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The Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability (JPED) is the official peer reviewed journal of the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD).  AHEAD is an international organization dedicated to the advancement of full participation in higher education for disabled people.  The Journal is the leading forum for scholarship in the field of postsecondary disability resources and services.  A refereed journal, JPED has been published for over 30 years, bringing to the field scholarly articles and innovative practice briefs on a variety of related topics that emphasize research, policy issues, demographic trends, and campus-based practices. Publishing scholarly work that promotes research-to-practice is a hallmark of the JPED.

JPED is typically published four times a year:  March (Spring), June (Summer), September (Fall), and December (Winter).  Each year, one of these issues (often the Fall issue) is a special issue that is put together by a guest editor or team of guest editors, in close collaboration with the Executive Editor.  More information may be found at https://www.ahead.org/publications/jped.

The Executive Editor is responsible for overseeing all operations of JPED.  Primary responsibilities include:

• maintain two editorial review boards (research, practice briefs),
• determine which manuscripts to send out for review and to whom (each manuscript is sent to two reviewers for a blind review),
• make and communicate all final editorial decisions; share editorial feedback with authors to shape the revision and publication process,
• work internally with the Managing Editor and the Editorial Assistant to manage the review process and the production of issues,
• organize the order of manuscripts to appear in a given issue and write a “From the Editor” introduction to each issue,
• solicit topics and guest editors for an annual special issue,
• conduct an annual editorial board meeting at the AHEAD conference each July (preceded by the submission of a brief annual report about the Journal), and
• present a single session at the AHEAD conference on writing for JPED.  Expenses to attend the AHEAD Conference are paid by AHEAD.

The editorial leadership team is greatly enriched by close collaborations with Richard Allegra (Managing Editor) and Valerie Spears (Editorial Assistant), both of whom work for AHEAD.  The Managing Editor receives all submitted manuscripts, confirms receipt with authors, and hosts all materials received from authors on the JPED server.  He routinely arranges access to JPED issues/articles through the ERIC and EBSCO database systems.  He is also actively involved in all “process” decisions regarding JPED, schedules and helps organize the annual editorial board meeting, and collaboratively addresses any other issues with the editorial team as needed.  The Editorial Assistant sends out via email all manuscript review requests, reminds reviewers of deadlines, and hosts their reviews on the JPED server.  She updates the Executive Editor via email with brief weekly status reports about materials sent out and received.  The Editorial Assistant plays a major role in actually preparing each issue for publication.  This entails conducting a final proofreading/editing process of all accepted manuscripts to ensure they comply with APA guidelines and soliciting minor edits or additional information from the lead authors.  She works with the production vendor to have each issue disseminated in alternate formats as well as print versions and ensures that AHEAD posts all back issues on its website. The Executive Editor is encouraged to collaborate with Sally Scott (Director of Research) to explore opportunities for the JPED to further AHEAD’s research agenda.                             

Interested candidates are invited to apply for this five (5)-year position in the following manner:

1. Submit a cover letter, current CV, and two writing samples to Stephan Smith, AHEAD’s Executive Director at this email address:  Stephan@ahead.org   The application deadline is Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. 
1. Please explain your interest in this role and summarize your qualifying credentials in your cover letter.
2. Writing samples ideally include at least one representative review of a manuscript (please delete the identifying information first) and one published research article.
2. Co-applicants will be considered.  Candidates should clearly note in their application materials if they wish to be considered in conjunction with a co-applicant.
3. Applicants will be informed of the selection committee’s final decision by November 13, 2020.
4. AHEAD will provide the Executive Editor(s) with an annual stipend of US$15,000.00 total to be used at the discretion of the Executive Editor(s) in support of their Editorial work.
5. The Executive Director is not a member of the selection committee, but is available to receive questions about this position and process.