E-International Relations is looking for aspiring academics (PhD students/candidates and Masters students who intend to study further) and early career researchers to join our team. The role involves contacting, and then working, with authors in the fields you are researching to commission unique articles for the website. Part of the role also involves assisting us review book manuscripts and chapters. So, a dynamic and rewarding role for anyone looking to widen their horizons academically and who enjoys reading – and helping disseminate – the latest research in their field.
In a nutshell, the everyday tasks of a Commissioning Editor are built around flexible time that you can spare from your busy schedule. You harness your knowledge of the literature in your specialist area (the stuff you read every day) and come up with your own ideas for authors to contact. You then invite them to write more accessible pieces than the usual journal articles or books. You come up with different ideas for who/what to commission (you are empowered to set your own agenda), and sometimes you also are invited respond to ideas our team suggests for content that might be opportune to seek out. This is good for our editors as they get to work with authors in their field and deepen/widen their academic skill sets (we mentor all editors and provide lots of assistance through this process). You also get to network with our 100+ strong editorial team, building up links for collaborations and future projects. It is good for the authors you contact as writing for E-International Relations puts their work in front of the largest audience of its kind, currently over 5 million readers per annum.
We do not limit ourselves to Politics/International Relations – if you come from a different academic area but have something to say about political/international issues, you are warmly welcome to apply. All we ask is that all volunteer editors set aside at least 5 hours a week and commit to the role for at least 6 months. Though, we hope you will stay longer and go on to hold one of the more senior roles in our team, which are always open for talented and resourceful volunteers.
Beyond this specific role, in general terms, volunteering with E-International Relations is not your typical ‘work experience’. First, we coordinate our activities remotely using Slack. So, you do not need to physically attend a place of work to volunteer with us. Second, we have no paid staff, we are all volunteers. We volunteer some of our spare time because we want to have a hand in maintaining the best online resource for students and scholars of international politics. Finally, we empower our editors to learn skills, manage their own time and develop their own projects. The result is that the more volunteers give of themselves, the more they take away from the experience. It is no surprise that many of our editors have built on their experience with us to go on to senior positions in the publishing industry, politics, and academia.
If you would like to get in touch about this position, send us an email titled ‘Commissioning Editor’ to join@e-ir.info. Within that email please:
- Tell us why you feel you are suitable for this role and briefly outline your academic interests (500 words max)
- Attach (or link) one academic writing sample that represents your work.
- Attach a CV/resume
We hope to appoint these roles by 1 November, so we will be in touch around then with any applicants who catch our eye. Unfortunately, due to the pressures of time (which we volunteer) and the extent of emails we receive, we can only reply to those who we shortlist.
