Chief Publications Officer (CPO)

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals and scientific meetings, as well as its education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Position Summary:

The newly created role of the Chief Publications Officer (CPO) is to provide primary strategic and operational leadership of APS publications, furthering the APS mission to “advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics.”

The CPO is responsible for ensuring the excellence, relevance, and integrity of the journals’ scientific content, enhancing the reach and reputation of APS publications, providing the global scientific community with attractive and competitive options for disseminating their research, and delivering a thriving publishing portfolio. The CPO is expected to continue to build and amplify APS’s position of leadership in creating, producing, marketing, and disseminating the highest-quality scholarly physics information to a global readership.

The CPO is responsible for

Key Relationships:

• The CPO reports to the Chief Executive Officer.
• The CPO is a member of the APS Senior Leadership Team, which includes the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial and Operating Officers, and the Chief Information Officer.
• The CPO works with the Editor in Chief, the member of the Board responsible for overseeing APS publications.
• The CPO receives advice and guidance from the Council of Lead Editors, which the CPO chairs, as well as from the Board/Council Committee on Scientific Publications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develops both short-term and long-term strategies for the APS publications in alignment with APS’s overarching mission, vision, and strategic plan, and ensures that the resulting publications goals are met. Monitors and advises APS leadership on trends/shifts in publishing policies and practices globally and ensures that APS publishing policies and practices are responsive to marketplace developments.
• Responsible for full business P&L of the APS publications portfolio, with a current operating budget of over $40M USD, a staff of approximately 150 in the Editorial, Publishing, and Journal Operations Departments, and a current portfolio of 16 Physical Review journals (publishing over 20,000 articles per year).
• Manages the financial business planning for APS publications, with an emphasis on consistent growth in market share globally, cost control, and ongoing analysis of the effectiveness and relevance of services and products. Ensures the smooth running and ongoing business management of the APS portfolio.
• Recruits, develops, and motivates a team of experienced editorial and publishing professionals, enabling APS to compete effectively in the global information industry and scientific publishing marketplace. Ensures coordination and promotes collaboration with all other APS departments to meet APS business goals. Provides direction and leadership in a time of change.
• Recruits, develops, and leads a team of experienced physicists as editors, both internal and external, representing the fields of science covered in the APS portfolio. Ensures the coordination and collaboration with community experts to elevate the publication portfolio.
• Oversees sales and marketing for all APS publications with focus on global brand development and the reputation for quality that defines them.
• Identifies new business and customers, including internal and external partnerships, and strategic alliances for both domestic and global expansion of the influence and impact of the APS publications.
• Oversees new product and business development. Develops new publications aligned with APS’s mission and collaborates with the senior publishing team to develop innovative information products to meet and anticipate APS member needs and the needs of the global scientific community. Presents publishing plans for new products and services to the APS Board/Council for oversight and support.
• Oversees publications operations, including technology development in support of editorial process, production, and delivery of content.
• Establishes and maintains excellent contacts and networks with key external stakeholders, especially with editors, editorial boards, and Society representatives. Develops and expands relationships with members of the APS and the global scientific community. Represents APS in the scholarly publishing industry.

Qualifications:

Education:

• University or college degree is required, preferably in physics or a related scientific discipline. Directly applicable experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
• Advanced graduate degree or equivalent training in science/engineering, and/or MBA, is preferred.

Experience:

• 15+ years of scientific and/or professional publishing experience.
• Experience in budgetary and financial planning management, and business planning and analysis, with direct accountability for financial and operational performance.
• Experience developing and leading multi-year strategic plans.
• Strong background in staff management and organizational behavior. Ability to work collaboratively, and to build and maintain high-performance teams. Excellent interpersonal communication and presentation skills.
• Track record in successful product and content development.
• Strong marketing orientation with a keen knowledge of recent trends, issues, and research in scholarly publishing.
• Understanding of and experience with the changing landscape of international science publishing and publishing technologies, and applications to scientific inquiry and research. Significant professional visibility and networks within the scientific publishing community.
   

Location of Work:

APS follows a “remote first” work model, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations. Although this is a “remote first” position, it requires regular and frequent travel to meet with APS publications, editorial, and other staff. Residence in Washington, DC, or New York is preferred to allow such regular interactions but is not required. Relocation assistance will be provided.

Travel:
 

In addition to frequent travel to meet with APS staff, this position requires attendance at leadership, scientific, and professional meetings and events as part of its core responsibilities, as well as additional travel as assigned.

The American Physical Society is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of American Physical Society not to discriminate or allow the harassment of employees or applicants on the basis of race, religious creed, alienage or citizenship, religion, color, ethnicity, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, protected veteran status, protected military status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, ancestry, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law with regard to any employment practices, including recruitment, advertising, job application procedures, hiring, upgrading, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, job assignments, benefits and/or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, provided the individual is qualified, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform the essential functions of the job. This policy applies to all jobs at APS. The American Physical Society is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact APS Human Resources at hr@aps.org.

All APS Employees must be vaccinated against COVID and provide proof of vaccination via our secured vaccination portal Safeter upon hire, unless they have an HR-approved medical or religious exemption.

The APS has a “remote first” concept that promotes equal treatment and equal access, independent of physical work location, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations.