Publications Sales Manager

Company : American Physical Society
Location : Remote
Closing Date : 16th September 2022
Website : https://aps.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a270i42g737u

Publications Sales Manager
Who we are:

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Position Summary:

The American Physical Society (APS) publishes the trusted, renowned, and growing Physical Review family of peer-reviewed journals, covering physics and physics-related research and including world-leading, premier titles such as Physical Review Letters, Reviews of Modern Physics, and Physical Review X, as well as the essential and trusted core Physical Review titles.

The Publications Sales team sits within the Publishing Department, and is responsible for achieving revenue targets, customer satisfaction, and other objectives through a number of activities, including: the sales and renewals of journals subscriptions and related products and bundles, to academic, government, and corporate institutions, globally; negotiation of consortium agreements and institutional open access arrangements, including Read and Publish and other types of transformative agreements; regular and accurate sales reporting and forecasting; developing relationships with and providing excellent service to existing and prospect customers, including librarians, consortium administrators, and procurement officers; sales operations, including the management and improvement of business processes, systems, and data; and managing relationships with sales agents, subscription agents, and other third-party vendors.

The Publications Sales Manager (PSM) reports to the Director of Publishing and holds primary responsibility for achieving revenue targets and customer satisfaction, for institutional and consortia accounts globally, by managing a team of Publications Account Executives (PAE), as well as by handling a portfolio of products and services and supporting the customer accounts within a defined list or territory. The role is focused on managing: the handling of renewals and new sales of journals subscriptions, bespoke access licenses, and related products and services (e.g., print and backfiles offerings, open access publishing services, etc.); the development of strong relationships with customers, and the consistent provision of excellent customer service; and efficient business practices through effective collaboration with APS colleagues in Sales Operations, Finance, Information Systems, Communications, and other departments, as well as with third-party agents and service vendors. The PSM role is remote-first, working primarily from home, and is required to travel to client sites, library and publishing events, APS offices located in College Park MD and Washington DC, and other offsite locations for periodic sales meetings, training, and strategy sessions.

The APS has a “remote first” concept that promotes equal treatment and equal access, independent of physical work location, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations. This position could require at times in office work, various geographic events and meeting attendance as instructed by your Supervisor.APS values diversity and welcomes candidates from a variety of backgrounds. APS offers a dynamic work environment with an outstanding total compensation package including salary, outstanding benefits, and excellent paid time off.

Responsibilities:

  • Translate APS publications strategy into clear objectives and targets, and ensure effective plans are designed and executed towards fulfilling APS strategy and achieving organizational goals.
  • Lead a team of Publications Account Executives (PAEs), and contribute individually, to manage a global list of accounts; maximize multisite and consortia renewals; develop existing accounts; prospect for new customer acquisitions and sales; and provide outstanding customer service and account support.
  • Utilize both in-person and virtual interactions to establish, build, and nurture strong, mutually beneficial relationships with existing and prospect customers (including through regularly scheduled meetings and travel, including site visits and attendance of library and publishing industry events); and motivate and train PAEs to do the same.
  • Thoroughly understand relevant APS journals, products, services, and models, to effectively communicate compelling value propositions to customers; and motivate and train the PAEs to do the same.
  • Work closely with APS colleagues in Publishing and Communications on marketing and outreach activities designed to broaden awareness of our growing and expanding portfolio of products and services and demonstrate their value to customers and the broader community.
  • Ensure that Salesforce and other business systems and data are used by all members of the team to identify opportunities, prepare quotes, complete licensing agreements, record details of sales visits and customer information, and execute other fundamental tasks.
  • Ensure that all negotiated pricing and licensing terms are aligned with APS policies, targets, and strategy, and that license agreements are consistent with negotiated terms and conditions.
  • Ensure all customers and third-party collaborators are fully supported throughout negotiation, procurement, and licensing processes, as well as in on-going customer service and account support.
  • Ensure the data and commentary in regular sales and financials forecasts and reports are accurate, timely, and adding value for APS management and leadership teams.
  • Ensure APS colleagues are supported in analysis and reconciliation of sales reports and agency commissions; verification and validation of access control; and other financial and operational matters, as necessary.
  • Contribute to the development and evolution of APS publishing strategy, including by advising management on emerging trends and opportunities, as well as threats, risks, competing priorities, resourcing, and other concerns.
  • Contribute subject matter expertise and relevant skills and experience to plans and projects, as needed, towards the development of new business, products, services, and models.
  • Proactively contribute to the continuous improvement of business policies, processes, systems, and data; and motivate and train the PAEs to do the same.
  • Demonstrate professional conduct, aligned with APS core values, to increase the visibility and strengthen the perception of the APS and Physical Review brands, both within the customer base and beyond, to the broader scientific and scholarly communications communities.

