing for publications
mail. To calculate & negotiate the Canadian Heritage rebate for domestic subscriptions.
Subscribers (individual & institutional) - To advise subscribers or subscription companies
of the status of their annual subscription & to send annual invoices where applicable. To
notify subscribers & subscription companies of rate changes, delays in production, new
initiatives to fill claim notices.
Editorial teams of academic journals - To negotiate exchange agreements with other
publications. To negotiate exchange advertising with other journals. To solicit & share
information on governance, subscription rates & new projects.
Professional Associations - To liaise with the International Council of Canadian Studies &
the Association on Canadian Studies on subscription & financial matters. To co-ordinate
the annual publication of a joint ACS/JCS issue.
Other Publishers - Negotiates & signs agreements with Canadian & international
companies with respect to electronic reprinting & distribution of JCS articles. Negotiate
& maintain contracts with Broadview Press in the case of co-publications. Grant
permissions for articles to be republished in books, magazines & other commercial
publications, administers the applicable copyright contracts & negotiates permissions
fees.
Motor/Sensory Skills
Motor Skills:
Skill Type
Fine Motor skills/dexterity
Sensory Skills:
Skill Type
Hearing/Seeing
Job Requiring
Computer keyboarding skills
Job Requiring
Aural & visual skills required for copyediting &
proofreading & for communication skills
Effort
Mental:
- Constant Presence, sustained attention to detail - Required in writing, copyediting &
proofreading tasks as well as in the calculation of financial figures; frequent
interruptions from subscribers, authors increases effort required
- Exactness of Tasks - No errors are allowed
Physical:
- Lifting & moving of 35-40 lb. boxes of journals - The MED is required to store & ship
inventory of journals
Working Conditions
Physical:
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Normal working conditions - Including no or limited exposure to hazardous
conditions/materials/equipment
Psychological:
- Changing deadlines/time pressures - Deadlines must be constantly monitored & reevaluated & problems need to be addressed & resolved quickly. This often means an
increased workload & frequently longer work hours to meet scheduled deadlines.
- Multiple competing demands - The JCS Editors must satisfy the standards and criteria.
MED must be accountable to the JCS's other funding sources & their distinct fiscal years
& auditing standards & ensure the JCS remains solvent.
Job Description Approved by Human Resources (as per Article 17.1):
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Signatures - indicating that the job description has been read and understood:
Incumbent
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Immediate Supervisor:
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Department Head/ Dean:
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Job Number: A-002
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Last updated: April 1, 2005