Web Editor Search/Business History Conference
Business History Conference Web Editor Search Application
Deadline: 1 October 2013
The Business History Conference (www.thebhc.org) announces its search for a new
web editor to oversee its online presence as an organization.
The new editor will succeed the current editor, Pat
Denault, who will be permanently stepping down as of June 2015. The new editor’s term would officially start
in March 2015 (running for 3 months concurrent with the current editor), runs
for three years, and is renewable.
Ideally, the new editor will work closely with the outgoing editor as an
assistant editor beginning in the fall of 2014, in order to manage the
transition process.
Subsequent to the selection of the web editor the BHC
will appoint an assistant editor in charge of social media and an assistant
editor in charge of web content. The
assistant editor positions are new. The
assistant editors’ terms would also start in March 2015, run for three years,
and are renewable. The new web editor
will participate in the selection of the assistant editors.
The current responsibilities of the web editor are as
follows [with some of these duties being delegated to the assistant editors in
the future, e.g. the assistant editor in charge of social media would handle
blog posts on the Exchange; Facebook, Twitter, etc. The assistant editor in
charge of web content would be in charge of maintaining the various link and
resource pages]:
• Maintaining
and enhancing the BHC website overall.
• Designing and
posting annual meeting materials. This involves both
proactively contacting people for relevant information
and then posting the program, abstracts, and papers in advance of the
meeting. There is also a very modest
amount of creativity in design required for this section. These duties, running from approximately
December to March, constitute the busiest time of year for the web editor and
the most concentrated work.
• Updating the
“Governance” sections as required (annual changes in
Trustees, committees, etc.); updates to bylaws.
• Maintaining
and updating the Prizes and Awards pages (new prizes,
each year's winners, etc.)
• Maintaining
the Resource pages, which now include general links and
the newer syllabus pages.
• Maintaining
BEH On-Line (posting new essays each year, creating table
of contents page for each issue and adjusting other links
accordingly; adding new essays to the cumulative index). [Many of these duties
are likely to be assumed by the new BEH On-Line editor.]
• Posting to The
Exchange frequently (this is on Blogger, not on our
H-Net website).
• Keeping track
of and renewing our URL ownership as needed.
• Posting
announcements and other information as required (e.g., our
new AHA affiliate status).
• The editor
also serves as an ex-officio BHC trustee.
The ideal candidates would be enthusiastic about the BHC
as an organization, flexible in the face of constantly changing medium,
creative in terms of what kind of material the BHC might want to add to the
site, and conscientious regarding the maintenance of the web presence. A basic understanding of HTML would be
useful, and also the ability to use/willingness to learn a complex text editor
such as Dreamweaver. It would be ideal
(but not essential) for the person to have access to student or other
administrative help. The new editor can reside in any country.
The BHC is in a position to budget modest funds to
support these positions, preferably in conjunction with matching support from
an institution.
Formal applications for the web editor position should be
submitted by 1 October 2013 to Anna Spadavecchia, Chair, Electronic Media
Oversight Committee (a.spadavecchia@henley.ac.uk). Please include a C.V. or résumé, and a cover
letter explaining your qualifications, interest in the position, and vision for
how to grow the BHC’s web presence. If
you have ideas on how to recruit the assistant editors, you may include that,
but doing so is not required.
Initial expressions of interest are welcome, and should
also be sent to Anna Spadavecchia as well.