If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Management_Executive 608

Pay Range: $104,000.00 - $187,200.00

Job Description

The Senior Manager of Content & Social Media sets the strategy and leads execution for WGU’s organic social, creator, community and owned content functions, shaping how the university shows up in culture and in public conversation about higher education, workforce readiness, and the future of learning. Reporting to the Senior Director of Brand, Content, WGU Studios and Social Media, and partnering closely with that role on overall direction, this role owns day-to-day management of WGU’s editorial voice across all owned, social and creator channels — including all organic and paid social platforms — and builds the creator ecosystem, thought leadership and community programs that extend that voice through trusted third-party partners, WGU leaders and student advocates.

The Sr. Manager leads a team of social strategists, community managers and content writers/editors, owns WGU’s owned-channel content strategy and partners closely with teams across PR, brand, WGU Studios, lifecycle marketing, institutional advancement, and academic leadership to ensure WGU’s social and owned media is on-brand, on-mission, and measurably effective. Success means a more recognizable, more credible, and more human WGU brand — with a measurable lift in audience growth, engagement, share of voice and more.

Primary Responsibilities

Set the vision and operating strategy for WGU’s organic social, creator, community and owned content functions, in partnership with the Senior Director, and oversee execution — aligning channels, calendars, and creator partnerships to brand priorities and enrollment goals.
Lead and develop a mid-sized team (5–8) of social strategists, editors, content producers/writers, and community managers, including two direct managers; set hiring plans, performance standards, and career development paths.
Own organic social strategy across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and emerging platforms — including channel positioning, content franchises, community management, and platform-specific creative that earns culture relevance and inspires conversation, not just consumption..
Build and scale WGU’s influencer and creator ecosystem, moving from one-off campaigns to always-on partnerships with creators, students and alumni as long-term brand collaborators; oversee talent sourcing, agency relationships, contracting, briefing, content review and performance measurement.
Develop WGU’s community strategy across owned and paid social media platforms – turning prospective students, current students, alumni, employer partners and otherwise into active participants, advocates and storytellers who extend WGU’s reach and mission
Oversee WGU’s owned channels and brand content function, including thought leadership, newsletters and additional corporate content outputs
Build a measurement framework that ties audience growth, engagement, share of voice, and content performance to brand health, heightened awareness and enrollment outcomes; report results to the Senior Director and senior leadership on a recurring cadence.
Embed AI and emerging-platform fluency into the team’s workflow — from ideation and drafting to production, optimization, and analytics — while safeguarding accuracy, brand voice, and editorial quality.
Partner with PR/Communications, Brand, Lifecycle Marketing, Alumni, Performance/Paid Media, Enrollment, and Academic leadership to ensure content is integrated, mission-aligned, and supports cross-functional campaigns.
Own agency, freelancer, and creator budgets, with guidance and sign-off from the Senior Director; negotiate contracts and rate cards; and continuously rebalance investment toward the highest-ROI channels and partners.
Stay close to platform changes, competitor activity, and cultural moments; bring an editorial point of view on when and how WGU should engage.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Deep expertise in social strategy, creator ecosystems and community building, with strong instincts for brand storytelling and what earns organic attention.
Proven command of organic and paid social strategy across major platforms, including platform-native creative, community management, and crisis-aware publishing.
Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills; able to support senior leadership thought leadership and brand-level narratives.
Skilled in owned content and editorial strategy – planning, producing and governing long-form and executive content that reinforces overall brand voice.
Strong fluency in social and content analytics — comfortable defining KPIs, reading dashboards, and translating data into editorial and channel decisions.
Working knowledge of AI-assisted content tools (LLMs, generative imagery/video, automation) and a clear point of view on how to deploy them responsibly at scale.
Deep fluency in internet culture and creator ecosystems, with an ability to define and identify what earns organic attention and translate that into strategy, creator briefs and platform decisions.
Excellent people leadership — coaches managers and ICs, gives clear feedback, and builds high-trust, high-output creative teams.
Ability to lead through ambiguity, set priorities across competing stakeholders, and keep multiple workstreams moving in a fast-changing platform landscape.
Sound judgment around brand safety, regulatory considerations (FTC disclosures, accessibility, student privacy), and risk management on owned channels.
Strategic budget and vendor management, including agency and creator/influencer contracts.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with PR, brand, lifecycle, performance, and product/academic stakeholders.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, English, Marketing, or a related field.

Experience

7+ years of progressive experience in social media, creator marketing, owned/editorial content and/or community strategy, including experience building social-first brands or creator programs at scale.
3+ years in a people-management role, including managing managers and building or scaling content or social teams.
Demonstrated track record of growing audiences and engagement across multiple owned and earned channels.
Experience operating at the intersection of editorial and performance — using analytics to inform content decisions and demonstrate business impact.
Experience working with or leading influencer, creator, or ambassador programs at scale.

Experience In Lieu Of Education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Preferred Qualifications

Prior experience in higher education, or a mission-driven consumer brand preferred.
Background as a working journalist, editor, or newsroom leader.
Hands-on experience deploying generative AI in content workflows (briefing, drafting, optimization, distribution).
Experience presenting to and influencing senior leadership stakeholders on brand and content strategy.

Travel

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

Western Governors University

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Senior Manager, Content & Social Media