Employment Opportunities

The AUC Press Professional Training Program 2008–09

The Professional Training Program at the American University in Cairo Press has been established to provide recent university graduates and other Egyptian and foreign residents of Cairo each year with a special opportunity to receive professional training at the AUC Press and to learn about the purposes and procedures of book publishing, including editing, sales and marketing, design and production, promotion and public relations, bookselling, and administration. Successful professional trainees are also considered for permanent assistant positions which may become available at the AUC Press.

Professional Training Positions are available in the following areas: 

1. Editorial: The professional trainee will assist in the preparation of manuscripts for publication, including proofreading, manuscript tracking, maintaining author correspondence, and record-keeping duties in the editorial department. Working closely with the editors of the Press the trainee will gain hands-on experience of manuscript development and the editorial process.

2. Design and Production: Professional trainees of the Design Center will be able to assist in many diversified graphic design and production projects including books, journals, catalogs, brochures, and posters for AUC and other clients in Cairo.

3. Promotion and Public Relations: The professional trainee will gain experience preparing promotional materials for release to the press, newsletters, mailing lists, assisting with media contacts, special events, and organizing special promotional activities. This is an interactive department that will develop the trainee’s writing, organizing, and interpersonal communication skills.

4. Sales and Marketing: The professional trainee will participate in the work of the local and international sales and marketing departments of the AUC Press, assisting in order taking, maintaining customer records, distributing catalogs, the preparation of exhibits, and providing promotion support for managers and sales representatives, and receiving and informing retail customers and distributors in Egypt and abroad.

5. Publishing Administration: The professional trainee will assist in the process of maintaining publishing records for authors and forthcoming publications, including follow-up on related correspondence, preparing royalty contracts, as well as production estimates and schedules. The trainee will have the opportunity to develop organizational and communication skills in the administration of an international publishing house.

6. Bookselling and Customer Relations: The professional trainee will gain hands-on experience in the operation of a successful international bookstore including ordering books from Europe and North America, assisting in retail computer system operation, receiving and shelving books, and providing direct customer service in the Main Campus and Zamalek bookstores of the AUC Press.

Other Professional Training Activities include:
Orientation and Participation: Professional trainees will receive introductory presentations by the director and senior managers of the AUC Press and will attend regular departmental planning meetings.

Professional Seminars: Professional trainees will participate in special quarterly seminars with experienced professionals covering all aspects of international publishing and bookselling.

Special Events: Professional trainees will actively assist in the planning and coordinating of monthly Book & Author receptions, book awards, and other promotion celebrations of the AUC Press.

Professional Training Stipends and Schedules:
For the academic year 2008–09, the nine-month training period begins with an orientation program on October 7, 2008 and runs through June 30, 2009.
A stipend of LE 1,200 per month is paid to each trainee.
AUC Press professional trainees follow the administrative schedule of the University with time off for national holidays and 10 personal days.

Application Procedure
Applications are still being received and should include:
1. A letter addressed to the Director of the AUC Press, Mr. Mark Linz, indicating the applicant’s interest in the AUC Press Professional Training Program and describing any special talents, experiences, or interests which would help to contribute creatively and effectively to the work of publishing and bookselling.
2. A résumé (C.V.) indicating the applicant’s educational background and special skills, as well as references or recommendations concerning the applicant’s qualifications, interest, and ability to participate in the AUC Press Professional Training Program.
The AUC Press will notify those selected for the upcoming professional training program as soon as final selections are made by the Director in consultation with senior managers of the AUC Press.

Applications should be sent by mail, fax, or e-mail to:
The American University in Cairo Press
33 Sharia Mohamed Mahmoud
11511 Cairo, Egypt
Attention: Tina Sherif (e-mail: tina@aucegypt.edu; fax: 02-2794-1440)