Editor - Identity

identity has a clear position: the definitive authority on architecture, design, interiors and property in the Middle East. The Editor is the person who owns that position – shaping the magazine, driving the daily digital output, and leading the identity Design Awards that bring the region’s design community together every year.

This is a strategic and production role at a brand with real heritage and real momentum. It suits an experienced editor who is equally comfortable directing a print issue, filing a digital news story, hosting a podcast and briefing an Awards jury – and who understands why each of those demands something different.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

This is identity’s most senior editorial role, reporting to the Group Content Director. The Editor owns the brand across every platform – the print magazine, identity.ae, social channels, newsletter, video, podcast and events – and sets the editorial direction in consultation with the Group Content Director.

The role leads from the front. The Editor plans issues two ahead, commissions and writes across print and digital, publishes digital content, and represents the brand publicly within the region’s architecture and design community.

It carries budget responsibility and genuine creative authority – and the expectation of hands-on output that comes with both.

WHAT YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Magazine:

– Own the editorial direction, flat-plan and forward planning of the magazine – working at least two issues ahead at all times.

– Commission and write content in line with the editorial calendar, balancing B2B depth for the design industry with B2C appeal for design-conscious readers.

– Sign off every issue, and get it to retail on time, every time.

– Select covers in consultation with the Group Content Director.

Digital and SEO:

– Regular and consistent digital output on identity.ae – news, projects, profiles and features – shared across the brand’s social channels.

– Develop and implement the digital content strategy, using SEO research and performance data to decide what gets covered and how.

– Write and deliver a newsletter that readers actually open – and that grows its open rate.

Video and podcast:

– Ideate thumb-stopping and deeply engaging video content strategies across identity’s YouTube channel.

– Develop and host the identity podcast – built around the region’s most interesting designers, architects and developers.

identity Design Awards and events:

– Lead the editorial side of the identity Design Awards each year – categories, criteria, submissions and judging.

– Secure five international judges and manage the jury through to the winners’ reveal.

– Shape the look, feel and guest list of the Awards and identity’s micro events so they are unmistakably on brand.

Commercial and community:

– Work with the Senior Partnerships Manager and commercial team to deliver print and digital creative solutions that make money without compromising editorial integrity.

– Build and maintain relationships across the region’s design studios, architecture practices, developers and PR networks to secure access, exclusives and first looks.

– Represent identity as brand ambassador at local and International design events.

Experience: 8+ years in professional writing and editing, with time spent leading a title or a section. Design, architecture, interiors or property media experience is a genuine advantage. Good knowledge of UAE press and publication law is required.

Design literacy: Real fluency in the language of architecture and design – you can tell a significant project from a press release, and you know (or can quickly learn) who matters in the region’s design community.

Print craft: Proven ability to run a magazine end to end: flat-planning, commissioning, subbing, proofing, artwork sign-off and hitting the print deadline.

Digital publishing: Applied SEO knowledge and daily CMS fluency. Comfort using analytics to make editorial decisions – evidence of data-informed publishing in previous roles.

Video and audio: Experience developing video or podcast content – or a credible, specific plan for how you would launch both. On-camera or on-mic confidence is an advantage.

Editorial voice: Excellent written English with a confident, precise voice. Portfolio evidence of both considered long-form work and high-volume digital output.

Leadership: Able to manage contributors and direct reports, run a budget, and work under deadlines pressure without letting standards slip.

ABOUT identity:

Launched in 2002, identity is the Middle East’s magazine of contemporary architecture, design, interiors and property – in print, on identity.ae, and across social, video and email. Its editorial franchises include the id50, celebrating the region’s most influential designers and architects, and the identity Design Awards, the region’s benchmark design awards programme, held every November since 2015.

identity is part of Motivate Media Group, which has operated across the GCC since 1979 with a portfolio that includes What’s On, Gulf Business, Emirates Woman, Campaign Middle East, Business Traveller Middle East and Golf Digest Middle East.

HOW TO APPLY:

Send a CV, two or three writing samples that represent the range of your work (long-form and digital), and a short covering note – no longer than one page – that addresses the following:

– What is your relationship with the region’s design community – and which studios, projects or people would you cover first?

– This role spans a print magazine, digital publishing, video, podcast and a major awards programme. Where is your experience strongest, and how would you close the gaps?

– What is one story identity should be telling right now that it isn’t?

Applications without writing samples will not be reviewed.