Assistant Director, Acquisitions na University of British Columbia

Staff - Non Union

Job Category

M&P - AAPS

Job Profile

AAPS Salaried - Editorial and Production Services , Level B2

Job Title

Assistant Director, Acquisitions

Department

Leadership | UBC Press

Compensation Range

$6,747.50 - $9,701.42 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

October 14, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Ongoing

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Description Summary

The Assistant Director is a cross-campus senior position responsible for strategic planning, operational effectiveness, project development, administrative and financial management of UBC Press. Major responsibilities include planning and directing the book publishing program in terms of quality and balance of the book list to ensure it effectively contributes to established press-wide objectives and priorities; setting goals for the editorial team; supervising editorial staff; serving as an acquisitions editor; and working collaboratively and collegially with colleagues on both UBC campuses as well as faculty and publishing peers from across Canada and around the world.

Organizational Status

Reports to the Director, UBC Press, and provides publishing expertise and guidance to the University’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

About UBC Press

The University of British Columbia Press, better known by its imprint UBC Press, is the largest scholarly press in western Canada. Since its establishment in 1971, it has published over a thousand titles. The Press now publishes sixty new books per year and is widely considered to be Canada’s social sciences publisher of choice.

Work Performed

- Works with the director, with input from members of the editorial department, to determine and implement departmental goals in support of the Press’s overall strategic plan, objectives, and priorities;

- Provides guidance and supervision to the editorial staff; responsibilities include hiring, establishing and measuring performance, conflict in the workplace and other human resources matters.  Liaises with VPRI HR team for complex matters as needed;

- Establishes performance goals and measures to evaluate the success of assigned areas of responsibility;

- Leads the department in working to define, clarify, or update the editorial guidelines for UBC Press’s scholarly list and its non-scholarly imprints;

- Develops or updates, as well as implements, policies and procedures for the acquisition, handling, and transmittal of manuscripts;

- Encourages members of the editorial department to generate ideas for book projects and identify appropriate authors;

- Oversees the quality, timeliness, and financial performance of the department’s various publishing projects;

- Participates in Press-wide efforts to analyze performance of the Press’s editorial list;

- Acts as the departmental liaison and provides information and updates to production, marketing, finance, and administration, and represents the editorial department in discussions with managers of other Press departments;

- Serves as an acquisitions editor in specific subject areas, acquiring no fewer than fifteen books per year;

- Identifies emerging trends, topics, and authors in the scholarly community;

- Develops and maintains productive working relationships with authors, the academic community, and the publishing industry;

- Acts as the UBC Press delegate at professional meetings and conferences as appropriate;

- Serves as a member of UBC Press’s leadership team and, as such, helps to identify and assess emerging trends and new models for scholarly publishing, including constituent tasks, benefits, and risks;

- Assists the director and other departments in raising UBC Press’s profile on both UBC campuses and with the university’s senior administration;

- Responsible for maintaining an inclusive working environment that is free from discrimination and harassment;

- The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required of personnel so classified.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Responsible, in the main but not exclusively, for the focus, growth, and reputation of the editorial department and, by extension, UBC Press’s editorial reputation. Lack of organization, poor management style, inattention to detail, unprofessionalism, ineffective or delayed communication, and inability to perform in a collaborative leadership style could result in diminishing UBC Press’s excellent editorial reputation, and therefore impede the Press’s ability to attract key authors and manuscripts. The incumbent has the responsibility for overseeing a cohesive, productive, and communicative editorial department, and for liaising effectively and in a timely manner with colleagues, authors, funding bodies, and other participants central to the Press publishing success. Since a substantial portion of the Press income is derived from sales revenue, failure to perform the work outlined may lead to a decrease in the number and quality of books produced and thus jeopardize the Press’s ability to meet its financial goals and commitments. Additionally, since above all the Press is dependent on its reputation, failure to support the Press’s overall strategic plan, objectives, and priorities could lead to the Press loss of standing in the academic community and within its own parent institution.

Supervision Received

Reports to the Director.

Supervision Given

Provides guidance and supervision to the editorial staff. May also, from time to time, supervise editorial interns and student support staff.

Minimum Qualifications

- Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience;

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own;

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

- Post-graduate degree(s) in the social sciences, preferred. Managerial and supervisory experience; in lieu of this, completion of a UBC management training course within the probationary period;

- Extensive proven experience in all aspects of editorial acquisition, especially manuscript and proposal evaluation, peer review, and author relations;

- Demonstrably sound understanding of the markets for scholarly, trade, and post-secondary books;

- Knowledge and experience in some of the following areas preferred: manuscript editing, production, book design, sales, preparation of promotional copy and press releases, publicity, budgeting, contract preparation, rights and order fulfilment;

- Knowledge of the grant support systems for Canadian scholarly books preferred;

- Experience with fundraising and budget-tracking for book projects;

- Extremely strong oral and written communication, time management, and negotiation skills;

- Ability to anticipate problems and issues and plan ahead;

- Understanding of database and other information systems, along with experience with Microsoft Suite of products (Word, Excel, Outlook, & PowerPoint), Adobe Professional. Proficiency with social media (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, X [Twitter], Bluesky) is an asset;

- Familiarity with a university setting, preferable UBC’s, and an understanding of its mandates and its intellectual as well as operational focus; and

- Commitment and ability to develop and implement policies through a consultative process in an environment of conflicting needs and views.

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