The Society is seeking two new editors for its open access journal, Geo: Geography and Environment.
About Geo: Geography and Environment
Geo is a fully open access international journal publishing original articles from across the spectrum of geographical and environmental research. As an open access journal, it has a very broad global reach in terms of readership and aims to match that with a truly international authorship writing about a broad variety of geographical themes and places throughout the world.
Geo is premised on the principle of ‘openness’. It seeks to publish papers based on their methodological and/or theoretical rigour, not on the form or topic of the article in question. In this vein it is open to submissions on any topic related to geography or the environment and is also open to a wide variety of presentational styles, from conventional research papers, to report style articles or creative interventions. Because Geo is an online-only journal, it can be less constrained by word counts, and can also facilitate more dynamic content, such as audio and video, which can be directly linked into the articles, making them more accessible and engaging to readers.
Alongside direct submissions to the journal, Geo can also consider papers referred from other Society and Wiley journals. These papers are usually referred because these journals are not themselves able to accommodate the manuscripts (for example, on grounds of scope or space), and are often transferred alongside existing peer review reports. This allows Geo to continue the process of peer review, rather than starting from scratch, and in doing so reduces the strain on the peer review system, and on authors.
Purpose of post
The editorial processes for Geo are highly supported by the Society’s Managing Editor and their team, who take responsibility for much of the submission and peer review process, including conducting initial administrative checks on manuscripts, finding peer reviewers, and the majority of the correspondence with reviewers and the publishers.
The key purpose of Geo’s editors is therefore to provide strategic direction for the journal, to seek out quality submissions and special sections, and to provide an active editorial function, both in making decisions on manuscripts following peer review, and in actively working with authors to bring their papers to a publishable standard.
The key responsibilities of the editors are as follows:
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To actively encourage submissions to the journal and to promote papers published within the journal
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To make decisions on manuscripts submitted to the journal and offer detailed feedback which will enable authors to improve their article.
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To make decisions on special section proposals submitted to the journal
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To work alongside the Society and Wiley to devise and implement strategies for the journal
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To attend publications sub-committee meetings (one per year)
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To communicate regularly with the journal’s editorial board drawing ideas from them, and working with them, to further the journal’s work
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To write regular editorials
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To arrange external facing events and initiatives under the journal’s name, including at the Society's annual conference
Selection criteria
The following are the requirements for this post. These are the criteria against which candidates will be shortlisted and judged, and it is in your interest to ensure that you cover each of these areas in the covering letter of your application.
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Broad knowledge of geography and/or environmental science
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Knowledge of the challenges and opportunities afforded by Open Access publishing
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An openness to different ways of presenting research
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The ability to work with a wide variety of authors in different contexts to make improvements to their papers to enable publication
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The ability to make quick and effective decisions
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International research networks/esteem within the discipline
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Previous editorial experience is desirable but not strictly essential
Further information and how to apply
Geo: Geography and Environment is one of four academic journals of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG); the others are Area, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers and The Geographical Journal. The Society also publishes a book series, and WIRES Climate Change is published in association with the Society.
Geo is published by Wiley, and administration of the submission and peer review processes are managed online using ScholarOne Manuscripts. A full-time Managing Editor based at the Society supports the four journals and book series.
To apply, please send a two-page letter of interest, outlining your experience and suitability for the role, as well as your vision for how you would edit Geo, along with a curriculum vitae and the names of two referees who could provide letters of support, by 5.00pm on 15 November 2022 to Dr Phil Emmerson, the Managing Editor of the Society’s publications (journals@rgs.org). We encourage applications for co-editorships as well as applications from individuals. All applications will be treated in confidence. Interviews will be held in early December 2022. A modest honorarium is awarded. The term will normally be for three years in the first instance, effective 1 January 2023.
For further details of the role, please contact Dr Phil Emmerson (journals@rgs.org) or Dr Catherine Souch (c.souch@rgs.org).