Editor-in-Chief Job Description

INTRODUCTION

The term of the current Editor-in-Chief of ACTN, Jack Kessler, MD, will end on Dec. 31, 2022. ANA, through its Journals Oversight Committee, is recruiting a new Editor-in-Chief with a view to interview candidates in March 2022 and executing a contract with the selected candidate by October 2022. The new editorial team will start receiving submissions for review in November 2022 and will officially take the helm on January 1, 2023. The deadline for applications has been extended to February 7, 2022. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged.

The EIC Search Committee is seeking applications from academics with broad knowledge of research, practice and education across all areas of neurology. Applicants should demonstrate a compelling strategic vision for the journal’s development and differentiation from other reputable journals in the field; outstanding academic achievement; excellent communication skills; a collaborative leadership style; a sincere commitment to inclusion, diversity, access and equity; a clear understanding of trends in scientific journal publishing, including understanding Open Access and the deployment of social media channels; an international network of colleagues; and significant editorial experience.

ABOUT ACTN

ACTN publishes articles of broad interest with potential for high impact in understanding the mechanisms and treatment of diseases of the human nervous system. All areas of clinical and basic neuroscience, including new technologies, cellular and molecular neurobiology, population sciences, and studies of behavior, addiction, and psychiatric diseases are of interest to the journal. ACTN is particularly interested in clinical trials and other large-scale studies that inform the practice of medicine. Trials reporting negative data will be considered. The scope of ACTN also includes topics of particular significance in neurologic education as well as other topics of interest to the clinical neuroscience community. In addition to manuscripts from established investigators, ACTN welcomes scholarly work, points-of-view, and case studies from residents, fellows, and medical students. For more information, please see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23289503

The journal has a 2020 Impact Factor of 4.511 and ranks 59/208 in Clinical Neurology and 92/273 in Neurosciences (2020 Journal Citation Reports, Clarivate Analytics). As a fully Open Access journal, authors retain copyright on any research article, granting the publisher, Wiley, a license to publish the article. Published monthly online only, the journal currently publishes around 2,500 pages a year. The journal receives around 50 new submissions each month, over 90% of which are direct submissions and not transfers from Annals. The journal’s acceptance rate is around 35%, and time to first decision averages 2-3 weeks. Once accepted, a paper generally appears in EarlyView in 35 days, and in an issue in 66 days. Streamlined peer review and rapid publication have driven the journal’s operations since its first appearance in 2014.

Currently, the Editor-in-Chief is supported by Associate Editors and Editorial Board, see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/23289503/homepage/editoria…, as well as the Managing Editor, who works remotely from J&J Editorial, LLC in North Carolina and a Social Media Editor. The journal uses the ScholarOne Manuscripts submission and peer review management system provided by Wiley.

 

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

General Scope of Responsibilities

The Editor-in-Chief shall strive to:

  • Publish authoritative and high quality clinical and translational research papers from the international community of authors across all areas of neurology;
  • Identify emerging areas of importance and actively solicit the best work being done in those areas;
  • Ensure that attention is paid to the principles of diversity, inclusion, access and equity in all journal-related activities and relationships;
  • Promote the scientific exchange of ideas to advance the field and related areas of interest to the readership of the journal;
  • Take full advantage of web-based journal features, including virtual issues, podcasts, webinars, blogs, and social media activities.
  • Support and enhance the vitality and mission of the American Neurological Association

 

Governance:
The EIC reports to the ANA Executive Committee and Board of Directors and works within the approved editorial budget for stipends, honoraria, and editorial office support. The Annals/ACTN Oversight Committee serves as a resource to the EICs of both ANA journals, both as a sounding board and to help the Editors-in-Chief when ethical issues in the journals are detected. The EIC has total responsibility for the content of the journal.

Editorial Responsibilities:
The EIC, upon the advice of the Editorial Board, shall have complete and final authority for the selection, editorial modification and quality of all materials published. The specific responsibilities of the EIC shall include:

  1. Establishing the Editorial Board for the journal (Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members), consisting of distinguished international researchers, scientists, and practitioners across the field. The EIC will demonstrate commitment to the principles of diversity, inclusion, access, and equity in terms of editorial and reviewer recruitment and author relations.

  2. Working with the ANA and the publisher to develop strategies for editorial development of ACTN, including deploying electronic features available through the publisher’s journal website, developing plans and strategies to attract the most impactful research papers in support of the journal’s Impact Factor, developing special features like interACTN, and attending strategy and planning meetings arranged by the ANA or the publisher.

  3. Engaging the Editorial Board in discussing continuous improvement and development of the journal and improving their understanding of criteria for selecting papers and expanding coverage in new areas.

  4. Arranging appropriate, timely and efficient peer-review procedures for the contributions submitted for publication in the journal and utilizing the manuscript tracking system provided by the publisher. The EIC handles the review of papers that are outside the areas of expertise of the Associate Editors, and also handles manuscripts for which the relevant AE has a conflict of interest. Last year, the EIC handled around 55 such papers.

  5. Participating in the weekly Annals of Neurology editorial meeting where papers that have been fully reviewed are discussed, accept/reject/transfer decisions are made, and important synergies between Annals and ACTN are fostered.

  6. Preparing annual reports to the ANA Board of Directors and Oversight Committee, showing the acceptance rate, rate of submission, origin of submitted and accepted papers, time lag to first decision and final decision and other statistics that will indicate the health of the journal.

  7. Ensuring that his or her conduct conforms to the highest standards of professional conduct and scientific integrity, including strict adherence to the ANA and ACTN conflict of interest policies; is consistent with all applicable laws, regulations and publication standards and reflects positively on ANA; and promotes the same standards of conduct by the Associate Editors.

  8. Securing from all Associate Editors annual conflict of interest disclosures and submitting his or her own conflict of interest statement annually to the Executive Director of ANA and securing from all authors appropriate conflict of interest disclosures.

  9. Considering/approving APC waiver requests (10 per year)

 

Term:
The EIC will serve a single one-time term of four (4) years, commencing January 1, 2023 and ending Dec. 31, 2026, with the possibility of one additional 4-year term with mutual agreement of the EIC and the ANA Board. There will be an overlap period with the outgoing EIC, starting in Q4 2022, with the exact timing to be determined depending on the pipeline of articles in process heading into 2023.
 
Honorarium:
ANA will pay the EIC an annual honorarium as approved by the ANA Board.
 
Editorial Budget:
The EIC must adhere to the editorial budget, which includes the honoraria for Associate Editors and approved expenses. The EIC must notify staff in August of any desired increases in the number or honoraria of Associate Editors for the following year.
 
Office Support:
ANA provides an externally sourced Managing Editor.
 

Instructions for Authors:
See https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/23289503/homepage/forauthors.html

 

Further Information:

Additional information on the journal’s submissions, citations/impact factor, readership and activities is available upon request from:

Emily Hammond
Managing Editor
actnedoffice@wiley.com

 

APPLICATIONS

Applications should include:

  • Full CV
  • A letter of two pages or less summarizing your vision and goals for ACTN over the next 4 years (2023 – 2026)

Completed applications should be sent by February 7, 2022 to the Chair, AON/ACTN Oversight Committee, c/o Janki Amin at jamin@myana.org