Academic Content Editor


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Job Category: Exempt

PCLS: 31485

Salary Grade: G

Summary

Incumbents in this position organize, coordinate, and oversee editorial strategies, academic publication pipelines, and faculty dossier review processes to advance the scholarly profile and compliance standards. Incumbents serve as a centralized content strategist and consultant, ensuring all formal materials, research publications, and promotion files meet rigorous university standards for clarity, completeness, accuracy, and institutional compliance.

Reporting and Supervisory Responsibilities

Academic Content Editor reports to Director or Marketing Sr. This classification works independently after initial training and may coordinate work or approve content from assigned editors, student employees, and/or interns.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Academic Content Editor is distinguished by the possession of advanced technical writing and editing expertise required to manage high-volume, complex publication portfolios and navigate the highly sensitive tenure and promotion dossier process. Incumbents operate with a high level of independence and discretion, serving as a resource and consultant to a network of faculty and administrators, and work with the University Library for publishing.

Repsponsibilities and Essential Duties

  • Supports the University’s goals and objectives by managing, coordinating, and executing faculty dossier reviews and complex publication projects from concept to completion.
  • Researches, writes, edits, and proofreads a variety of written materials including technical reports, manuals, guidance documents, and research publications for grammar, style, clarity, and consistency.
  • Ensures all publications and materials match Utah State University’s branding, formatting, structural, and messaging standards.
  • Coordinates the peer-review and editorial publication pipelines in close collaboration with Extension content editors and the University Library.
  • Develops and publishes finalized content to the university library, university website, and other digital mediums.
  • Consults directly with faculty and administrators on strengthening formal dossiers and written materials, providing expert process guidance, policy interpretation, and structural recommendations prior to formal submission.
  • Identifies missing documentation, inconsistencies, or compliance deficiencies in faculty tenure and promotion files and communicates necessary revisions to stakeholders.
  • Manages projects, timelines, and digital workflows within the FastTrack/manuscript software system.
  • Assists in the development, writing, and editing of standardized templates, procedural manuals, and onboarding resource documents to streamline administrative burdens.
  • Maintains absolute confidentiality while tracking rigid deadlines and managing multiple highly sensitive projects simultaneously.
  • Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Accountability

  • Reports directly to the Director or Marketing Sr.
  • Ensuring all formal materials, research publications, and promotion files meet university standards for clarity, completeness, and technical accuracy.
  • Systematically apply rigid procedural standards to diverse materials; identify missing documentation, inconsistencies, or compliance deficiencies in faculty tenure and promotion files.
  • Manage high volume, simultaneous projects through the pipeline and deadlines.
  • Maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive tenure, promotion, and institutional files.
  • Deliver clear, constructive edits and comments to writers and committees, and clearly communicate necessary revisions to stakeholders when deficiencies are found.

Authority

  • Approve or reject content from assigned editors, student employees, and/or interns to ensure quality control.
  • Authority to flag deficiencies and mandate necessary revisions to faculty and stakeholders before formal submission.
  • Operate with high level of independence and discretion in managing daily digital workflows, project timelines, and collaboration with the University Library.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

  • Advanced ability to create, compose, copy edit, and proofread complex written materials for both contextual clarity and technical accuracy. Improve clarity, precision, and readability.
  • Deep, practical knowledge of academic publishing procedures, requirements, and familiarity with citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style standards).
  • Provide clear, constructive edits and comments and collaborate effectively with writer and committees.
  • Strong knowledge of Utah State University tenure, promotion, and faculty dossier submission workflows and compliance expectations.
  • Ability to interpret institutional policy and systematically apply rigid procedural standards to diverse materials.
  • Exceptional project management skills, including the ability to move high-volume, simultaneous projects under tight deadlines from concept to execution.
  • Advanced interpersonal and consultative communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies, including faculty, researchers, and senior administrators.
  • Proficiency with manuscript management software (e.g., FastTrack) and website/electronic media content development.
  • Ability to summarize, synthesize, and interpret facts and trends as they pertain to complicated technical or scholarly materials.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in English, Technical Writing, Communications, or a related field plus 3 years of relevant work experience is required, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes. The employee is required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

Disclaimer

This position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to the position.