Five to seven years ago, hiring a media buyer from Russia, Ukraine, or Kazakhstan into a European iGaming holding would have seemed unusual – if not outright exotic. Today, it’s standard practice.
Companies based in Malta, Cyprus, Germany, and Israel are actively sourcing specialists from the post-Soviet region—and they’re doing it deliberately.
According to Yanina Radchenko, co-founder of the recruiting agency Partnerkin:
The global market has entered a phase of active expansion into the CIS, viewing our media buyers as a kind of ‘intellectual special forces’ – people capable of generating profit where others give up when faced with platform algorithms.
In this article, we’ll break down why CIS-based teams have become a pragmatic hiring choice – and the role niche industry conferences like MAC play in this ecosystem.
Why the CIS?
Media buyers from the CIS are used to operating under pressure: unstable ad accounts, gray verticals, constantly shifting algorithms. Where a European specialist might pause and wait for guidance, a CIS buyer adapts in real time.
That adaptability is exactly what the market values.
There’s also a cost advantage. Hiring in the region is significantly more affordable than in Western Europe, while the level of technical expertise – particularly in Facebook Ads and gambling verticals – is often just as high, if not higher.
Meanwhile, the iGaming affiliate market continues to grow at double-digit rates year over year. The demand for skilled media buyers far outpaces supply, and companies simply can’t train talent fast enough internally. Hiring ready-made professionals is the more efficient option.
Andrey Sviridkov, a Product Manager with extensive international experience and author of the Telegram channel “Sviridkov PRO Gaming,” traces this competitive edge back to early life experiences:
The competitive advantage of Eastern European specialists—especially those who grew up in the 1990s—is that they learned early on that the system wouldn’t help them. In fact, it often worked against them. There were no instructions, resources were scarce or nonexistent, but the job still had to get done—at any cost. That’s why a media buyer from Belarus, Russia, or Ukraine doesn’t wait for an algorithm to be ‘fixed’—they’re already testing multiple workarounds. This mindset directly translates into solving real business problems here and now. If you can solve those problems better than others, you don’t need to chase opportunities—just make your results visible, and the right employer or client will find you.
How It Starts: Remote Hiring via Affiliates and HR
Most success stories of landing a job with a foreign company follow a similar pattern.
A media buyer works with an affiliate network, delivers consistent results—and at some point, receives an offer. Not as an external partner anymore, but as an in-house employee.
Affiliate networks effectively act as the industry’s first recruitment filter. Affiliate managers see the data, understand who’s delivering real performance, and who’s not. When a company needs a new buyer or a Head of Media Buying, they often start by looking within their existing partner ecosystem.
The second major channel is specialized HR agencies. Their presence has grown significantly over the past two to three years. They post вакансии on platforms like Partnerkin, in niche Telegram channels, and conduct targeted searches for candidates with very specific profiles:
“Facebook buyer, gambling, Tier-1, managing $10k+/month in ad spend.”
For candidates, this route offers a safer and more structured path into international companies. Through an HR agency or affiliate network, you’re far more likely to get a formal contract, transparent payment terms, and at least a baseline level of protection. This is no longer a “will they scam me?” market—it’s a mature ecosystem with reputational accountability.
Radchenko highlights a key shift:
Most hiring now happens through LinkedIn or within tight-knit professional communities, where reputation and peer recommendations carry far more weight than a traditional CV. The biggest change today is the demand for transparency. Western clients don’t just want a working ‘setup’—they want clear unit economics and predictable reporting. English proficiency and soft skills have become baseline requirements. Without them, even the strongest iGaming or nutra case won’t get considered. What really matters now is the ability to package your ingenuity into clear business KPIs—and a willingness to play the long game, not just chase short-term wins.
Offline Hiring: When the Deal Is Sealed in Person
Remote recruitment is just the starting point.
For senior roles – Head of Department, Team Lead, or senior buyers with relocation packages – the final decision is almost always made face-to-face.
This is where industry conferences come in. They’re not just about talks and panels — they’re the primary HR hubs of the industry.
CEOs and Heads of Affiliates attend these events not only to learn, but to meet people. Company booths become first-touchpoints: a quick conversation, an exchange of contacts, a follow-up at an afterparty—and sometimes, a job offer within a week.
This system works — and everyone in the industry knows it.
Among the key networking platforms are SiGMA, iGB Affiliate, and Affiliate World. But for CIS-based specialists, one event stands out: the iGaming & Affiliate Conference MAC in Yerevan.
It’s geographically accessible, has minimal language barriers, and attracts a unique mix of local media buyers and European employers specifically looking for CIS talent.
In 2025, the conference brought together over 4,000 participants from 50+ countries and 200+ exhibiting companies. Each year, the number of international attendees continues to grow.
This is no longer a regional meetup — it’s a full-fledged marketplace where supply meets demand.
What This Means for Job Seekers
If you’re a media buyer or traffic manager considering a move into an international company, the pathway typically looks like this:
- Build visibility: work actively with affiliate networks, publish honest case studies, and maintain a presence on niche platforms
- Leverage HR channels: monitor job listings on Partnerkin Jobs, Telegram, and through specialized agencies
- Attend conferences like MAC: one meaningful conversation at an afterparty can be more effective than months of LinkedIn outreach
