Position Title: AJLM Section Editor

Nature of Position: Voluntary (none renumerated)

Number of Positions: 9

Reports to: AJLM Editor in Chief/AJLM Managing Editor

 

ASLM background

The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) is a Pan‐African professional body, working to advocate for the critical role and needs of laboratory medicine and networks throughout Africa. Africa is rapidly growing but faces major health challenges including epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and new priorities such as Ebola and other global health security threats. Strengthened laboratory capacity and surveillance in Africa are critical to overcoming the burden of disease and ensuring a healthy future for the continent. ASLM addresses these challenges by working collaboratively with governments, local and international organizations, implementing partners, and the private sector. ASLM  established the African Journal of Laboratory Medicine,(AJLM), a gold open access journal  that gives  African researchers a platform to share findings that are relevant to local health challenges and solutions.

Role Background

African Journal of Laboratory Medicine (AJLM) is seeking to recruit 9 Section Editors in the following disciplines:

• Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (1 pax)
• Infectious Diseases (2 pax)
• Anatomical Pathology (2 pax)
• Genomics (2 pax)
• Emerging Technologies (2 pax)

The Section Editors are part of the AJLM Editorial Team that consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Section Editors, Technical Editors, and Editorial Coordinators/Assistants and they are responsible for the day-to-day management of the editorial process. The Editorial Team manages the peer-review process, makes editorial decisions on submitted manuscripts, communicates with authors and reviewers, and ensures the journal’s production schedule is met.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Section Editors are responsible for managing the peer-review process for a subset of submitted manuscripts in their area of expertise, including selecting and managing reviewers, making recommendations on manuscript acceptance, and working with authors, Technical Editors, and reviewers to revise manuscripts

Qualification:

• Laboratory-medicine-related doctoral-level degree (e.g., PhD, SciD, etc.) with at least seven years of postdoctoral experience, or a specialist medical degree with at least five years of experience
• Academic appointment (minimum: Senior Lecturer)
• Demonstrated experience as a peer reviewer (at least 10 peer reviews within a three-year period) or Demonstrated experience as an Editorial Board member, with at least three years of continuous service)
• Track record of at least 10 peer-reviewed publications
• Demonstrated a track record of leading and supervising research (e.g., at least one role as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, and supervisory responsibility for at least five projects within a five-year period)

Advantageous Experience

• The following attributes are considered desirable and may enhance an applicant’s candidacy or serve as substitutes for minimum requirements.
• Administrative experience, including grant applications, managing research groups, administering grants, foundations, etc.
• Headship of a department or other senior position
• Associate or Full Professor status
• Service as an examiner for doctoral and/or master’s thesis or for specialist degrees
• Demonstrated contributions to laboratory medicine and/or related fields in Africa or in other resource-limited settings
• Invitations to speak / present research at national or international levels

Term of office:

• Section Editors: AJLM Associate/Section Editors are appointed for a three year term, which may be renewed, if the incumbent agrees. The term of office may be shortened by means of written communication from the journal’s publisher or the journal’s title owner(s), if a new Editor-in-Chief is appointed or if such a change is required for editorial and operational purposes. Section Editors may step down at any time by informing the Editor-in-Chief or the publisher.
• During the term of office, Editorial Team members will be expected to:
• Fulfil their roles and duties as stated in Section 1 above.
• Continuously update their ORCID with their latest research and professional credentials.
• Attend Editorial Board and/or Editorial Team meetings.
• Disclose any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from decisions related to manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest. If a potential conflict of interest arises, the Editorial Team member should immediately inform the editor and recuse them from any discussions or decisions related to the matter.
• Help promote the journal through personal and professional networks, including social media and meetings.
• Respect confidential journal information and ensure it is not inappropriately circulated.
• Not bring the journal into disrepute.

Functions within the ambit of the Editorial Team:

1. Peer-review management: The Editorial Team manages the peer-review process, ensuring it is rigorous, fair, and timely. This includes selecting and managing reviewers, evaluating review reports, and making decisions on manuscript acceptance based on reviewer recommendations.
2. Decision making: The Editorial Team makes final decisions on manuscripts based on the recommendations of the handling editor, Technical Editor, and reviewers and ensures that authors receive constructive feedback on their submissions.
3. Manuscript management: The Editorial Coordinators/Assistants manage the submission and publication process for all manuscripts, including ensuring that submissions meet the journal’s scope and policies, preparing manuscripts for review, and the production process for accepted manuscripts.
4. Communication: The Editorial Team communicates with authors, reviewers, and other stakeholders to ensure the editorial process runs smoothly and efficiently. This includes sending decision letters to authors, answering questions from reviewers, and coordinating with production staff.
5. Policy development: The Editorial Team, in conjunction with the Editorial Board, helps develop and implement editorial policies and guidelines, such as authorship criteria, peer-review processes, and ethical standards, and ensures that these policies are followed consistently

Equal opportunity

• ASLM is an equal opportunity employer and we recruit and select staff on the basis of their demonstrated ability, qualifications and suitability for work.

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