Journals Commissioning and Development Editor

About the role

AOSIS is looking for a commercially aware, relationship-driven Journals Commissioning and Development Editor to help grow and strengthen its portfolio of scholarly open access journals. The role suits someone who understands scholarly publishing, enjoys building credibility with academic stakeholders and can turn market insight into practical journal development actions. It covers journal growth, editorial board support, community engagement, competitor analysis and strategic development.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and implement journal commissioning and development plans for a portfolio of open access journals.
• Build relationships with Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Boards, society partners and other academic stakeholders.
• Identify target research groups and emerging subject areas to support journal growth.
• Drive initiatives to increase submissions, visibility and community engagement.
• Conduct competitor and market analysis to identify risks, opportunities and growth areas.
• Support the acquisition or initiation of new journals.
• Represent AOSIS at conferences and other academic events where required.
• Plan and support Editorial Board and Journal Oversight Committee meetings, including paper preparation, coordination and minutes.
• Manage Editorial Board and committee terms, editorial profiles and editor contracts.
• Work with internal teams such as indexing, analytics, marketing and publishing operations.
• Support journal contract renewals and publishing strategy projects; coach or guide junior colleagues where needed.

Required profile

• Degree-level qualification; a master's degree is advantageous.
• Experience in scholarly publishing, ideally with responsibility for journal development, commissioning or portfolio growth.
• Sound understanding of the peer review process.
• Experience building relationships with editors, boards, societies or other external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and competing priorities, with a structured, proactive approach.
• Applicants must be South African citizens, permanent residents with a bar-coded ID, or hold a valid work visa or permit.

Required skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Commercial awareness, analytical ability and good judgement.
• Microsoft Office, especially Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.

To apply, submit a CV and a short motivation letter with the names, email addresses and telephone details of three referees. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and some may be asked to take skills assessments and psychometric tests.