The Assistant Editorship of the SEMPRE/SAGE journal Music & Science will shortly become vacant. The position carries an initial annual honorarium of £4502 from appointment in late 2020 (subject to personal taxation arrangements, if applicable), reviewed annually in December each year. This is an important role in supporting the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of the journal.

It requires someone with exceptional attention to detail, good time management skills, an ability to manage a complex online system, and high levels of discretion, as well as knowledge of the academic subject matter covered by the journal. The approximate time involved is around 5-8 hours per week, depending on the flow of activity. The first two holders of this post, Dr Mats Küssner and Dr Emily Payne, have worked closely with the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Ian Cross, to establish the procedures that are involved in handling submissions through all stages of the review and publication processes.

The role now particularly involves support for the operation of the Editorial Board (each of whom may act as an action editor for two or three submissions per year). This entails dealing with author enquiries, liaising with the Editor-in-Chief and assigning manuscripts to action editors, quality-checking manuscripts on submission and resubmission, preliminary proof reading of accepted manuscripts before they are passed to the publisher (e.g., checking style, English, academic conventions), processing manuscripts through the SAGE online system in a timely fashion, liaising with the action editors, the Editor-in-Chief, and SAGE staff, providing regular reports to the senior editorial team at SEMPRE, keeping track of possible news items of interest to the actual and potential readership, and writing and posting copy on social media. The role also involves monitoring manuscript progress through the online system and ensuring the editorial team are kept informed of tasks in-hand. The post-holder will also advise the Editor-in-Chief on the nature and scope of the Editorial Assistant role as the journal evolves.

The post would suit a doctoral student or post-doctoral researcher in psychology of music or a closely related area. The day-to-day management of the role lies with the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Ian Cross, supported by the senior editors Professor Adam Ockelford and Professor Graham Welch. Potential applicants should contact Professor Cross in the first instance (on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Professor Graham F Welch
Chair, SEMPRE
August 2022