Chief AI Editor — Lead Vision, Policy & Growth

VAP Group; United Arab Emirates; Hybrid; AED 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

VAP Group in Dubai is seeking a seasoned Editor-in-Chief to lead its digital news operation, shaping editorial vision, voice, and strategy across breaking news and deep dives. You will sign off on major stories and uphold ethical standards while guiding a distributed editorial team.

You will partner with SEO, analytics, and revenue teams to grow audience, manage budget and partnerships, and represent the publication externally at events and panels.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of journalism/editorial experience with 3+ years in senior leadership.
• Proven track record in scaling a digital news publication.
• Strong ethics, accuracy, and sourcing standards (AP/house style).
• Experience managing distributed teams and freelancers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; public representation of brand.
• Knowledge of WordPress publishing workflows, SEO, and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Define and refine editorial vision, voice, and content strategy.
• Hold final editorial authority on major stories and risk.
• Set and enforce editorial policy separating content types.
• Recruit, mentor and manage senior editorial staff; build newsroom culture.
• Own content roadmap balancing breaking news, evergreen guides, and thought leadership.
• Oversee Global Ai Show event agenda and partnerships.
• Represent publication externally in media appearances and industry events.
• Oversee crisis and correction protocols, ensure accuracy and sourcing.
• Collaborate with SEO, growth, and revenue teams to align output with traffic and business goals.
• Monitor industry trends and audience data to identify coverage areas and formats.
• Approve editorial hires and freelancer agreements; budget allocation.

Skills

Editorial leadership

Editorial ethics

News judgment

People leadership

Communication

Sourcing & fact-checking

Tools

WordPress

SEO fundamentals

Content analytics

Job description

VAP Group in Dubai is seeking a seasoned Editor-in-Chief to lead its digital news operation, shaping editorial vision, voice, and strategy across breaking news and deep dives. You will sign off on major stories and uphold ethical standards while guiding a distributed editorial team.

You will partner with SEO, analytics, and revenue teams to grow audience, manage budget and partnerships, and represent the publication externally at events and panels.