Managing Editor, Books

Americas Test Kitchen•Boston, MA

22h•$63,500 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Americas Test Kitchen is seeking a Managing Editor to join our book team. This is a unique opportunity to work with a group of passionate cooks, editors, and designers while managing workflow that spans a range of content creation: editorial, design, recipe development, and photography. You will oversee the flow of work across a variety of cookbook titles from editorial inception to finished books, centralize information, set milestones, help manage resources, and maintain schedules. You will support the editors in a variety of tasks and work closely with sales, marketing, photo, and manufacturing by coordinating communication and establishing best practices. Creative problem solving, excellent communication and organization, adaptability to different working styles, and eagerness to dive deep are key attributes for this role.

Requirements

Must be able to thrive amid shifting and sometimes competing priorities, react thoughtfully and efficiently to new information, and work comfortably when complete information isnt available.
Strong leadership qualities especially when guiding problem-solving discussions and finding resolutions that consider the needs of multiple individuals.
A clear grasp of the editorial side of book publishing or related field and an eagerness to learn the specific needs of each stage of our content-creation process.
Three to five years of experience in managing the production of complex editorial projects; cookbook experience preferred
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong editorial abilities and judgment; some copyediting and proofreading experience preferred
Top-notch organizational skills
Ability to work successfully independently as well as part of a team
Proficiency with publishing technology tools (experience with Google Suite, InDesign, InCopy, K4 desirable)
This position is located in our Boston, MA office in the Seaport district. It is the expectation that the person in this role will work a hybrid schedule of 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday) in the office and 2 days per week remotely.

Responsibilities

Overall Book Project Management Guide long-range planning, working with the Editorial Director, by creating timelines for new projects that account for each books unique needs.
Accurately forecast the stages of the development process including editorial, recipe development, design, and photography.
Establish milestones and clarify deliverables.
Oversee existing schedules to keep projects running smoothly, both day-to-day and over the publishing year, utilizing tools such as stand-up meetings and check-ins with editors, designers, and production.
Maintain book schedules, surfacing relevant info for team members, and monitor schedules against in-progress work to identify areas where action is needed.
Support editors in managing their projects; take the lead in problem solving and proactively bringing solutions.
Coordinate recipe development with production schedule to ensure timely delivery of manuscripts.
Workflow and Resourcing Serve as the central point person for all moving parts of projects.
Establish and enforce best practices for optimum workflow and communication (inter- and cross-team).
Anticipate overlaps and spot and address issues as early as possible.
Set and communicate priorities across team.
Direct and motivate teams to meet deadlines.
Work with the Editorial Director to match projects and resources to ensure success.
Suggest ways to reallocate resources when needed.
Hire and manage freelance copyeditors, proofreaders, and indexers.
Conduct periodic reviews of existing workflows and suggest ways to improve them.
Editorial Support Support editorial by checking copyedit and proofs and sending files for indexing.
Oversee editorial for select annual publications and custom publications, such as special markets editions.
Oversee creation and timely approval of front matters for all titles.
Help to manage book photo programs by creating photo collections and preparing documents for photo meetings.
Cross-Department Communication Act as point-of-contact for sales, publicity, and marketing to ensure timely delivery of TI sheets, launch/sales conference needs, and press releases.
Coordinate communication with manufacturing to establish files-to-production dates, printer quotes, page counts, and final print quantities.
Manage spec changes and oversee reprint updates.
Coordinate photography planning to guarantee photos are scheduled within timeline and photo reviews happen to facilitate timely image processing.
Systems Evaluate existing tracking systems and suggest ways to make them more efficient, including recommending whether a new approach or technology is needed.