Editorial Director

Cohere • Toronto, ON

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We're hiring an Editorial Director to run Cohere's editorial function. This role is responsible for everything published under Cohere's name, in long form, with its own voice. The successful candidate will inherit an established function with senior staff and ongoing projects, with the goal of raising standards, increasing ambition, and establishing a sharper editorial center of gravity. This is not a content marketing role focused on SEO or scaling case studies; it's about building a distinct editorial property that people engage with voluntarily. The role requires a blend of editorial taste (knowing what story to tell, who should tell it, and its tone) and publishing discipline (managing a calendar, commissioning and editing at volume, and understanding audience reach). The Editorial Director will own Cohere's editorial vision, publishing calendar, writers (staff and freelance), and long-form output across various media, acting as a peer to the Head of Brand Marketing and Design Director, and reporting to the VP of Brand. This position is also responsible for internal storytelling, helping the company articulate its mission and impact to its employees.

Requirements

• 15+ years in editorial leadership roles with a track record of shipping ambitious long-form work at a high standard.
• A portfolio of written, filmed, recorded, edited, or commissioned work.
• Strong editing skills at both sentence and structural levels, with the ability to articulate editorial decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to run a publishing operation, including calendar management, budgeting, contributor pipeline, rights, and production.
• Cultural fluency across multiple worlds (journalism, design, fashion, music, art, the internet).
• A network of writers, photographers, filmmakers, and producers.
• Experience leading editorial teams and managing external creative partners.
• Ability to operate within a fast-moving company with complex subject matter and a curiosity to engage with it.
• Ability to operate inside a fast-moving company with complex subject matter, without losing the editorial standard.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience writing or commissioning work about technology, science, or AI for a general audience.
• A perspective on how publishing is evolving in the age of generative AI.
• Experience launching a publication, imprint, or owned-media property from scratch.

Responsibilities

• Own Cohere's editorial vision and standards, defining what Cohere publishes, why, and to what standard.
• Develop a clear editorial sensibility, including subject matter engagement and alignment with Cohere's brand strategy.
• Serve as the editorial standard-bearer internally.
• Own how Cohere sounds in all published work, setting and defending the brand voice.
• Build and manage Cohere's publishing calendar across all long-form channels, including annual themes, quarterly slates, and weekly cadence.
• Commission writers, photographers, filmmakers, and producers, providing briefs, editing, and managing shipping.
• Run editorial budgets, contracts, rights, and freelance operations with discipline.
• Develop measurement frameworks focused on depth of engagement, returning readers, cultural pickup, and citations, rather than vanity metrics.
• Lead the creation of Cohere's most ambitious editorial work, including essays, features, profiles, films, photo essays, podcasts, and potentially books or print.
• Find and tell compelling stories that may relate to AI, science, work, language, art, history, or the future, with a felt connection to Cohere.
• Incorporate original commentary, criticism, and reporting alongside brand storytelling to establish a clear point of view.
• Take ownership of Cohere's existing owned-media surfaces (site, newsletter, content channels) and evolve, retire, or launch new ones.
• Ensure consistency across different forms of content, making Cohere's blog and other brand surfaces feel like they originate from the same publisher.
• Cultivate a dedicated readership through owned channels.
• Act as Cohere's head of marketing storytelling internally, ensuring narrative discipline in internal communications.
• Help leadership translate marketing strategy into accessible stories for all-hands, kickoffs, and internal updates.
• Make the company vision accessible to employees, enabling them to articulate Cohere's mission and impact.
• Partner with the People team on employer brand and onboarding narrative.
• Develop and grow a roster of staff editors and writers, and a freelance bench of contributors.
• Serve as an editor that great contributors are eager to work with.
• Partner closely with the Head of Brand Marketing on brand strategy, narrative, and campaigns.
• Partner closely with the Design Director on visual identity and art direction for major editorial pieces.
• Partner with the Social Lead to ensure editorial sensibility and social voice are aligned.
• Coordinate with Product Marketing and Comms on launches and announcements.
• Inherit and develop the existing editorial team, including a senior content manager and a staff writer.
• Manage external partners, including freelance contributors and production teams.
• Set the standard for the team and build an editorial culture where high standards are motivating.

Benefits

• An open and inclusive culture and work environment
• Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research
• Weekly lunch stipend, in-office lunches & snacks
• Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health
• 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months
• Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well-being, quality time, and workspace improvement
• Remote-flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co-working stipend
• 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed