Chief Editor (travel)

We are looking for someone who will take over the entire RussiaDiscovery editorial: the website, Travel Magazine, Telegram channels, and email newsletters. You will unite the content teams into a single editorial department, define its structure, and be responsible for the quality, growth, and — crucially for us — for the commercial return of everything we publish.

This is a player-leader role: approximately 60% of the time will be dedicated to teams, processes, and platform strategy, and 40% to hands-on work. You yourself love texts and meanings, sensing both form and content. We especially value it if, in addition to a feel for text, you have visual awareness and taste: in our work, form and content are equally important.

Content Sells Here

This is not a media function in a vacuum. Our texts directly influence sales of tours and expedition cruises: a tour description, an article in the Magazine, a newsletter email, and a Telegram post are points where a reader makes a decision about a trip. We are looking for an editor who is not only motivated to inspire and maintain quality standards but also to see how content converts into inquiries and revenue, and to purposefully work towards this result in conjunction with the commercial and tour product departments.

About Us Briefly

RussiaDiscovery has been organizing active travel across Russia for over 20 years — Kamchatka, Altai, Kola Peninsula, Chukotka: places where you can encounter bowhead whales and polar bears, catch the Northern Lights, and see volcanic eruptions. Our Magazine is read by 55,000 people per month, and we aim to grow this audience — both as a media outlet and as a source of clients.

Your Responsibilities:

• Own the editorial and content strategy for own platforms (website, Magazine, Telegram, Zen, newsletters);
• Be responsible for editorial policy and text quality: criteria, Tone of Voice, fact-checking system;
• Manage the editorial team: planning, processes, release schedules, managing the remote team;
• Form and develop a pool of external experts, authors, editors, and proofreaders;
• Be responsible for all website texts: tour cards, Magazine articles, company sections;
• Work towards commercial results: growth of inquiries and revenue through content;
• Set and decompose department KPIs, analyze effectiveness using Yandex.Metrica and RoiStat.

Our Expectations:

• Experience managing an editorial/content department: 2+ years as a chief/managing editor or head of a content team, with direct people management (not just freelancers);
• Remote management: proven experience working with a distributed creative team;
• Commercial mindset: understanding of the funnel and how content influences inquiries/revenue;
• Strong writing + editing skills: you can write and edit at a high level yourself (impeccable literacy);
• Brand media/blog/large website: launched or systematically developed at least one editorial platform with measurable results;
• Analytics: worked with Yandex.Metrica/RoiStat or similar tools, making decisions based on reader behavior data.

Your Advantages:

• Visual awareness and taste — you understand the connection between text and visuals;
• Personal interest in travel, expeditions, and the wild nature of Russia;
• Experience building a pool of external authors/experts and a system for working with them;
• Basic SEO as a working tool: ability to set tasks for SEO specialists;
• Experience managing Telegram channels as an editorial format, not SMM.

Working Conditions:

• Hybrid work format (Moscow time zone);
• Fixed income and performance-based bonuses;
• Corporate discount on Skyeng courses;
• Meal compensation at the employee cafe with delicious and healthy food (for in-office visits);
• Work in a team of like-minded individuals and industry experts;
• Real prospects for professional and personal growth.