Job description
Major responsibilities include: overseeing revenue generating operations; administering and controlling the budget including budget forecasting; overseeing budgets for special projects, advertising, subscription sales, and copyright fees; writing grant applications; overseeing production and editorial flow, final editorial quality control and distribution of the journal; overseeing website development, space and inventory; conceptualizing special projects and overseeing marketing campaigns, fund-raising and sponsorship events/projects, electronic publishing projects, and public relations; supervising all promotional material for media announcements; researching, negotiating, and acquiring permissions, reprint and copyright terms and fees; negotiating contracts; preparing contract guidelines for legal counsel; overseeing development and maintenance of computer networks and databases; establishing and implementing editorial policies and procedures, manuals and style sheets; performing comparative analysis of statistics from market surveys, website, and consultant reports; writing quarterly reports and preparing quarterly budget reports to funding agencies; attending publishing meetings, conferences, and promotional events; participating on editorial search committees and conference organizing committees; participating on industry associations as executive committee to lobbying government on publishing policies; staying current with changes in electronic publishing environment and printing processes and incorporating new practices; organizing and conducting editorial team and staff meetings; recruiting, developing, supervising, training, evaluating, disciplining, and terminating staff; acting as mentor to Arts Co-op students; administering staff and student salaries; overseeing acquisition of supplies and equipment; and performing other related duties.
Organizational Status
The Managing Editor plans, implements, and coordinates all major functions relating to the management and production of Canadian Literature, a national scholarly quarterly.
Within the university, the Managing Editor supervises the production and editorial work of the Associate Editors; sits on the search committee for recruitment of new editors; has a central role as in overseeing the various organizing committee; attends meetings with Legal Counsel, Deans, Provost and faculty; works with Human Resources, Arts Co-op, and Directors of IT Services, Financial Services, and Enrolment Services in matters relating to the administration of the journal; conducts regular staff and editorial meetings with Associate Editors and CUPE staff; acts as mentor to the Arts Co-op interns by providing training, guidance, and evaluation.
Work Performed
Canadian Literature receives only 25% of its budget from UBC. The Managing Editor must generate the remainder of the revenue through business operations such as grant applications and market researches, subscription fulfillments, licensing with aggregators, targeting advertisers, and electronic sales.
Finance & Administration (40%)
- Oversees all revenue-generating operations, including subscription fulfillment, grants, contracts, special projects, advertising, permissions and copyright fees, and electronic sales
- Monitors all expenditures and liaises with Financial Services when discrepancies occur
- Prepares budget analysis and forecasts to Office of Budget and Planning, granting agencies, and special events such as the 50th Anniversary Gala and Anthology
- Is responsible for and reconciles year-end financial activities; prepares financial statements and ensures that the journal operates within its budget
- Prepares quarterly cash flow reports along with other quarterly reports to granting agencies where required
- Assesses the feasibility of reallocating budget funds for new equipment purchases and establishing other financial priorities
- Prepares annual analyses and financial summary reports to SSHRC
- Prepares statistical analyses and reports for PAP and Statistics Canada
- Conceptualizes new projects and undertakes to write major grant applications to secure funding, and also collaborates with the editor to write SSHRC grant applications
- Advises Editor on daily management of the journal such as financial and administrative issues, production scheduling, editorial and publishing policies
- Recommends departmental policy and procedures to the Editor in regards to budgeting, staffing, and administrative concerns
- Negotiates contracts with freelance service providers, including copy-editors, proof readers, typesetters, computer consultants, facilitators; negotiating costs, and communicating with the press and printers
- Negotiates reprint and copyright contracts and fees with publishers and authors, and ensures that authors published in Canadian Literature sign publication agreements with the journal, also ensuring the appropriateness of these agreements as the laws and print industry changes.
