Director of the American Philosophical Society (APS) Press
Jack Farrell & Associates - Philadelphia, PA USAWork at Jack Farrell & Associates
Overview
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Overview
The American Philosophical Society (APS) has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to fill this important position. Interested candidate should provide a resume and 2-page cover letter to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). Details on the cover letter are included below.
Philadelphia, PA
(Opportunity for a hybrid schedule:
3 days/wk in office; 2 days work-from-home)
Overview
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is the oldest learned society in the UnitedStates, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting usefulknowledge.” In keeping with Franklin’s vision, the APS is currently relaunching itspublishing program, The APS Press. In partnership with its new distributor, theUniversity of Pennsylvania Press (Penn Press), the APS Press is producing a new portfolio ofpublications that will promote and explore the dynamics of “useful knowledge” intoday’s multidisciplinary context through its history, sources, and contemporaryapplications and models.
The APS Press Books imprint will commence publication in 2024 andwill include a combination of new books and reprints from the APSbacklist of more than 1,000 books, including many landmarkworks from across the disciplines.
The APS also produces two distinguished quarterly journals, Proceedings of theAmerican Philosophical Society and Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,to be published by Penn Press, the annual Yearbook that includes a list of Resident andInternational Members, the President’s Annual Message, the Report of the ExecutiveOfficer, and reports from each APS department, and The APS News, also publishedannually. The APS offices are in Philadelphia’s historic Independence Square area at Philosophical Hall, 104 South 5th Street. The winning candidate has the opportunity to work a hybrid schedule that includes 3 days/week in the office and 2 days work-from-home. The job does require proximity to APS’s Philadelphia offices, and relocation assistance is available to the winning candidate.
Job Summary
The Director of the APS Press reports to the APS Executive Officer and the role is located within the Publications Department. The Director is responsible for stewarding the reputation and impact of the APS Press, including editorial direction, administration, financial vitality, and staff management. Working with the staff and with colleagues throughout the APS, the Director advances the Society’s mission of “promoting useful knowledge” through the acquisition of book manuscripts anddevelopment of book series, the editing of journals, and the publication of internaldocuments such as the annual APS Yearbook and News. The Director coordinatesthe staff’s work with the Penn Press team in producing, distributing, and marketing itsbooks, and publishing its journals.
The Director is responsible for proposing all peer-reviewed books and articles to
the APS Editorial Board for publication approval, and for presenting annual
publishing plans and regular updates to the APS Committee on Publications for review
and feedback.
Administrative Functions
- Establish annual publishing goals and revenue/expense budgets for presentation to the APS Publications Committee. Meet with the APS’s Chief Financial Officer to confirm and achieve annual budgets. Send regular status reports via email to the Publications. Committee. Report on achievement of annual budgetary goals.
- Organize the monthly APS Press review meeting, and participate in the monthlyAPS Directors and other organizational meetings.
- Recruit, mentor and manage APS Press staff of four which will include these direct reports: Editorial Administrator, Associate Editor, (part-time) Managing Editors of two journals, (part-time) Editor-at-Large.
- Ensure optimal collaboration with Penn Press including sharing of publication strategies, managing the transmittal and production of APS books and journals, and marketing, selling (including preparation of seasonal catalogs), and licensing of APS works.
- Collaborate with colleagues throughout the APS on joint projects.
- Maintain the publications section of the APS website.
- Engage APS members and display APS Press books during bi annual APS meetings.
- Consult with the APS Editorial Board annually on goals for APS Books and Journals, and on any new editorial initiatives.
- Acquire 6-12 new book projects annually and journals content in support of annual goals.
- Oversee peer review process for book manuscripts, including presentation to the APS Editorial Board.
- Manage book author and journal editor relations.
Job Requirements and Qualifications
- Education: Minimum Bachelor’s Degree, advanced degree preferred
- Experience & Knowledge Requirements: Minimum 7-years experience in scholarly editorial acquisitions and a successful track record of book acquisition; familiarity with scholarly journals; budget and planning experience; people and project management; track record of engagement with the not-for-profit scholarly publishing sector and the marketing and business trends that shape it; experience with successfully engaging a host institution’s missionand goals as a framework for successful scholarly communication.
Other Information
- An estimated of travel ~20%.
- Strong writing and verbal skills are a necessity.
- On-call for APS Members Meetings every April and November, events, travel occasionally outside of office hours.
- Membership in accredited publishing organization to keep contact with publishing colleagues
- Participation in APS leadership team as a department director.
- Regular engagement with the APS Publications Committee and Editorial Board.
- Occasional attendance (perhaps yearly) at publishing conferences (i.e., SSP), and academic meetings.
The American Philosophical Society reserves the right to modify job duties or job
descriptions at any time.
The American Philosophical Society is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, age, sex, gender, religion or national origin. The APS values diversity and inclusion and encourages diverse applicants to apply. Successful applicants will be asked to show proof that they can legally work in the U.S.
NOTE: The APS has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to fill this important position. Interested candidate should provide a resume and 2-page cover letter to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). The letter should address: 1) why are you interested? and 2) how are you qualified? Thank you. JO 202402013