Social Media Manager

Columbus, OH – Remote (if local, on-site work required 1-2x/month)

6-month contract with strong likelihood for extension and/or conversion

Full Time – 40 hours/week

Overview:

Our leading children’s media and education client is seeking a Social Media Manager to lead the strategy, planning, execution, and day-to-day management of a growing organic social media presence. This is a manager-level individual contributor role for a strategic, hands-on social media professional who can independently own the function from planning through execution and performance analysis.

The ideal candidate will bring 3–5+ years of direct social media experience, with a strong background in organic social strategy, content planning, community management, and cross-functional collaboration. This person will partner closely with creative and marketing teams to develop and execute compelling social content while proactively identifying opportunities to grow and strengthen the brand's social presence.

This role is ideal for someone who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution and is comfortable taking ownership of an evolving social media function.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop and execute organic social media strategies aligned with broader brand and marketing objectives.
Own day-to-day management of primary social channels, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, with potential expansion into TikTok and Snapchat.
Build and maintain comprehensive social media content calendars, proactively planning for seasonal, promotional, and brand initiatives.
Partner with internal creative teams and external agency resources to develop social content and translate social strategy into clear creative briefs.
Manage the end-to-end social workflow, including planning, briefing, content coordination, publishing, monitoring, and optimization.
Write and/or provide direction for social copy and ensure content is aligned with brand voice and platform best practices.
Monitor organic and paid social channels and oversee community management, moderation, and engagement.
Utilize social listening to identify trends, conversations, opportunities, and potential issues.
Manage customer escalations and ensure appropriate issues are communicated to internal stakeholders.
Support initiatives focused on community growth and meaningful audience engagement.
Analyze social performance and develop regular reporting and insights, using data to identify opportunities and inform future strategy.
Stay current on social media trends, platform changes, emerging formats, and audience behaviors.
Look ahead and proactively identify opportunities to improve content, engagement, and overall social performance.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Creative, and other business partners to ensure social initiatives support broader organizational goals.
Support influencer marketing initiatives and other brand marketing efforts as needed.

Qualifications:

Required -

3–5+ years of professional social media experience, with demonstrated ownership of organic social channels.
Experience developing and executing social media strategy and content plans.
Strong experience with Facebook and Instagram; experience with LinkedIn and Pinterest preferred.
Demonstrated ability to manage social media initiatives from strategy and planning through execution, publishing, monitoring, and reporting.
Experience developing social content calendars and briefing creative teams or content partners.
Experience with community management, social moderation, social listening, and customer escalation.
Strong analytical skills and experience reporting on social media performance.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work independently, prioritize multiple initiatives, and proactively identify opportunities.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, particularly with creative and marketing teams.

Preferred -

Experience with influencer marketing.
Experience with Brandwatch or similar social listening, moderation, or publishing platforms.
Experience with Airtable or similar project management tools.
Background in consumer, retail, publishing, subscription, or other consumer-facing businesses.
Experience with brand strategy, seasonal branding, or broader content strategy.
Experience with TikTok and/or Snapchat.
Agency experience supporting consumer-facing brands.
Experience within children's, family, education, or publishing industries.

What We're Looking For:

The ideal candidate is a strategic, hands-on social media leader who can take ownership of a brand's social presence with a high degree of autonomy. They should be equally comfortable developing a social strategy, building a content calendar, briefing a creative partner, publishing content, engaging with the community, analyzing performance, and determining what should happen next.

This person should be comfortable operating in an evolving environment and bring the experience and judgment needed to help shape the future structure of the social media function.

Team & Collaboration:

This position will report directly to the Brand Strategy Senior Director and work closely with the Creative team and Marketing Operations. Onboarding and training will be provided, and the role will collaborate with internal creative resources and external agency partners supporting content creation.

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Social Media Manager