- Collaborates with UBC Legal Counsel in setting up publishing agreements and licensing contracts
- Negotiates licenses with aggregators and contributors for royalties regarding reprint and electronic publishing fees
- Determines reallocation of expenditures if projected earned revenues cannot be sustained
- Determines advertisement rates and directs advertisement sales campaigns
- Organizes and attends editorial meetings with the Editor and Associate Editors
- Prepares Managing Editor’s Report to distribute to the Editorial team at each meeting
- Oversees development of the Canadian Literature website and databases, electronic publishing and submission processes, implementing e-commerce and online marketing strategies
- Identifies and evaluates new products or services; reviews and evaluates existing business processes and systems, and recommends improvements
- Ensures compliance to university standards and policies, (e.g. adherence to health and safety policies or compliance with collective agreements) and advises Editor on changes in policies
- Acts as departmental resource person, advises Editor and all personnel on university policies and procedures
- Monitors activities in support areas, and when necessary, reallocates duties among the staff
- Resolves personnel conflicts for all staff and approves vacation and sick leave and maintains records and appointments for all staff
- Acts as mentor to the Arts Co-op interns; trains, supervises, and performs regular evaluations
- Performs regular program maintenance and general designs on FileMaker Pro database
- Collaborates with IT technicians to ensure the three servers and computer network, applications, and equipment are functioning efficiently
Contracts, Grants and Fund-raising (20%) - Researches grant opportunities; writes business plans and grants to secure new funding
- Initiatives and performs fund-raising projects such as organizing an online Auction to create a CanLit Tuition Award, a special scholarship or special campaigns with note cards; ongoing searches to create new fund-raising projects to generate revenue to support the award
- Analyzes project results and data collected to write quarterly and final reports to granting agencies; compares analyses for future strategic planning
Marketing and Public Relations (20%) - Initiates and develops marketing and strategies to increase the journal s public image and increase subscriber base (e.g., market and sales analysis, consumer and advertising research, knowledgeable/expert opinions, industry research)
- Hires consultants and supervises consultants on special projects (e.g. market surveys, focus groups, design or software systems)
- Oversees and the implementation of marketing surveys to various target groups or focus group sessions to seek potential clients and future marketing ideas to improve advertising, circulation or editorial content
- Develops strategies and oversees advertising projects with advertisers and sponsors (e.g. auctions, exhibits, prizes, or donations)
- Attends publishing events in the publishing industry to further develop management and promotional skills and networks with other publishers
- Participates, attends, and presents at the Annual Canadian Association of Learned Journals conferences, (e.g. currently sits as Secretary-Treasurer on the CALJ Executive)
- Takes an active role in lobbying government on changes affecting the scholarly and print industry
- Participates in discussions with various publishing associations such as CELJ and BCAMP
- Oversees website; analyzes statistics from website to ensure journal s national and internationally profile is maintained and enhanced
- Writes and reviews promotional material and advertisements
- Organizes exhibits at publishing conferences to promote the journal
- Participates in industry committees and provides recommendations for lobbying government
Production (15%) - Oversees all functions relating to production, editorial flow, thematic content, and distribution of the journal and final editorial quality control; preparation and coordination of copy prior to printing, working directly with authors, editors, copy-editors and typesetter; ensuring editors, contributors and publishers adhere to schedules and policies
- Is responsible for research and implementation of transition from print to digital media
Electronic Publishing/E-Commerce (5%) - Organizes the digital archives of all issues for online market
- Stays abreast of the rapidly changing electronic publishing environment and incorporates new practices as they become necessary (e.g. currently testing the Open Journal System)
- Oversees migration to new systems and implements new office practices; procedures manual; trains staff
- Implements and maintains the paperless office system during transitional times
- Oversees implementation of e-commerce with programmers; restructures accounting and sales procedures; retrains staff; produces new procedure manual
- Renegotiates existing contracts with electronic aggregators as well as searches out new distributors with the assistance of UBC Supply Management and Legal Counsel
Consequence of Error/Judgement
The Managing Editor oversees the operation of the Journal. The incumbent must exercise sound judgment in all administrative areas and maintain positive relations both internally (Editor, Associate Editors, faculty, staff, administrators, and students) and externally (Editorial Board, authors, reviewers, consultants, suppliers, customers, advertisers, donors, sponsors and government officers).
The incumbent must be able to act independently in performing defined duties and is required to alert the Editor to any unusual situation, which may affect the journal. Errors in work or poor decisions as a result of missed deadlines or lack of attention to details, etc., may lead to confusion and lost opportunities and will negatively impact the reputation of the Journal and the university.
The Managing Editor is responsible for ensuring that the journal functions within its budget, and, when there are budget shortfalls, determines how to best reallocate expenditures, keeping in mind the main goal of maintaining the superlative quality of the journal. Mismanagement of budget and funding could result in over-expenditure, loss of reputation, and compromise future financial planning. Poor fiscal management would also result in the termination of staffing positions and special scholarship awards. Moreover, contracts not fulfilled adequately would result in loss of funding.
Supervision Received
Works independently, under very limited supervision of the Editor; sets own priorities and performs duties independently; consults the Editor with reference to complex or new problems.
Supervision Given
Supervises and administers CUPE staff, project staff, and students; conducts performance appraisals, training and career development. Is responsible for hiring, evaluation, discipline and termination. Assigns work as required and sets priorities for staff members to follow.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Experience in publishing environment including managerial experience in a unionized environment. Excellent verbal and written communications skills with proficiency in the use of English grammar, spelling and punctuation. Ability to formulate complex budgets and prepare budget justifications. Ability to analyze and interpret data, determine implications, and provide recommendations. Ability to analyze problems, identify key information and issues, and effectively resolve. Proven experience and ability with the marketing, promotion, and production of a journal. Ability to work independently with minimal direction. Must possess strong leadership skills and the ability to effectively recruit, train, supervise, and motivate employees. Must demonstrate ability to take initiative as well as to collaborate with others in a team environment. Ability to effectively liaise with varied groups including students, academics, university administrators, external contacts and government. Ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines and to handle heavy volumes during peak periods. Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail. Ability to effectively use standard computer software applications at an advanced level (e.g., Outlook, MS Word, MS Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and other search engines). Familiarity with MACs, FileMaker Pro, Adobe, InDesign and Dreamweaver.
About University of British Columbia
CEO: Arvind Gupta
Revenue: $2 to $5 billion (USD)
Size: 10000+ Employees
Type: College / University
Website: www.ubc.ca
Year Founded: 1915