February 19, 2018
The Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society are seeking qualified candidates to serve as Executive Editor (EE) of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (GCA). GCA publishes research papers that address fundamental aspects of geochemistry and cosmochemistry, and articles relating to key activities of the sponsoring societies.
The GCA EE is responsible for and has control over the scientific content of the journal, taking into account the aims and scope of the journal, the publisher's editorial policies, and guidance from the sponsoring societies. The duties of the EE are to oversee the editorial process, provide and defend final decisions on all manuscripts, establish editorial policies for the journal, and communicate with the scientific community both directly via authors and reviewers, and through the sponsoring societies and the publisher.
The EE works closely with a team of Associate Editors (AE) to evaluate the scientific content and perceived impact of submitted papers. An important responsibility of the EE is to identify, recruit, and nominate AEs as needed to sustain the editorial demands of the journal, for approval by the societies and the publisher. There are currently close to 90 AEs for GCA, all of whom receive complementary membership in the Geochemical Society. The EE is nominated by the societies to the journal's publisher, Elsevier. The EE manages GCA's editorial team, with assistance and support from Elsevier, in a scientifically sound, efficient and ethical way using Elsevier's online system for handling manuscript submissions, revisions, reviews, and communications with the authors. Duties include initial evaluation of manuscripts relative to the scope and standards of the journal, allocating manuscripts to Associate Editors, overseeing the review process, and providing final decisions regarding their acceptance or rejection. The journal receives over 1,000 new submissions per year, of which about half are accepted for publication.
The GCA EE is a leadership position in both of the sponsoring societies. The EE is a member of the Board of Directors of the Geochemical Society and is expected to participate in all activities of the Board. The EE also presents an overview of the state of the journal progress reports at the annual meetings and communications with members of both societies.
Financial support is available from the publisher. The appointment is for an initial 3-year term commencing 1 January 2019. Additional terms are possible by negotiation with the societies and the publisher.
To apply, please send a CV and letter of application to gca@geochemsoc.org. Questions about the selection process may also be sent to this address. All applications must be received by 15 April 2018.