Features Journalist

Job Title: Features Journalist, The Scots Magazine (Mat Leave)

Department: Editorial / Content

Reporting to: Editor, The Scots Magazine Location: Dundee or Glasgow, UK

Ways of Working: Hybrid; 1 day a week in the office

Contract Type: FTC to cover Maternity Leave

The Scots Magazine, the world’s best-selling Scottish-interest title, is hiring for a Features Journalist to join the team in either our Dundee or Glasgow offices to cover a period of maternity leave. The Scots Magazine is part of the DC Thomson media and publishing company.

This is an exciting opportunity for an outstanding creative to join the award-winning team behind The Scots Magazine as it expands into new digital products. As part of a small, collaborative team, you’ll have the chance to write for our monthly print magazine and digital platforms.

From writing about outdoor adventures, celebrity interviews and the cultural events that define the nation – you’ll cover it all. The team like to get boots on the ground, so you’ll get the chance to explore Scotland while helping to shape the future content of one of the country’s best-loved publications.

The successful candidate will be a creative journalist, brimming with ideas and capable of delivering compelling features for our passionate readership, across print and digital. You will be a highly adaptable writer, who is as comfortable interviewing famous faces as writing first-person experiences and reviews or getting to the heart of a human-interest story.

The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to write engaging, informative, and well-researched stories. The Features Journalist will thrive under pressure, consistently meeting deadlines while balancing day-to-day content creation with long-term planning for future projects.

Key responsibilities include:

• Write compelling features: Produce high-quality, engaging, and informative articles that capture the spirit of Scotland, covering everything from people and places to culture, lifestyle, history, and current events.
• Research and develop ideas: Generate fresh, creative, and original feature ideas that are aligned with the interests of our readers. Conduct thorough research to ensure the accuracy and depth of every piece.
• Finger on the pulse: You should be able to spot trends before our competitors get to them and display a desire to be the go-to guide for everything happening in Scotland.
• Work to deadlines: Manage daily editorial deadlines while maintaining attention to detail and ensuring all content is on-brand and of the highest standard.
• Collaborate with editorial team: Work closely with editors, other writers, and photographers to produce multi-faceted features. Contribute to brainstorming sessions and collaborate on larger editorial projects.
• Engage with the audience: Write in a tone that resonates with our readers, inspiring them to connect with Scotland’s heritage, landscape, and people.
• Plan for future content: Contribute to editorial planning by suggesting feature ideas and planning long-term content strategies that will keep the magazine fresh and relevant.
• Brand: Maintaining brand values and consistency of tone across your content, working with design to ensure management of fonts in line with company guidelines

Skills:

• IT Skills – MS 365 Suite, Adobe Suite; familiar with standard picture libraries (Shutterstock or Alamy)
• Content Authoring – Applies advanced writing and editing techniques to produce accurate, engaging, and audience-focused content across formats, ensuring consistency with brand and editorial standards.
• Information Content Publishing – Publishes and adapts content effectively across print and digital channels, optimising format, structure and presentation for audience accessibility and engagement.
• Data Analysis – Uses audience and performance data (e.g. SEO, engagement analytics) to inform content decisions, evaluate success, and continuously improve output.
• User Experience Evaluation – Assesses how audiences interact with content and applies insight to improve readability, accessibility and overall user experience.
• Stakeholder Relationship Management – Builds and maintains effective relationships with internal stakeholders and external contributors to support consistent delivery of high-quality content.
• Innovation – Applies creative thinking to generate new content formats, angles and storytelling approaches that enhance audience engagement and differentiation.

Experience:

• Proven experience as a feature writer or journalist, preferably within the lifestyle, culture, or travel sectors.
• An extensive contacts book and a strong knowledge and passion for Scotland, its cultural and historical landscapes, and its people.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple deadlines, and deliver high-quality work within specified timeframes.
• A proactive approach to generating ideas and collaborating with colleagues.
• Experience in writing for magazines or similar publications.
• Familiarity with SEO best practices for editorial content.

Behaviours that will help this role succeed:

Being More Curious

• Proactively identifies emerging trends, untold stories and new angles
• Uses data and insight to challenge assumptions and improve editorial decisions

Experiment with Purpose

• Tests new formats, topics and storytelling approaches based on clear hypotheses
• Uses performance data to evaluate success and scale what works

Owning the Outcomes

• Takes full accountability for content quality, deadlines and performance
• Uses feedback and data to continuously improve results

Being More Collaborative

• Actively shares ideas, insight and best practice across teams and titles
• Builds strong, constructive relationships with editorial, data, design and commercial stakeholders

To apply for this role, please follow our online application process and submit a CV and cover letter as well as your portfolio that demonstrates your work across print and digital.

Closing date for applications: 10th June 2026 at 12:00noon

This role is being offered as maternity cover, with an expected duration of approximately 12 months. We recognise that circumstances can evolve, so while there is some flexibility around the end date, we are committed to keeping you well informed and providing appropriate notice.