We Are Hiring: Executive Editor of the Texas National Security Review
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
The Texas National Security Review (https://tnsr.org) is seeking a motivated, innovative, detail-oriented, and energetic executive editor. We are looking for candidates who are excited to be a part of an ambitious venture that speaks to both policymakers and scholars and has already become an important new voice in the national security landscape.
About the Journal
The Texas National Security Review is a joint endeavor by War on the Rocks and the University of Texas that launched in late 2017. This print and online journal is dedicated to publishing articles relevant to national security policy from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives. It is relevant and accessible to policymakers, scholars, and the educated public; credible and rigorous from a scholarly perspective; and multi-disciplinary. Print issues (quarterly) and our online roundtables combine contributions from scholars and practitioners alike.
About the Position
This full-time, Washington, DC-based position will report directly to the CEO of War on the Rocks Media LLC, who serves as the journal’s publisher.
The executive editor will also work closely and regularly with the University of Texas leadership team, our Austin-based editor-in-chief and managing editor, as well as scholars, policymakers, and strategists across the globe. While based in Washington, this position will require quarterly travel to Austin, Texas.
The executive editor will be primarily responsible for the following:
(a) Soliciting manuscripts;
(b) Vetting submissions for suitability;
(c) Ensuring future print issues of the journal are filled with high-quality manuscripts;
(d) Serving as an intellectual spokesperson and evangelizer for the Review, especially to academic audiences;
(e) Ensuring the intellectual vision and standards of the Review are being maintained on a day-to-day basis.
In concert with the managing editor, the executive editor will also be responsible for
(a) The steady production of roundtables;
(b) Ensuring editorial operations are working as intended;
(c) Supervising the Review’s associate editors;
(d) Editing (of course).
This job is not for those who seek a tame, 9-5 professional experience. It will be demanding and fast-paced. It will require a commitment beyond normal hours of business and an entrepreneurial mindset. The ideal candidate will be ambitious for influence, committed to building the Review’s brand and audience, while being able and eager to compete in a crowded marketplace.
Pay and compensation are competitive.
Experience
Strong candidates will be those interested in committing to a non-traditional career path that bridges the academic and policymaking worlds.
Candidates will be expected to have a strong background in international relations, security studies, strategic studies, and/or history. This must include familiarity with the relevant academic literature. The ideal candidate will have strong cross-disciplinary credentials as well. A PhD in a related field is required.
A record of policy experience — in civilian government service, think tanks, or a combination of these — or military experience is a bonus, but not required. Nevertheless, a successful candidate will be conversant in historical and ongoing strategic debates in the United States.
The ideal candidate will have some form of editorial experience as well as experience as a published author in peer-reviewed publications.
Candidates should have experience managing non-academic projects, processes, and people. A discipline for hard deadlines is a must.
Skills
A successful candidate will combine excellent attention to detail with enterprising and visionary creativity.
Any successful candidate will need exceptional writing and editing skills of the sort not typically provided by academic training.
This position demands the ability to work collaboratively as a part of a small team in a fluid and unpredictable start-up environment. A strong candidate must also be able to work independently with minimal supervision at times. The ability to efficiently multitask/concurrently manage short, medium, and long-term projects is necessary.
This position will also demand regular interaction with senior academics, policymakers, national security practitioners, and their staffs.
Application Instructions
Please send a cover letter and resume (both as PDF files) along with a long-form academic and short-form policy writing sample (one of each, as Word documents) to editor@warontherocks.com with TNSR EXECUTIVE EDITOR APPLICATION in the subject line. The cover letter should explain what appeals to you about the Review’s mission, why you want to help serve that mission, and why you are the best person for the job. Please also explain what drives you as a professional and include an amusing story about yourself.
Please also include two academic references and one non-academic reference in the body of the email, complete with their contact information (phone number and email address).
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
