ATSA’s Journal of 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 three-year commitment and is ideal for a respected leader in the field with a strong record of scholarship, editorial experience, professional engagement, and the ability to communicate research to wider audiences.

Key Responsibilities

Editorial Leadership

• Provide strategic direction for the journal’s scholarly mission and long-term development.
• Oversee the peer review process to ensure rigor, fairness, and timeliness.
• Make final decisions on manuscript acceptance and publication.
• Uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing practices.
• Oversee procedures for conflicts of interest, complaints, appeals, and corrections or retractions, in accordance with the Journal’s and publisher’s policies.

Team Management

• 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.
• Manage the separately allocated Associate Editor budget within agreed limits and make compensation recommendations to ATSA Executive Committee.
• 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 strengthen research quality, methodological breadth, international participation, and relevance to practice and prevention, alongside increasing the journal’s impact factor and widening its academic influence.
• Develop initiatives that expand the journal’s visibility, readership, and citation rates.
• Foster relationships with researchers, institutions, and professional organizations in the field.

Professional Representation & Media Engagement

• Represent the journal at industry conferences and professional meetings in the U.S. and abroad.
• Maintain a visible in person presence at ATSA’s Annual Research & Treatment Conference.
• Lead the promotion of the journal, published articles, and calls for papers in collaboration with ATSA and the publisher, using appropriate professional channels, including social media.
• Demonstrate the ability, or willingness to develop the skills 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 to the ATSA Board, with a reporting schedule established at appointment.

Qualifications

• Established record of scholarly 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.
• Ability to support the effective dissemination of scholarly work; professional social media experience and comfort promoting scholarly work online.
• 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 three-year appointment, with expectations of sustained leadership, engagement, and strategic development of the journal throughout the term. An agreed handover period of at least six months will support continuity between editors.

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: Up to $25,000
• Discretionary fund for travel, conferences, etc.: $11,000
• Registration, airfare, and hotel accommodations to ATSA’s Annual Research & Treatment Conference

To apply, please email CV and letter of interest to Amber Schroeder at Amber@atsa.com by December 1, 2026.