Journals Manager

The University of Texas at Austin • Austin, UT

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Texas Press, the largest publishing house in the state of Texas, seeks an energetic, experienced professional to manage its journals division. For seventy-five years, UT Press has published books and journals across a wide range of subjects, including history, music, classics, architecture, and Latin American studies. Our portfolio of sixteen journals includes Texas Studies in Language and Literature, Texas National Security Review, Information & Culture, and others across several disciplines. Reporting to the director of the press, the journals manager leads a department of four on work that is central to the mission and identity of UT Press.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in the humanities or social sciences.
• Five or more years of experience in scholarly publishing.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to manage time effectively, prioritize competing deadlines, and delegate tasks appropriately.
• Knowledge of publishing workflows, including editorial, production, print, and digital publication processes.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Adobe Creative Cloud applications (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator).
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• Extensive work on scholarly journals, including working with scholarly societies and/or journal editorial boards.
• Experience with modern publishing production techniques, including journal and digital content design and production.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, and developing in-house staff, as well as managing relationships with freelancers and vendors.
• Experience contributing to or leading strategic planning initiatives.
• Experience coordinating all aspects of journal production, printing, and distribution.
• Experience estimating project costs and reviewing publishing contracts.
• Experience working with manuscript submission and peer-review systems.
• Knowledge of scholarly publishing standards, publication ethics, and research integrity best practices.

Responsibilities

• Define qualitative and financial standards for peer-reviewed journal acquisitions.
• Evaluate prospective journals, prepare financial projections, complete proposals, and negotiate contracts with societies, sponsors, and/or journal editors.
• Respond to inquiries from outside journals, including both casual expressions of interest and formal Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
• Develop new revenue sources such as new options for disseminating content and expanding customer base.
• Explore techniques and strategies for effective use of the Press website.
• Renegotiate contracts and licenses with vendors as needed.
• Keep informed about technological developments and trends in the publishing industry and the evolving digital marketplace.
• Attend national professional meetings and maintain contacts with academic publishing colleagues.
• Prepare and monitor annual Journals Division budget which includes revenue from subscription sales, single copy and single article sales, licensing content, and any advertising sales.
• Set subscription rates for various classes of subscribers for print and electronic content.
• Monitor all expenses and approve expenditures.
• Annually assess financial goals.
• Serve and provide leadership on the Press management team.
• Establish efficient goals and direct work processes for Journals Division customer service, subscriptions and sales, print and electronic production, warehousing and fulfillment, marketing, subsidiary rights, accounting, and journal acquisitions.
• Supervise staff of three (full time), including conducting performance evaluations, fostering professional development, and handling other human resource issues as appropriate.
• Process requests for permission to use material from UT Press Journals.
• Send collections letters for overdue permissions fees.
• Register UT Press journals with the US Copyright Office.
• Checking incoming copyright notices.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with society board members, sponsors, and journal editors.
• Keep societies and sponsors apprised of the status of the journals and prepare annual reports detailing finances, circulations, online usage, and any marketing efforts conducted during the fiscal year.
• Prepare other reports to societies and sponsors as requested.
• Work with societies and journal editors on general problem solving.
• Oversee production work of up to 2-3 journals which includes copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, desktop publishing, commercial printing, and electronic publishing stages of production.
• Provide general support to production team during staff vacations and other needs as defined by the situation.

Benefits

• Retirement Plan Eligibility: The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level