What are the responsibilities and job description for the Acquisitions Editor, Drug Discovery Online position at Life Science Connect?
The landscape of the life sciences industry is as vast and varied as the professionals who work in it. Our goal is to be the most valuable resource for a specific segment of the industry – Drug Discovery – and the professionals who make their living there. They’re specialists, like us. We deliver in-depth content from authoritative authors and sources because that’s what our community demands.
The primary role of the Life Science Connect Acquisitions Editor, is the recruitment of guest content contributors with expertise in the Drug Discovery arena. The Acquisitions Editor is responsible for establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with these experts—relationships that yield high-value content for our readers. The Acquisitions Editor will be responsible for managing, editing, optimizing, and tagging contributed content for publication. This position will be at our Cranberry Township, PA location
The primary role of the Life Science Connect Acquisitions Editor, is the recruitment of guest content contributors with expertise in the Drug Discovery arena. The Acquisitions Editor is responsible for establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with these experts—relationships that yield high-value content for our readers. The Acquisitions Editor will be responsible for managing, editing, optimizing, and tagging contributed content for publication. This position will be at our Cranberry Township, PA location
Essential Job Duties:
- Grow and manage our network of content contributors for Drug Discovery Online.
- Work with editorial and business development teams to determine target article topics, contributor profiles, and appropriate volume of coverage by topic.
- Identify and connect with industry experts — through direct outreach (email/video calls), social media, industry events, PR firms, journalist sourcing platforms, etc. — who fit the target contributor profiles and are capable of creating original content on target topics by writing guest columns, participating in audio/video-recorded Q&As, or contributing via other content formats deemed valuable.
- Guide each contributor through the process of determining the highest value content topic, angle, and scope for the Drug Discovery Online audience.
- Oversee the publication schedule of each contributed piece, setting appropriate deadlines for contributors, ensuring they submit all necessary materials (abstract/outline, draft, bio, headshot, images, etc.) on time, and submitting work orders for tagging and publication.
- Edit each contributed content piece for grammar, adherence with our editorial style guide, general readability, SEO/GEO optimization, and reader engagement (e.g., attention-grabbing headlines).
- Grow relationships with contributors through regular interaction (email, social media, video calls, etc.) to encourage their continued participation.
- Schedule all content from contributors for promotion in relevant newsletters.
- Review newsletter proofs, ensuring all content is relevant, recent, grammatically correct, and optimized for performance (e.g. headline and summary check).
- Promote contributed content to ensure engagement by target reader personas via:
- Social media.
- Direct email messages to contributor and relevant groups, contacts, or agencies.
- Merchandising of content across all relevant LSC sites.
- Additional Job Duties:
- Support additional editorial and engagement initiatives for LSC products.
- Leverage network of contributors for other initiatives that require SMEs (e.g. webinars and expo participants, editorial interview subjects).
- Support additional editorial and engagement initiatives for LSC products.
- Select articles to be aggregated into topic-specific ebooks.
- Actively contribute to weekly editorial staff meetings.
- Required Education
- BS/BA Degree
- BS/BA Degree
- Required Skills / Experience (position specific reasons not to hire):
- 3 or more years of professional work experience in editorial or communications.
- Strong written and oral communication (including video call skills).
- Demonstrated editing experience, including improving content structure, focus, logic, flow, audience relevance, and reader engagement
- Sound editorial judgement and respectful, constructive feedback delivery
- Ability or willingness to prospect, conduct outreach, and cultivate professional relationships.
- Resilience and persistence when navigating rejection or limited response rates
- Technical aptitude (the ability to understand and communicate technical concepts).
- Willingness to interact with the business development team.
- Experience hitting goals and deadlines.
- Professional presentation.
- Business acumen.
- Demonstrated persuasion and influence.
- Proficient use of Word, Excel, email, social media, generative AI and automation tools, and the internet.
- Preferred Skills / Experience
- 5 years of professional work experience in editorial or communications.
- Experience in the life sciences industry, ideally related to drug discovery and/or preclinical drug development.
- Excellent written and oral communication (including video call skills).
- Comfortable in highly structured environment.
- Marketing knowledge, skills, and experience.
- Photo and/or video editing.
- Ability to travel up to 10 days per year (e.g. conferences, LSC offices.)
Compensation & Benefits
Life Science Connect offers a generous compensation package. In addition to a competitive salary, you'll enjoy:
• Medical / vision / prescription / dental coverage for you and your family
• 100% company‑paid short‑ and long‑term disability insurance
• 100% company‑paid life insurance
• 401(k) with dollar‑for‑dollar company match up to 6%
• 15 vacation days and 6 personal days on day 1
• 13 company‑paid holidays
We do not offer visa sponsorship for this role.
To view all our job postings and showcases for some of our employees, visit: https://lifescienceconnect.com/careers/.