The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is seeking an editor-in-chief (EIC) for its flagship publication, the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA). Now in its 58th year, JAWRA is dedicated to publishing original papers characterized by their broad, multidisciplinary approach to water resource issues. 

JAWRA’s goal is to be the journal of choice for top authors writing multidisciplinary papers about water resources research, management, education, and policy. JAWRA’s impact factor has steadily increased over the past decade and is currently 3.202 (2020 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics)), putting it in the top tier of professional water resource publications.   

About the position:

All manuscripts are managed online with ScholarOne Manuscripts™. JAWRA is published bimonthly by John Wiley & Sons (Wiley). The EIC is ultimately responsible for the reputation and performance of JAWRA as a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal.

The EIC has final responsibility and authority for all editorial and technical decisions for manuscripts under their purview and are assisted by volunteer associate editors (AEs) and a managing editor (ME). Administrative, operational, and publication functions of the journal are the responsibility of the ME. Post-acceptance publication functions are assisted by the Wiley production team. An annual honorarium will be provided to the successful candidate.

Qualifications:

• Substantial expertise in a water resources discipline, with multidisciplinary experience desired;
• Excellent writing and organizational skills;
• Strong and effective interpersonal communication skills;
• Strong professional and/or academic connections in the water resources field enabling the candidate to recruit highly skilled AEs, as well as high quality manuscripts;
• Significant publication record in the water resources arena;
• Experience as a journal editor or associate editor (e.g., writing, editing, and reviewing scientific research manuscripts);
• Experience and understanding of social media in the publication process.  

Responsibilities:

• Oversee and manage the decision process for all manuscripts submitted to JAWRA. The EIC has final authority over all manuscripts, while administrative responsibility resides with the ME.
• Manage and recruit AEs. JAWRA’s review process relies heavily on volunteer AEs, who select reviewers, evaluate their reviews, and make publishing recommendations to the EIC. A typical term for an AE is three years but may be extended by mutual agreement. With a current roster of approximately 25 AEs, multiple AEs will need to be recruited each year to replace those who leave and to reach a goal of 30 AEs annually. 
• Seek out manuscripts. Recruit quality authors and encourage them to submit manuscripts to JAWRA. A key tool of recruitment is offering featured collections of manuscripts covering a topic in breadth and depth. 
• Provide a JAWRA presence at AWRA conferences by attending the annual conference and specialty conferences each year. Attending the annual conference is mandatory; attending additional meetings is desired. Meetings offer an excellent opportunity to talk to authors, observe talks and posters, and recruit high quality papers. AWRA specialty conferences are especially important, often resulting in featured collections. 
• Support authors and reviewers. Promptly answer technical queries from authors and reviewers. Provide references for them upon request. 
• Coordinate the selection of the Boggess Award winner. The Boggess Award is given annually to the author(s) of the best paper published in JAWRA during the previous year.
• Coordinate the selection of Ken Lanfear Award winner.  The Ken Lanfear Award is given annually to recognize the author(s) of an outstanding technology-related paper published in JAWRA the previous year.
• Identify Editor’s choice papers in each issue to recognize outstanding papers. 
• Submit an annual report. Prepare, submit, and present to the board of directors at its annual conference board meeting an annual JAWRA report.
• Work effectively with Wiley. EIC must collaborate with Wiley to bring cutting-edge content delivery methods to enhance journal visibility and allow efficient presentations. 
• Write an editorial for the Journal 1 to 3 times a year.
• Provide statistics to authors. Authors need to know the expected time-to-first decision, the expected time from acceptance to publication, and the impact factor of the journal.  The EIC must make these available to potential authors on an annual basis.
• JAWRA Strategy. In conjunction with the JAWRA Committee and Wiley (as appropriate), develop a three to five-year strategic plan for the Journal. The EIC will be responsible for implementing the plan with the assistance of the ME.

The term of the EIC is three years beginning as soon as possible.

Review of applications will begin on May 13, 2022, and continue until the position is filled. Interested candidates should submit the following to Sandra Pavlovic, JAWRA Committee, at sandra.pavlovic@noaa.gov.

Applications must include:

• A letter of application addressing the qualifications for the position;
• A one-page summary of your vision for the future of JAWRA;
• A professional CV, and

Names and contact information for three references