BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS JOURNAL
Call for Applications for Editors-in-Chief
Deadline: 31 December 2024
After more than a decade, the current Editors-in-Chief (EiCs) of the Business and Human Rights Journal (BHRJ) will be leaving their roles in December of 2025, with the publication of Volume 10 of the journal. The current EiCs and Cambridge University Press are now seeking applications for two to four new EiCs.
BHRJ provides an authoritative platform for scholarly debate on all issues concerning the intersection of business and human rights in an open, critical and interdisciplinary manner. It seeks to advance academic discussion on business and human rights as well as promote concern for human rights in business practice. BHRJ strives for the broadest possible scope, authorship and readership. Its scope encompasses interface of any type of business enterprise with human rights, environmental rights, labour rights and the collective rights of vulnerable groups. The EiCs welcome theoretical, empirical and policy/reform-oriented perspectives and encourage submissions from academics and practitioners in all global regions and all relevant disciplines. A dialogue beyond academia is fostered as scholarly articles are published alongside shorter ‘Developments in the Field’ (DiF) items that include policy, legal and regulatory developments, as well as case studies and insight pieces.
The journal has an active social media presence as well as a companion blog, BHRJ Blog, focused on cutting-edge issues in business and huma rights theory and practice. Over the past several years, BHRJ has published innovative and ground-breaking special issues focused on business and human rights scholarship in different regions of the world as well as thematic issues concerning gender, just transition and situations of armed conflict.
Owned and published by Cambridge University Press, BHRJ is in its 9th volume and publishes 3 issues a year. It is regarded as a leading journal in this field globally. The journal has made significant strides in terms of impact. As of 2024, the journal’s Impact Factor of 2.3 puts it in first quartile for law journals. BHRJ also received a formal category rank for the first time in June 2024: 24/421 in the law category and 163/302 in the business category. BHRJ is currently ranked 11th by Google Scholar for international law journals.
The EiCs are seeking applicants that come from a variety of academic disciplines and diversity in terms of gender, regions and institutional affiliations. Applicants should have substantial editorial experience and a strong publishing and research record in business and human rights and/or related fields such as labour rights, international human rights law, business ethics and management, international relations and Indigenous rights. Applicants should have an awareness of the many different methodological approaches taken in this field.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The incoming EiCs will work as a team of two to four lead editors. They will work with the support of an Editorial Board and a Developments in the Field Panel, as well as a team comprising DiF editors, book review editors, blog editors and social media editors, a BHRJ Fellow, an Executive Publisher and publishing support from Cambridge University Press. Responsibilities include:
- Shaping the strategic direction of the journal
- Securing and overseeing content and managing the workflow for three issues of the journal per year
- Encouraging submissions to the journal
- Liaising with Cambridge University Press teams managing copy editing, proof reading, production, sales and marketing etc.
- Overseeing a rigorous and supportive peer review and decision-making process for submissions (using the ScholarOne system) with personal responsibility for around 150 submissions each year
- Overseeing and managing the guest editorial process for special issues of the journal
- Recruiting and working with editors in charge of DiF, book reviews, BHRJ Blog and social media
- Recruiting Editorial Board and DiF Panel members Please note that reliability is essential to meet publishing deadlines and the time commitment required by the EiC position is substantial and continuous. We are looking for individuals who can start shadowing the current EiCs in the summer of 2025 with a proposed initial term of three years formally starting from 1 January 2026. There is a modest honorarium provided by Cambridge University Press to the EiCs.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates should apply by 31 December 2024 to Rebecca O’Rourke, Executive Publisher for law journals at Cambridge University Press: [email protected]. Please include a CV along with a short cover letter explaining your suitability for the role (no more than 1 page). Applications will be reviewed by the current EiCs and the Executive Publisher. Short-listed candidates will be invited to submit a full application, which will undergo a more rigorous review and interview by a broader selection panel. In your cover letter, please indicate:
- Your experience publishing and researching in this field
- Any previous journal editorial experience
- Your approach to working in a team with fellow EiCs
Team applications are welcome. However, each of the members of a team should submit their application individually, indicating the proposed members of their team clearly in their application documents.
The EiCs and the Executive Publisher will screen all submitted applications. From the applicant pool, a small group of shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a full application and do interview with a selection panel comprising the Executive Publisher, the current EiCs and a few past or present members the Editorial Board. The timeline for the selection process is as follows:
- Submissions of applications by 31 December 2024 (CV and a short cover letter)
- Candidates short-listed by mid-January 2025
- Process applicable only to short-listed candidates:
- Submission of full applications by shortlisted candidates by end of February 2025
- Review of full applications and interviewing of shortlisted candidates during March-April 2025
- Selection of EiCs and notification by end of May 2025
- Onboarding of new EiC team during July-December 2025
- Handover to new EiCs in January 2026
The current EiCs and/or the Executive Publisher would be happy to receive informal enquiries about the nature of the EiCs role. If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca O’Rourke, Executive Publisher at [email protected].