Journals Commissioning and Development Editor

AOSIS; Durbanville; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 620,000; Full time

Job summary

AOSIS is seeking a commercially aware Journals Commissioning and Development Editor to grow and strengthen our portfolio of scholarly journals. You will engage with Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Boards, societies, and researchers to increase submissions and strengthen journal positioning.

The role involves developing commissioning plans, market analysis, board support, and cross-team coordination to deliver journal development actions and opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience in scholarly publishing with responsibility for journal development or portfolio growth.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement commissioning and development plans for a portfolio of open access journals.
• Build relationships with Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Boards, and societies.
• Identify target research groups and topics to support journal growth.
• Drive initiatives to increase submissions, visibility, and community engagement.
• Conduct competitor and market analysis to identify risks and opportunities.
• Support acquisition or initiation of new journals and coordinate meetings.

Skills

Journal development

Editorial planning

Stakeholder management

Open access knowledge

Commercial awareness

Education

Master's degree

Tools

MS Office

Job description

About The Role

AOSIS is looking for a commercially aware, relationship-driven Journals Commissioning and Development Editor to help grow and strengthen our portfolio of scholarly journals.

This role suits someone who understands scholarly publishing, enjoys building credibility with academic stakeholders, and can turn market insight into practical journal development actions. You will work across journal growth, editorial board support, community engagement, competitor analysis, and strategic development.

You will engage with Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, societies, researchers, and internal teams to increase submissions, strengthen journal positioning, and identify development opportunities across the portfolio. The role combines publishing judgement, stakeholder management, structured analysis, and project execution.

What you will do

• Develop and implement journal commissioning and development plans for a portfolio of open access journal
• Build strong relationships with Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Boards, society partners, and other academic stakeholder
• 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 relevant academic events where required
• Plan and support Editorial Board and Journal Oversight Committee meetings, including preparation of papers, meeting coordination, and minute-taking
• Manage Editorial Board and committee terms, editorial profiles, and editor contract administration
• Work with internal teams, including indexing, analytics, marketing, and publishing operations, to ensure coordinated execution
• Support journal contract renewals and broader publishing strategy projects
• Coach or guide junior colleagues where required by business needs.

What we are looking for

• A degree-level qualification, with a master’s degree advantageous
• Experience in scholarly publishing, ideally with responsibility for journal development, commissioning, or portfolio growth
• A sound understanding of the peer review process
• Experience building productive relationships with editors, boards, societies, or other external stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Good judgement, analytical ability, and commercial awareness
• The ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and competing priorities
• A structured, organised, and proactive working style
• Confidence working across teams in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
• Strong Microsoft Office capability, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

The Kind Of Person Who Will Thrive Here

• enjoys engaging with academic communities
• is credible with senior stakeholders
• notices opportunities others miss
• can move from analysis to action
• is comfortable balancing detail with strategic priorities
• takes ownership and follows through
• works well across functions without losing momentum.

The strongest candidates will be curious about research trends, commercially alert, and motivated by growing journals with purpose and discipline.

Why join AOSIS

At AOSIS, you will contribute to the growth and development of open access journals in a business that values quality, partnership, and long-term publishing strength. You will work with experienced colleagues across publishing and support functions and have the opportunity to shape journal development in a meaningful way.