Editorial and Publishing Specialist

SUMMARY
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) is a non-profit membership organization that serves the needs of tree care professionals and promotes the profession of arboriculture around the world. ISA is known as the industry authority on research, education and professional development. Each role in the organization plays an important part in delivering excellent member benefits and customer service.

The Editorial and Publishing Specialist is responsible for managing the editorial and production phases of ISA book publications and providing editorial support for other educational materials published by ISA. This position allows the employee to gain experience in the publishing development process, sharpen organization, process management, and data analysis skills, and work with industry authors and subject matter experts while supporting various departmentfunctions and product lines.


ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Understands ISA’s Mission and adheres to organization and staff corevalues
• Serves as central contact and maintains positive relationships with internaland external stakeholders on all aspects of ISA book production processes to ensure efficient and transparent communication. 
  • Internal contacts include all other ancillary departments within the organization.
  • External contacts include authors, subject matter experts, vendors, and other industry experts.
• Oversees the production process—including manuscript development and review, image selection and creation, developmental editing and copyediting, design and typesetting, proofreading and indexing, and print and delivery—for book projects and other educational materials including, but not limited to:
  • ISA’s Best Management Practices series, developed to accompany industry standards
  • Reference books
  • Study guides and workbooks
• Manages vendor relationships as they relate to editorial, design, and production duties for ISA’s books.
• Acts as developmental editor or copy editor for the EPS department’s products as needed.
• Develops and adheres to project budgets and timelines with EPS Director and regularly provides status updates.
• Interfaces and establishes positive relationships with international translation team leaders to provide support for translation of ISA publications.
• Oversees the conversion of ISA’s print content to eBook or other electronic delivery formats.
• Collaborates with the Director of EPS to determine which products are appropriate to repurpose in other mediums of eLearning and/or training.
• When appropriate, writes and/or edit articles and continuing educationunit quizzes for various ISA publications.
• Writes and/or edits data-driven catalog, online, and marketing copy for ISA’s book publications and prepares product information for the webstore backend.
• Provides editorial support for the development and production of ISA’s serial publications, online courseware, and other content as needed.
• Interfaces with customer support team to resolve queries related to ISA’s publications.
• Responds to permissions requests for reuse of ISA copyrighted material.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities
None.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.                                     

Education and/or Experience                                           

• Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from four-year accredited college or universitypreferred; may consider an equivalent combination of education and job experience.
• Minimum of 3 years related job experience with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Project management abilities and experience, including developing and managing project budgets and timelines.
• Proven ability to perform high-quality, medium-to-heavy copyediting.
• Technical proficiency in the production processes involved with publishing books and other educational materials.

 
Language Skills                                             

• Strong ability to communicate in written and spoken English on a professional level.
• Strong editorial skills; mastery of grammar and spelling and working knowledge of Chicago Manual of Style or CSE editorial conventions.
• Ability to communicate effectively with industry professionals andvolunteers, as well as co-workers within the organization.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical publications, financial reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to respond to inquiries or complaints from customers/readers,authors, regulatory agencies, and members of the business community.
• Fluency in additional languages is a plus.

 
Decision Making/Reasoning Ability     

• Demonstrated ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts,develop conclusions, and determine appropriate action plans.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve problems with tact and diplomacy.
• Completes projects accurately and completely within deadlines.
• Able to work independently to complete projects, with little to no day-to-day supervision.

 
Additional Competencies                                       

• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and prioritize projects withimpeccable attention to detail.
• Ability to develop, prepare, and understand budgets.
• Ability to extrapolate to determine projections for budgeting purposes.

 
Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 80% of the time.
• Moves about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Regularly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery such as calculator, copy machine, and computer printer. 
• Frequently communicates with internal and external customers. 
• This position requires occasional lifting, up to 25 lbs. 
• Requires occasional travel.

Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Working conditions are normal for an office environment. Work may require occasional weekend and/or evening work.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

 
Technology and Equipment

• The position requires proficiency in Microsoft Windows 10 and Office 365, including Outlook.
• The position also requires proficiency in advanced functions of Microsoft Word and Excel and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and/or Illustrator is highly desired.

Satisfactory completion of a copyediting assessment will be a requirement of this position.
 

ISA is an equal opportunity employer. This position is located in Downtown Atlanta, GA and not normally eligible for remote work. Currently this position will be temporarily eligible for remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.