Director of Publications

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Publications position contributes to the advancement of local public health practice by ensuring that consistently high-quality standards are applied to NACCHO publications. The Director of Publications serves as managing editor for two periodicals: NACCHO Exchange and Public Health Dispatch; supervises the publications team and budgets; provides editorial and graphic design support for other NACCHO publications and printed pieces; and assists with association-wide strategic communications activities. The individual is accountable for the effective day-to-day operations and results of the Publications unit and develops and implements initiatives to ensure results are attained and quality standards are met. Position responsibilities will require working in close collaboration with staff of all program areas, consultants and the NACCHO Marketing and Communications team. The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong copy-editing skills, including familiarity with editorial best practices
• Graphic design expertise (especially using InDesign)
• Demonstrated project management skills, including management of budgets and contractors
• Experience working with revenue-generating publications a plus

This is a Director level position. Incumbents generally have eight or more years of experience in their discipline and a Bachelors Degree, as well as substantive experience at the Senior Specialist level. Graduate level degrees may be considered in lieu of experience.

COMPETENCIES AND EXPECTATIONS:

• Ensures that regular communication occurs based on the needs of the work, the individual, management or the situation.
• Fosters an environment conducive to open, transparent communications among all levels.
• Makes use of specialized knowledge to assist staff, internal and external stakeholder in resolving problems.
• Uses ‘non-technical’ language skillfully to ensure effective communication with stakeholders and staff from all levels of understanding.
• Considers the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success, when making a decision.
• Considers organization’s capabilities, mission, vision, values, and strategic goals and objectives in work efforts.
• Identifies individuals who have the technical expertise to respond to inquiries on specific topics.
• Uses all available information appropriately to guide decisions and negotiations to meet objectives, while acting with integrity.
• Assesses, manages and takes calculated risks to achieve goals.
• Understands the political environment, management priorities, staff roles and responsibilities, and grasps external factors impacting the organization.
• Applies rules and regulations in a consistent, non-biased manner.
• Understands and executes the various stages of the grant lifecycle including pre-award review, grant progress monitoring, and award closure.
• Develops and manages the scope of a project (e.g., project objectives, team, tasks, deliverables, timelines, hours, costs).
• Understands management and organizational principles pertaining to areas of responsibility (e.g., delegations of authority, administrative procedures) in order to plan and conduct complex studies to assess organizational operations
• Incorporates an awareness of current and future management directives, required functional and technical expertise, resource requirements, and targeted stakeholders into annual plans.
• Analyzes programs for productivity and efficiency gains, and provides recommendations to management officials on the most effective position/skill mix, work processes, organizational structures, etc.
• Translates new performance management policies into actionable goals for one’s own team/program and holds self and others accountable to achieving the goals.
• Provide leadership in recruitment, performance standards and management, goal setting and staff development.
• Problem Solving – Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; Gathers and analyzes information skillfully; Develops alternative solutions; Works well in group problem solving situations; Uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
• Project Management – Develops project plans; Coordinates projects; Communicates changes and progress; Completes projects on time and budget; Manages project team activities.
• Interpersonal Skills – Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming; Maintains confidentiality; Listens to others without interrupting; Keeps emotions under control; Remains open to others’ ideas and tries new things.
• Delegation – Delegates work assignments; Matches the responsibility to the person; Gives authority to work independently; Sets expectations and monitors delegated activities; Provides recognition for results.
• Managing People – Includes staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating and process improvement; Takes responsibility for subordinates’ activities; Makes self available to staff; Provides regular performance feedback; Develops subordinates’ skills and encourages growth; Solicits and applies customer feedback (internal and external); Fosters quality focus in others; Improves processes, products and services.; Continually works to improve supervisory skills.
• Quality Management – Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
• Business Acumen – Understands business implications of decisions; Displays orientation to profitability; Demonstrates knowledge of market and competition; Aligns work with strategic goals.
• Diversity – Demonstrates knowledge of EEO policy; Shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; educates others on the value of diversity; promotes a harassment-free environment; Builds a diverse workforce.
• Ethics – Treats people with respect; Keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; Works with integrity and ethically; Upholds organizational values.
• Strategic Thinking – Develops strategies to achieve organizational goals; Understands organization’s strengths & weaknesses; Analyzes market and competition; Identifies external threats and opportunities; Adapts strategy to changing conditions.
• Judgment – Displays willingness to make decisions; Exhibits sound and accurate judgment; Supports and explains reasoning for decisions; Includes appropriate people in decision-making process; Makes timely decisions.
• Motivation – Sets and achieves challenging goals; Demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles; Measures self against standard of excellence; Takes calculated risks to accomplish goals.
• Planning/Organizing – Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Plans for additional resources; Sets goals and objectives; Organizes or schedules other people and their tasks; Develops realistic action plans.
• Professionalism – Approaches others in a tactful manner; Reacts well under pressure; Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position; Accepts responsibility for own actions; Follows through on commitments.
• Safety and Security – Observes safety and security procedures; Determines appropriate action beyond guidelines; Reports potentially unsafe conditions; Uses equipment and materials properly.
• Adaptability – Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Innovation – Displays original thinking and creativity; Meets challenges with resourcefulness; Generates suggestions for improving work; Develops innovative approaches and ideas; Presents ideas and information in a manner that gets others’ attention.

