Call for Candidates: Editor-in-Chief for Value in Health

Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit your application and supporting documents via the link below before May 31, 2023.

Please direct any questions or confidential inquiries to Lyn Beamesderfer, Director of Publications, here.

Overview

Value in Health is the official scientific journal of ISPOR. The journal is owned by the Society and is published by Elsevier. Visit the journal website for more information.

To assure both breadth and depth in the key disciplines published in Value in Health and to assure a global perspective, the journal appoints 2 Editors-in-Chief who have in-depth knowledge and extensive research/publication experience in the field of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR).

ISPOR is currently seeking an Editor-in-Chief who will work closely with C. Daniel Mullins, PhD (Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD) and who will bring a demonstrated understanding of global health systems and policies in the field of HEOR. The Editors-in-Chief must be ISPOR members and cannot be employed by a pharmaceutical company.

The position of Editor-in-Chief for Value in Health is a contracted 4-year position and is renewable for additional terms contingent upon the approval of the ISPOR Board of Directors. The role includes an annual honorarium of $50,000.

Qualifications

·         PhD in health economics or equivalent field required

·         Proven track record of academic and scholarly accomplishments in 1 or more of the following areas: academic teaching experience, research experience, and scientific publication

·         Demonstrated knowledge of research design, methods and statistics, and research reporting standards in health economics and outcomes research field

·         Ability to critically evaluate submitted manuscripts; coordinate peer review; make sound editorial decisions; and arbitrate author rebuttals/disputes

·         Excellent organizational and communication skills, including ability to meet deadlines, strong writing skills, and effective presentation and public speaking skills

·         Strong interpersonal skills required; must be able to interact effectively with multistakeholder audiences and individuals at various career stages

·         Knowledge of publishing business/content models and web-based manuscript processing systems preferred

·         Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment with minimal supervision, while also being a strong individual contributor

·         Occasional travel required

Roles & Responsibilities of the Editors-in-Chief

The Editors-in-Chief act as Chairs of the Value in Health Editorial Board and serve on ISPOR’s Publication Council. The primary responsibilities of the Editors-in-Chief are to lead and continue to elevate the quality and impact of the journal,  with attention to the selection of high-quality and high-impact articles, effective peer-review processes, and to protect and strengthen the overall integrity and quality of Value in Health, including its editorial teams, budget, and business policies.

As such, the Editors-in-Chief have overall responsibility for establishing editorial strategy, implementing journal business plans, and maintaining and improving the quality of the journal while addressing topics of interest to the ISPOR membership and the HEOR community.

In 2022, Value in Health received nearly 1500 submissions (1162 new submissions and 325 revised). Since the workload is distributed fairly equally between the 2 Editors-in-Chief, each handles ~750 papers a year, which equates to reading 2+ papers every day. To keep up with the volume of submissions, the Editors-in-Chief spend approximately 10 hours per week on journal-related activities.

With the support of the ISPOR publications staff, the Editors-in Chief are responsible for performing the following editorial roles and duties:

·         Coordinate and direct editorial activities of Value in Health, with the objective of assuring consistency with the overall mission and the goals of the Society. Specifically, the Editors-in-Chief must ensure that Value in Health: (a) informs and educates readers, (b) is accurate and relevant, (c) avoids conflicts of interest, and (d) protects and strengthens the integrity and quality of published materials.

·         Maintain full authority over the content of the journal, including regular issues, special issues, proceedings, or other supplements. Editorial decisions are based on the validity of the work and its importance to readers. The Editors-in-Chief may seek input from a broad array of advisors, such as the Value in Health Editorial Advisory Board, Associate Editors, reviewers, readers, and other members of the Publications Council. The Value in Health Editors-in-Chief have an approved budget approved each year to use for commissioned papers.

·         Contribute short- and long-term strategic vision for the journal and identify goals to inform the  annual and 5-year publication strategic plans.

·         Establish editorial policy.

·         Recommend to the Publications Council, for their approval, Associate Editors, and membership to the Editorial Advisory Board.

·         Evaluate and screen new submissions for editorial scope, overall quality, and appropriateness for peer review within agreed timelines (eg, typically within 72 hours).

·         Assign new manuscripts to Associate Editors within 72 hours and communicate with Associate Editors regarding editorial decisions on manuscripts.

·         Monitor the performance of the Associate Editors to ensure the quality of reviewer selection, the timeliness of editorial processing, and the integrity of their editorial decisions.

·         Have final approval of the Associate Editors’ editorial recommendations.

·         Organize and plan the content for each issue in conjunction with the ISPOR publications staff, including choosing articles to highlight as Editor’s Choice selections, recategorizing content categories (as appropriate), identifying media-worthy articles, etc.

·         Maintain collegial and constructive interactions with Associate Editors, the Editorial Advisory Board, the Publications Council, Board of Directors, the ISPOR publications staff, and members and employees of ISPOR.

The position of Editors-in-Chief includes the following administrative roles and responsibilities:

·         Work with the ISPOR publications staff and the publisher to periodically review and refine policies and procedures for the efficient management of the ISPOR publications.

·         Report to the ISPOR Board of Directors and the Publications Council on the key performance metrics and recommended adjustments to policies and strategy.

·         Contribute at least 1 article per year to appear in Value & Outcomes Spotlight that highlights content/milestones published in Value in Health.

·         Present strategy updates to the ISPOR Board of Directors, typically once a year.

·         Attend periodic planning meetings with ISPOR staff and journal publisher.

Application Materials

• Cover Letter/Letter of interest, including qualifications and previous history with ISPOR. This should include a description of how the applicant will accommodate the time demands of serving as Editor-in-Chief for the journal (such as the availability of institutional support).
• Curriculum vitae (including list of published papers).
• Completed responses to questionnaire.

Application Deadline: May 31, 2023. To apply, click above on "Submit an Application".