Applicants are sought for the position of Editor-in-Chief of International Psychogeriatrics, the prestigious academic journal (2007 impact factor – 2.207) owned by the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) and currently published six times per year by Cambridge University Press (CUP). The appointment will be for four years (January 2011 to January 2015) and the successful applicant will be eligible for re-appointment for a second four-year term (2015–2019) as determined by the IPA Board of Directors. Applicants are sought now, so that the successful candidate can be appointed as Editor-in-Chief elect at IPA's September 2009 Board of Directors (BOD) meeting. The intent is to ensure a smooth transition and enable the editor-elect to work closely with the current editor, Professor David Ames, to master the duties prior to assuming the position.
Responsibilities of the editor-in-chief include the arrangement of peer review for submitted articles, deciding which reviewed articles can be published, commissioning of editorials, book reviews, debates and other articles from time to time, timely communication with authors and other correspondents and reporting regularly to IPA's Executive Committee and Board of Directors on the status, direction and development of the journal. To assist himself or herself in the editorial duties, the editor will appoint at least two deputy editors, up to 40 associate editors, a book review editor and a statistical consultant to the journal's editorial panel and will be supported on that panel by eight former editors of the journal. In consultation with these colleagues the editor will be expected to set goals and policy directions for the journal and to improve and enhance its relevance, reputation and importance within the academic discipline of psychogeriatrics/old age psychiatry. The position is unpaid, but expenses for occasional essential travel may be available. The position will be supported by an editorial assistant whose exact hours and location of work will be determined in consultation with CUP and IPA. During the course of the initial four-year appointment, it is expected that the journal will increase its publication frequency to 12 issues annually. In addition, an average of one to two supplements to the Journal are published each year. The time commitment is approximately 40–60 hours per issue.
The successful applicant will have considerable experience in the academic discipline of psychogeriatrics/old age psychiatry, will have published widely in academic journals and will have some experience of editing or assisting with the editing of an academic journal (e.g. at the level of at least associate editor) or newsletter. The successful applicant will be, or will be willing to become, a member of IPA.
A decision on the appointment of a suitable applicant will be made by an IPA BOD subcommittee comprising David Ames (Editor-in-Chief), Michael Davidson (Chair IPA Publications Committee), Masatoshi Takeda (IPA President-Elect), and Susan Oster (IPA Executive Director and Executive Editor of International Psychogeriatrics) and this recommendation will require confirmation by the full IPA Board of Directors.
All interested candidates should apply electronically by submitting the following by 15 May 2009 to journal@ipa-online.org:
• Short version of Curriculum Vitae (CV) – no longer than two double-spaced typed pages in length
• Statement of Interest and Eligibility – no longer than two double-spaced typed pages in length
• 3 letters of reference – letters should be sent directly by the referee to the IPA Secretariat (Ms Susan Oster, IPA Executive Director and International Psychogeriatrics Executive Editor, soster@ipa-online.org; see inside back journal cover for full contact details); at least one letter of reference should be from a current member of the IPA Board of Directors
Application information and job description are provided on the IPA website http://www.ipa-online.org. The deadline for application is 15 May 2009. It is anticipated that telephone interviews will take place in June 2009 and that a decision on the recommendation of an appointee to the post will be reached by 31 July. Enquiries about the responsibilities of the position may be addressed to the current editor, David Ames (ipaj-ed@unimelb.edu.lau), and/or to the IPA Executive Director, Susan Oster (soster@ipa-online.org), and will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
IPA . . . . Better Mental Health for Older People
