Acquisitions Editor (Remote)

Cengage Group•Virtual US CT, CT

1d•Remote

About The Position

Cengage is seeking an experienced publishing professional to join our Gale Primary Sources (GPS) team within the Higher Education division. As an Acquisitions Editor, you will play a key role in shaping a portfolio of digital primary source collections, with a strong focus on modern history. In this role, you will lead the end-to-end acquisition process from identifying and evaluating new content opportunities, to building compelling business cases, negotiating with external partners, and guiding projects through production and publication. You’ll work collaboratively across teams to bring high-quality, research-driven products to market that support academic discovery and learning. We’re looking for someone who combines strong communication and analytical skills with a passion for humanities content and digital publishing. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, adaptable in a fast-changing market, and motivated to advocate for the success of the products they develop.

Requirements

Degree level in history or humanities required, or equivalent experience considered; advanced degree highly preferred.
A strong sense of curiosity and openness to learning about topics in a variety of academic areas, with a particularly strong emphasis on history and the humanities.
An ability and willingness to fully own the product and series development life cycle from inception to final publication, as well as post-publication maintenance.
A flexible approach to tasks and a ‘can do’ attitude, along with a willingness to learn new skills and improve current ones.
A capacity to work on a regular basis in a team setting in the conception, creation, and post-release maintenance and promotion of any products and series.
Keen attention to detail and follow-through.
Analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Strong numeracy skills and financial literacy.
Solid communication skills, both written and verbal.
Strong PC skills with working knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
Ability to work calmly in a sometimes high-pressure environment.
Team player suited to a team-oriented and collaborative environment, where knowledge is shared actively.
Discreet and respectful of confidentiality, mindful of cultural sensitivities around primary source materials, and diplomatic when interacting with colleagues, stakeholders, and institutional partners.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of copyright, privacy and data protection, archival practice, and digitization.
A strong interest in history and the humanities as a field of scholarly study.
Previous experience working in a publishing environment or academic archival experience within the digital humanities.

Responsibilities

Coordinate the development of individual digital archive modules.
Develop digital archives series to support the financial goals of the Gale Primary Sources (GPS) initiative.
Acquire products focused on modern global history, with a key focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Investigate, quantify and collect data on potential institutional partners and content collections (e.g., historical books, manuscripts, serials and newspaper publications) that can serve as the basis for digital archive products and product series, particularly in the area of legal history.
Assess content for extent, physical condition, content type, rights clearance needs, privacy restrictions, and metadata requirements through physical and/or digital finding aids, inventories, catalogs from source libraries and archives.
Prepare market research and financial analysis for new product approvals, which includes conducting sales history reviews, gathering feedback from potential academic users and library selectors, building accurate profit-and-loss analyses, and reviewing the comparative strengths and weaknesses of competitor products.
Submit pre-contract proposals to potential partners, draft partner agreements for content acquisition, and negotiate final terms for signing of products.
Coordinate and oversee with the in-house production team the successful digital conversion of content to publication, including the analysis of metadata requirements, remediation of metadata challenges, assessment and oversight of permissions and copyright clearance requirements, survey privacy needs and implement a suitable content redaction and removal protocols, commission introductory essays, and prepare all in-product descriptions (overviews, tutorial content).
Act as the key provider of product information to marketing, sales, and customer engagement teams for your products and product series for which the editor is responsible, including slide deck presentations to sales and marketing teams and customers, the writing and review of marketing copy and product descriptions, and the circulation of content title lists.