Managing Editor - Times of AI

VAP Group; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 200,880 - 312,480; Full time

Job summary

VAP Group in Dubai is seeking an experienced Editorial Manager to oversee daily and weekly editorial calendars, assign stories across news, insights, guides and other site verticals, and ensure on‑brand quality before publication.

You will edit and copy‑edit for accuracy and SEO, supervise staff writers and freelancers, manage WordPress publishing workflows, track performance, collaborate with SEO and social teams, and uphold editorial standards across the Global Ai Show event coverage.

Qualifications

• 5+ years editorial experience in digital media, with team lead experience.
• Strong copy-editing and headline-writing skills with SEO focus.
• Experience managing multiple writers and deadlines in a fast-paced newsroom.
• Hands-on experience with WordPress CMS and analytics tools.

Responsibilities

• Manage the daily and weekly editorial calendar, assigning stories across news, insights, guides, and other site verticals.
• Edit and copy-edit articles for accuracy, clarity, structure, SEO, and adherence to house style before publication.
• Coordinate real-time coverage of breaking news and time-sensitive developments relevant to the vertical.
• Manage the CMS publishing workflow (WordPress), including scheduling, categorisation, tagging, and featured-image/metadata quality control.
• Supervise, coach, and give regular feedback to staff writers, reporters, and freelance contributors; set individual output targets.
• Ensure clear labelling and separation of press releases, sponsored posts, and editorial content per the site's Editorial Policy.
• Responsible for the comprehensive management and oversight of the Global Ai Show's event agenda www.globalaishow.com.
• Liaise with the Chief Editor on story approvals for sensitive, legal-risk, or high-visibility pieces.
• Track content performance (traffic, engagement, rankings) and adjust assignment priorities and headlines/structure accordingly.
• Coordinate with SEO, social media, and newsletter teams to ensure timely distribution of published content.
• Maintain the contributor/freelancer pipeline, including onboarding, style-guide training, and invoice/payment coordination.

Skills

Editorial leadership

Copy editing

SEO knowledge

Journalistic ethics

Communication

Organizational skills

Tools

WordPress

Google Analytics

Search Console

Yoast/Rank Math

Job description

Location: Hybrid (Dubai)
Employment Type: Full-time

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the daily and weekly editorial calendar, assigning stories across news, insights, guides, and other site verticals.
• Edit and copy-edit articles for accuracy, clarity, structure, SEO, and adherence to house style before publication.
• Coordinate real-time coverage of breaking news and time‑sensitive developments relevant to the vertical.
• Manage the CMS publishing workflow (WordPress), including scheduling, categorisation, tagging, and featured‑image/metadata quality control.
• Supervise, coach, and give regular feedback to staff writers, reporters, and freelance contributors; set individual output targets.
• Ensure clear labelling and separation of press releases, sponsored posts, and editorial content per the site's Editorial Policy.
• Responsible for the comprehensive management and oversight of the Global Ai Show's event agenda www.globalaishow.com.
• Liaise with the Chief Editor on story approvals for sensitive, legal‑risk, or high‑visibility pieces.
• Track content performance (traffic, engagement, rankings) and adjust assignment priorities and headlines/structure accordingly.
• Coordinate with SEO, social media, and newsletter teams to ensure timely distribution of published content.
• Maintain the contributor/freelancer pipeline, including onboarding, style‑guide training, and invoice/payment coordination.

Requirements

• 5+ years of editorial experience in digital media, with at least 1–2 years in a story‑assigning or team‑lead capacity.
• Strong copy‑editing and headline‑writing skills, with an eye for SEO best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple writers and competing deadlines in a fast‑paced newsroom environment.
• Hands‑on experience with WordPress or a comparable CMS, plus basic familiarity with analytics tools (Google Analytics, Search Console).
• Solid understanding of journalistic sourcing, fact‑checking, and editorial ethics.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of the specific subject matter covered by the site, sufficient to evaluate story pitches and technical accuracy.
• Experience managing a distributed team of freelance writers across time zones.
• Familiarity with structured data / SEO plugins (e.g., Yoast, Rank Math) and basic image‑optimisation workflows.
• Experience coordinating coverage around live events, product launches, or market‑moving news.

Success Metrics / KPIs

• Publishing cadence: number of stories published on schedule vs. planned calendar.
• Content quality: error/correction rate, average edit turnaround time.
• Team output: writer productivity, freelancer retention, and quality consistency.
• Performance: pageviews, average engagement time, and search ranking movement on managed content.