Peer Review Coordinator

American Psychological Association•Washington, DC

20h•$64,000 - $98,000•Remote

About The Position

The Peer Review Coordinator is a skilled communicator and customer service representative, who ensures a high-quality peer review process for authors, reviewers, and editors. The Peer Review Coordinator is an expert in peer review policy and is responsible for facilitating all aspects of peer review within their journal portfolio, including solving problems through careful analysis and enhancement of existing procedures, while demonstrating a mastery of all relevant technical systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree: Psychology, English, or related fields, with at least 3 years of experience in scholarly publications that includes knowledge of the editorial and peer review process and working with a sensitive customer base, such as scholarly authors and scientific editors.
Candidates may substitute 4-6 years of work experience in scholarly publications as indicated above for the required education.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) are necessary.
Experience in a high-profile, deadline driven environment required.
Microsoft Word (User)
Microsoft Excel (User)
Email programs (User)
Adobe Acrobat (User)

Nice To Haves

Editorial Manager (preferred)
iThenticate (preferred)
DocuSign (preferred)

Responsibilities

Ensures a timely, ethical editorial workflow for the assigned portfolio.
Communicates daily with editors, authors, and reviewers, as well as APA Journals staff regarding the peer review process. The success of the APA’s relationship with its high-profile constituency requires timely, accurate, sensitive, thoughtful communication consistent with APA policy and procedures.
Manages manuscript submission process for assigned portfolio of journals, from initial author submission through peer review to post-acceptance preparation for production. Reviews all submitted manuscripts for adherence to each journal’s submission requirements, and compliance with APA policies. This includes enforcing deadlines, securing appropriate paperwork, monitoring journal performance, and introducing workflow efficiencies based on system knowledge.
Provides extensive technical support and troubleshooting for and training in the peer review system, Editorial Manager.
Prepares reports on editorial statistics for editors and APA staff. Solves problems and navigates sensitive issues arising in the peer review process, including copyright permissions issues and discrepancies between policy and practice, as well as working with appropriate members of other teams to resolve said problems.
Designs departmental process improvements and leads training sessions for the team throughout the year with the intent of highlighting best practices and contributing to the team policy and procedures manual.
Works as a team with Production Editors and Associate Publishers to develop journal-wide solutions for issues such as: editorial lag, backlog, transitions between incoming and outgoing Editors, etc.
Other duties as assigned.