ATSA’s Sexual Abuse seeks a dynamic, strategic, and highly visible Editor-in-Chief to lead the continued growth, scholarly excellence, and global impact of the journal. While the journal operates independently of ATSA, the Editor-in-Chief is expected to actively network and promote the journal within the field, expand its influence, and represent the publication at professional gatherings in the United States and internationally. This is a five-year commitment and is ideal for a respected leader in the field with a strong record of scholarship, editorial experience, professional engagement, and media presence.

Key Responsibilities

Editorial Leadership

• Provide strategic direction for the journal’s scholarly mission and long-term development.

• Oversee the peer review process to ensure scientific rigor, transparency, fairness, and timeliness.

• Make final decisions on manuscript acceptance and publication.

• Uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing practices.

Team Management

• Actively recruit, mentor, and manage Associate Editors and members of the Editorial Board.

• Conduct regular communication and meetings with Associate Editors to ensure editorial consistency and workflow efficiency.

• Evaluate and refresh Editorial Board membership to ensure diversity of expertise and global representation.

Journal Development & Impact

• Actively network to increase high-quality manuscript submissions.

• Work strategically to increase the journal’s impact factor and academic influence.

• Develop initiatives that expand the journal’s visibility, readership, and citation rates.

• Foster relationships with researchers, institutions, and professional organizations in this field and adjacent fields.

Professional Representation & Media Engagement

• Represent the journal at industry conferences and professional meetings in the U.S. and abroad.

• Maintain a visible presence at ATSA’s Annual Research & Treatment Conference.

• Maintain an active, professional social media presence and promote the journal, published articles, and calls for papers through personal and professional channels.

• Demonstrate media savvy or willingness to learn and deploy media strategies in communicating research to broader audiences, including policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and the public.

• Serve as an ambassador for the journal within the scholarly, practitioner, and media communities.

Organizational Collaboration

• Communicate regularly with the Managing Director (currently Aniss Benelmouffok) regarding operations, strategy, and performance metrics.

• Coordinate with publishing partners and administrative support as needed.

• Provide periodic reports on journal performance and strategic goals.

Qualifications

• Established record of research and publication in the field relevant to the journal’s scope.

• Prior editorial experience (e.g., Associate Editor, Editorial Board member, or Editor).

• Demonstrated leadership and team management experience.

• Strong professional network within the field and maintains current ATSA membership.

• Demonstrated professional social media engagement and comfort promoting scholarly work online.

• Media savvy with the ability to represent the journal in public-facing settings.

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in scholarly publishing.

• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally.

Term

This is a five-year appointment, with expectations of sustained leadership, engagement, and strategic development of the journal throughout the term.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel within the United States and internationally for conferences, professional meetings, and journal-related engagements. Attendance at ATSA’s Annual Conference is expected.

Annual Compensation

• Annual stipend: $2,000 USD

• Annual promotion, conference and travel budget reimbursable by ATSA: Up to $15,000 USD*
*All expenses must be pre-approved by ATSA leadership and be used solely for the promotion of Sexual Abuse. Funds are granted per calendar year and cannot be rolled over to following years.

• Registration, airfare, and hotel accommodations to ATSA’s Annual Research & Treatment Conference.


Application Process

Interested candidates should submit:

• A curriculum vitae
• A letter of interest