Job Description

Johns Hopkins University Press seeks an Acquisitions Editor responsible for acquiring trade and professional books in the Sciences in a proactive and entrepreneurial way. The Acquisitions Editor will join a team of exceptional professionals committed to bringing the benefits of discovery to the world by providing global access, impact, and influence for the scholarship that we publish and distribute. The Editor commissions book projects, reviews book proposals and manuscripts, and selects projects for publication in conjunction with the Press's editorial committees. This position will help to ensure that the Press is a leader in connecting people to the most trusted knowledge from global researchers, scholars, and educators.

The Press is committed to honoring every person's inherent dignity as human beings and making that the foundation of our organizational culture. We proactively find ways to ensure opportunities that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and access. We strive to publish courageously, giving voice to groundbreaking ideas. We support each other and our stakeholders and envision a future where knowledge enriches the lives of every person. The successful candidate will join a welcoming community that is inclusive and values the contributions and perspectives of individuals from all backgrounds.

This Acquisitions Editor will be an experienced publishing professional responsible for the selection, review, and publication of excellent books within that editor's field of interest, and also may take responsibility for special programs or projects of the Acquisitions Department. They report to the Editorial Director.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Is the Press's content expert within their field and endeavors to be a resource for authors, scholars, and students.
• Supports the Press's objective of publishing books that will reflect high intellectual quality and realistic profitability, as well as helping inform the Press's evolution within the industry.
• Represents the needs of readers and authors within the field, as they build a coherent list of titles for a range of readers across professional, classroom, and general readerships.
• Performs periodic data-driven competitive analyses of their field.
• Commissions and develops works of significant interest to the Press, rather than just reactively acquiring books.
• Establishes and tends key series in the field and works with series editors to extend the Press's reach into new subfields.
• In consultation with the Editorial Director, negotiates contracts with authors, agents, translators, foreign rights agents, developmental editors, and illustrators to produce the best possible book projects.
• Takes the initiative to seek out grant funding for projects, establish relationships with scholarly associations, and launch new initiatives in consultation with the Editorial Director.
• Works collaboratively with staff in Manuscript Editing, Design and Production, Marketing, and Finance to ensure that books are published to the highest appropriate standards.
• Participates in professional communities associated with the editor's field, in the university community of Johns Hopkins, and among the community of scholarly publishers.
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• Is supported by an Acquisitions Assistant.
• Represents the Press at academic meetings and book exhibits.
• Incorporates diversity, equity, inclusion and access principles into all aspects of the work.

*The starting salary range for this position is $73,300 to $100,800. Actual salary is based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training, and skill level.

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Five (5) years of related publishing experience required.
• Additional education may substitute for experience in accordance with the JHU equivalency formula.

• Demonstrated experience acquiring trade, professional, and scholarly books for publication and building book lists of national reputation.
• Outstanding research, writing, speaking, and presentation skills. Exceptional editorial, business, and negotiation skills. Knowledge of publishing arrangements, contracts, peer review, and copyright. The position requires deep engagement with academic and medical communities and a sophisticated and lively involvement with current research agendas and literature in the fields acquired, along with the ability to forge strong and positive relationships with prospective and current authors and series editors in those fields.
• Extensive communication and collaboration are required with academics, authors, series editors, press colleagues, and other stakeholders. Deals with confidential information and/or issues (including peer reviews and publishing agreements) using discretion and judgment.
• Further, an Acquisitions Editor has a consistent pattern of signing excellent books (demonstrated by reviews, awards, sales records, and other measures) and building a list of national renown.

Classified Title: Acquisitions Editor
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PE
Starting Salary Range: $73,300 - $100,800 Annually (Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: M-F 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Exempt Status:Exempt
Location:Homewood Campus
Department name: Books Acquisitions
Personnel area: Academic and Business Centers

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