We're looking for an editor for University and College Counselling, the quarterly journal of the BACP Universities and Colleges division, which provides a network of support, information and good practice dissemination for counsellors who work in further and higher education.

The editor will take responsibility for sourcing and commissioning articles, editing them, and supplying these in Word format to BACP’s Managing Editor and external designer, to agreed schedules. The editor will liaise with the Managing Editor, who will have sight of all copy before publication and will assist with proofreading and production.

The role of editor of University and College Counselling journal is offered on a contract for service basis.

Activities and expectations to carry out the role

You'll need to:

  • plan the future issues of BACP Universities and Colleges’ quarterly divisional journal, including liaising with the BACP Universities and Colleges’ Executive Committee, reference to BACP Business Plan, exploring topical issues and following up membership feedback
  • identify potential authors, commission articles and develop a strategy for the recruitment of potential contributors for topical issues and evolving themes
  • manage submissions to the journal, making editorial decisions as to relevance, liaising with authors and selecting copy for publication
  • edit all copy for publication to house style and to a page-ready standard, including liaison with authors to check adherence to author guidelines, and with BACP Universities and Colleges Executive and BACP’s Managing Editor
  • be responsible for proofreading all articles and final approval, along with the Managing Editor, for printing and online publication
  • correspond with the design team and contribute ideas to the journal’s layout, structure and illustration
  • meet the multiple deadlines for each issue, ensuring the journal is published according to schedules set by the Managing Editor
  • source and commission book reviewers and liaise with publishers for suitable books to review and to request jpegs of book covers

The information above is a broad guide that may be refined through discussion and practice. 

Skills and abilities

Please explain how you meet the following criteria in your cover letter, you should have:  

Essential

  • knowledge and experience of counselling and psychotherapy within higher or further education
  • strong editorial skills and experience, including excellent writing, editing and proofreading abilities
  • excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • excellent planning and organisational skills and attention to detail
  • the ability to work to multiple deadlines
  • the skills to use Word, particularly using tracked changes, and Adobe Acrobat PDF markup tools

Desirable

  • up-to-date knowledge of trends and developments in the field of counselling and psychotherapy in further and higher education, as well as the work of BACP
  • experience of commissioning
  • an understanding of the production process of a print and online publication
  • a strong visual sense and understanding of magazine layout and design 

Remuneration

The editor will be paid to edit University and College Counselling, the quarterly journal of BACP Universities and Colleges, on a basis of a maximum of 15 days per issue, four issues per year, at a rate of £230 per day.

Expenses incurred by the editor in the production of University and College Counselling, including telephone, stationery and postage, will be reimbursed, subject to the prior approval of BACP.

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