About Escape the City
What is Escape the City?
Escape the City is a purpose-driven job board and global community founded in 2010 by Rob Symington and Dom Jackman. The story begins with "an email that would change their lives" — six months after Rob sent it to Dom, both had quit their corporate jobs and were working from Rob's basement curating their weekly "Top 10 Opportunities" email. Today the platform connects over 500,000 members with 17,000+ opportunities, 13,000+ exciting employers, and a community of 1,500+ Escape School graduates.
The company's mission has evolved into "liberating one million people to do work they love. Not just find more fulfilling work but create it too." Today Escape offers a curated job board, the Escape School (courses for career changers), Top 1% Employers certification, the _Shift People & Culture service for organisations, the published Escape Book, and a programme of online and offline community events. The company is B Corp certified.
Where will I work?
Escape the City is fully remote, with its registered office at Platf9rm, Hove Town Hall, Hove BN3 2AF — a coworking space on the south coast of England. The team works remotely from various locations across the UK, with the team coming together as needed.
What is the Escape team like?
The Escape team is small and roles-led. Current team: Dom Jackman (Co-Founder), Skye Robertson (Escape's Chief Purpose Officer), Elena Musgrave (Head of Partnerships – _Shift), Hilary Owen (Head of Marketing & Escape School), and Charlotte Keys (Head of Job Board). Co-founder Rob Symington and founding partner Mikey Howe sit on the advisor team. The team describes itself as "a small band of rebels disrupting the world of work" — and walks the talk on the values it preaches to its job-board candidates and Top 1% Employers.
Work-Life Balance
Escape the City adopted a 4-day work week permanently in 2021. As Big Lemon (a fellow 4DW Bristol agency) wrote of consulting Escape for advice: "They have adopted a 4DWW too and haven't reduced their holiday allowance, and when you think about it, that is exactly what should happen. No holiday should be reduced, holiday is not something that should be sacrificed." Nobody's salary has changed due to the shift. One of Escape's content writers, Tim, summed it up: "Nowadays, I come back to work excited, with energy and ideas, knowing I can give my all for 4 days and be hugely productive."
Perks and Benefits
- Permanent 4-day work week since 2021, with no reduction in pay or holiday
- Fully remote team across the UK
- B Corp certified employer
- Mission-aligned work: helping 500K+ people find more meaningful careers
- Access to the wider Escape School curriculum
- Small, purpose-driven team with direct ownership of impact