Scope and Relationships:

  • Manage at least 2 direct reports, the team of PAEs.
  • A close and effective working relationship with the Sales Operations Manager is essential.
  • Internal interactions with APS colleagues across departments, including Publishing, Finance, Information Systems, Communications, and others.
  • External customer relationships with institutional librarians, government and corporate procurement officers, consortium administrators, and potentially funders and others.
  • External interactions with third-party sales and subscription agents, fulfillment vendors, and other service vendors and consultants.
  • External network of professionals in the areas of scholarly communications, STM publishing, broader sales, and marketing thought leaders, and potentially others.
  • Contribute to special projects, as requested.

Education: Bachelor’s degree required.

Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: A minimum of 10 years’ experience in institutional sales and licensing of scholarly publications and products, preferably in the physical sciences or other areas of STEM; extensive experience with and knowledge of scholarly communication, academic library markets, trends in research communities, and the forces currently shaping the journals publishing industry a deep appreciation for high-quality, society-owned journals and their value to the scholarly record and scientific enterprise.

  • Proven leadership and people management skills
  • Customer focused
  • Self-motivated, with a strong drive for results
  • Ability to plan, manage and measure work
  • Ability to make timely, quality decisions
  • Strong organizational and CRM (preferably Salesforce) skills, and ability to use data to drive decision-making, identify opportunities, and support customer needs
  • Demonstrated skills in relationship building, negotiations, and customer service
  • Business travel savvy and freedom to travel up to 30-40% of the time
  • Ability to work well both independently as well as collaboratively with interdepartmental teams and external colleagues
  • Ability to work effectively and efficiently from a remote location, or while traveling, with minimal day-to-day supervision
  • Strong written and oral communication skills, and ability to utilize digital technology to effectively collaborate with internal and external stakeholders
  • Ability to adapt and remain flexible to changing priorities

Travel: The position requires significant travel to conduct site visits and to attend meetings and events as part of its core responsibilities, as well as additional travel as assigned.

Work Environment:

Our physical offices are located in Long Island, NY, Washington, D.C and College Park, MD. We are operational in most US states. While most duties can be conducted remotely, all positions require periodic in-person work at the assigned physical location and periodic travel to other APS locations, meetings and events as assigned by your Supervisor. The American Physical Society allows flexible work hours, responsiveness is required however during the core 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Standard Time workday. The successful candidate will join a collaborative international organization.

This is Us:

Help us achieve our mission of advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics for the benefit of humanity, promote physics, and serve the broader physics community.

At APS, we:

  • Provide a welcoming and supportive professional home for an active, engaged, and diverse membership
  • Advance scientific discovery and research dissemination
  • Advocate for physics and physicists, and amplify the voice for science
  • Share the excitement of physics and communicate the essential role physics plays in the modern world
  • Promote effective physics education for all

Core Values:

Core values are essential to shaping the culture of an organization. They provide the structure and guidance for how we conduct ourselves in our day-to-day interactions. Every employee has a responsibility for upholding these values. The behaviors and actions associated with demonstrating competency in these Core Values are described in a separate document.

Our Core Values:

  • The Scientific Method
  • Truth and Integrity
  • Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect
  • Partnering, Cooperation, and Open Collaboration
  • Speaking Out
  • Education and Learning

Amazing 2022 Benefit Offerings:

  • Flexible schedules and ability to work remotely
  • 8% employer-paid retirement contribution
  • Investment advisement services: 100% employer paid
  • Medical benefits: PPO or HDHP option
  • Employer contribution to FSA or HSA account, eligibility based on medical plan enrollment
  • Dental benefits: individual coverage 100% employer paid
  • Vision benefits: individual and dependent coverage 100% employer paid
  • Basic Life & Accident insurance: employee coverage 100% employer paid
  • Supplemental Life & Accident insurance, including spouse & dependent child(ren) coverage
  • Disability insurance: employee coverage 100% employer paid
  • Healthcare, Commuter & Dependent care flexible spending accounts
  • Vacation: 15 days annually
  • Generous holiday leave: 14 paid days of significance; includes one week closure at the end of December
  • Personal leave: 4 days annually
  • Volunteer leave: 1 day annually
  • Sick leave: 10 days annually
  • 10 weeks employer-paid family leave
  • College tuition reimbursement plan
  • Job related seminar & continuing education
  • Training and professional development; access to LinkedIn Learning on-demand courses
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Mindfulness Meditation: live and on-demand classes

The American Physical Society is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of American Physical Society not to discriminate or allow the harassment of employees or applicants on the basis of race, religious creed, alienage or citizenship, religion, color, ethnicity, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, protected veteran status, protected military status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, ancestry, domestic violence victim status or any other characteristic protected by law with regard to any employment practices, including recruitment, advertising, job application procedures, hiring, upgrading, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, job assignments, benefits and/or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, provided the individual is qualified, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform the essential functions of the job. This policy applies to all jobs at APS. The American Physical Society is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact APS Human Resources at hr@aps.org. All APS Employees must be vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination via our secured vaccination portal Safeter upon hire, unless they have an HR approved medical or religious exemption. The APS has a “remote first” concept that promotes equal treatment and equal access, independent of physical work location, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations. We welcome you to apply today!