Assistant Editor

Do you know what's opening in Dubai before it hits your feed? Can you write a caption that stops the scroll and a headline that gets the click? If you think like a magazine editor but move like a social native, ahlan wants to hear from you.

We're a social-first lifestyle brand covering everything worth knowing about in the UAE — celebrity, beauty, fashion, travel, and the moments taking over people's feeds. We're looking for a sharp, fast Assistant Editor to help run our editorial output, support the Editor day to day, and keep everything we publish accurate, on-brand and moving at the pace of the city.

You'll help plan coverage, edit and publish stories, and keep our site and social channels sharp across every vertical. You'll work closely with the Editor, writers and content creators to make sure ahlan writes with the pace of TikTok, the credibility of a magazine, and the accessibility of Instagram.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist the Editor in planning, commissioning, and editing content for web and social.

• Contribute to the evolution of ahlan's tone of voice and editorial identity as the brand continues to grow.

• Write and edit stories across verticals like beauty, fashion, celebrity, retail and viral news.

• Identify emerging trends and cultural moments relevant to ahlan's audience before they peak.

• Conduct interviews with talent, brand founders, industry voices and other personalities relevant to ahlan's coverage.

• Fact-check, proofread and sub-edit copy from writers, holding every piece to ahlan's style guide.

• Build and manage a content calendar that balances news, features, interviews and social-first storytelling.

• Use audience analytics and basic SEO practice to inform what stories get covered and how they're framed.

• Write headlines, deks and social captions that match ahlan's voice: confident, conversational, never corporate.

• Coordinate with photographers, designers and content creators on visuals.

• Collaborate with commercial and marketing teams on campaigns and partnerships, while protecting editorial integrity.

• Liaise with PRs and brands to source information, invites and imagery.

• Mentor and brief freelancers and junior writers, supporting the Editor with day-to-day workflow.

• Step in on breaking news and last-minute changes with speed and accuracy.

What we're looking for

• A confident editor and writer with experience in lifestyle, entertainment or social-first media.

• A sharp eye for ahlan's voice: clarity over cleverness, active voice, one idea per sentence.

• 4-7 years of experience in media, journalism or a similar editorial role.

• Excellent written English (British spelling), with strong sub-editing and proofreading skills.

• Working knowledge of SEO, audience analytics and what drives engagement on digital and social.

• Confidence interviewing talent and industry figures, and representing the brand professionally.

• Real knowledge of Dubai and the UAE's lifestyle,, beauty, fashion and social scene.

• Organised and deadline-driven, comfortable managing multiple stories at once.

• Confidence giving clear feedback and direction to writers and freelancers, with an interest in mentoring junior talent.

• Fluent across formats: website copy, headlines, captions and social hooks.

• A creative eye for fresh angles, without leaning on clichés or filler.

• A collaborative mindset and interest in how editorial supports commercial growth.

• Flexibility to attend events outside standard hours.

• Fluent in English; Arabic a plus.