POSITION SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• For quarterly 24-page journal NACCHO Exchange: Serve as managing editor, develop topics and story list in partnership with staff, edit submissions from various sources and ensure editorial quality, coordinate with graphic designer, printer, and mailing house.
• For monthly 12-page print newsletter Public Health Dispatch: Edit submissions from various sources and ensure editorial quality, design/desktop publish each issue, coordinate with print vendor and mailing house.
• Lead the development of additional organization-wide publications, as necessary, including the Annual Report.

• Conduct a quality-control process for approximately 100 publications each year (i.e., reports, fact sheets, issue briefs, research briefs, postcards/flyers/brochures) to ensure consistency in style, format, and terminology.
• Supervise publications team to ensure quality among products.
• Provide editorial and, when appropriate, graphic design and desktop publishing assistance to staff during development of additional publications to ensure established quality standards are met.
• Develop and manage publications budgets.
• Manage outside contractors and consultants, as needed, including the:
  • Coordination with external printers and mailing houses as necessary to ensure pricing remains competitive.
  • Management of external contract for publications storage and fulfillment and coordinate with internal IT staff as appropriate to ensure appropriate dissemination through online bookstore.
  • Management of postal escrow account and non-profit permits and assist staff with publications mailing needs.
  • Monitoring of stock photo inventory and obtain and retain appropriate photo and model release forms; respond to permissions requests for publications.
• Conduct strategic planning and write grants/proposals and ongoing progress reports to funders for publications and communications activities; Liaise with funding organizations and federal partners, as appropriate.
• Assist with federal grant proposal writing, including copyediting, formatting documents, and substantively editing to identify weaknesses or to improve performance metrics.
• Participate on Communications Team to (1) ensure appropriate use of brand, logo, templates, and communications mechanisms; (2) develop and monitor policies for other communications mechanisms such as e-newsletters, social media, and website; (3) develop and implement strategic marketing and promotions activities; and (4) organize publication roll out strategy and execution.
• Assist, as needed, in emergency response communications activities (e.g., mobilize under Incident Command System)

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant professional field with a minimum of 8-10 years relevant work experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience, including a relevant certification. Master’s degree and certification in a relevant field preferred.
• Mastery of written English.
• Knowledge of print industry’s prepress standards and editorial best practices
• Knowledge of editorial standards of style (e.g., Chicago, AP, APA).
• Excellent writing, proofreading, copyediting, and substantive editing skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, desktop publishing software (InDesign preferred), and photo editing software (Adobe CS5 preferred).
• Project and budget management experience, including working with contractors and consultants.
• Extremely detail-oriented; highest degree of accuracy in all activities.
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures or government regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers and the general public.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Occasionally required to sit.
• Occasionally required to walk.
• Occasionally required to reach with hands and arms.
• Occasionally required to talk or hear.
• Occasionally required to bend, lift or climb stairs.
• Occasionally required to lift light weights (less than 25 pounds).

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The noise level in the work environment usually is moderate.