POSITION TITLE: Social Media Manager
DIVISION: University Marketing
DEPARTMENT: University Marketing
BARGAINING UNIT STATUS: ESU Cat. 14
FLSA STATUS: Exempt
REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
SUPERVISES: Provides supervision to student employees
The Social Media Manager serves as the University's primary social media strategist and content creator, supporting comprehensive social media initiatives across marketing, advancement/alumni relations, public relations, and news functions. This role drives the strategy, voice, and daily execution of the university's official presence across all social media platforms, managing multiple accounts and serving as a key liaison between university departments to ensure cohesive digital storytelling and brand consistency. Working collaboratively across divisions, the Social Media Manager engages current and prospective students, families, alumni, donors, and the broader public while supporting the strategic objectives of University Marketing, Advancement/Alumni Relations, and Strategic Communications and Media Relations. This position serves as the university's social media subject matter expert, providing guidance and education to campus partners on effective digital engagement practices.
Follows the University’s best practices to build and/or support student academic success and retention, and assist in meeting strategic objectives for persistence and timely graduation of all the student population.
Strategic Planning and Cross-Departmental Collaboration
- Develops and implements comprehensive social media strategy supporting university mission, marketing goals, advancement initiatives, and public relations objectives
- Collaborates with University Marketing, Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Alumni Relations, Advancement, Enrollment Management, and UMass President's Office to support multi-audience initiatives
- Coordinates social media support for advancement campaigns, alumni engagement, donor recognition, and fundraising initiatives
- Partners with Public Relations team to amplify news stories, announcements, and crisis communications through social channels
- Identifies trends, including new platforms with high potential, and serves as an advocate for audience engagement
- Keeps campus partners informed of shifting user expectations and best practices across different social channels
- Builds effective partnerships throughout the University by sharing information and providing support, often proactively
Content Creation, Management, and Analytics and Reporting
- Creates and implements engaging content across all platforms, collaborating with designers, writers, and videographers as necessary
- Develops and manages the social media calendar across channels, balancing competing priorities from multiple departments while maintaining consistency of brand message, voice, and tone
- Creates and supports short-form video content (e.g., Instagram reels, TikTok’s) by editing clips for tone, pacing, and platform best practices
- Designs visually engaging social media content using tools such as Canva and Adobe Creative Suite, ensuring consistency with brand guidelines and optimizing for platform-specific performance
- Analyzes engagement data across all channels, adjusts marketing strategies, and recommends future actions
- Provides comprehensive reports to track engagement and ROI for marketing, advancement, and communications initiatives
- Contributes to the planning and execution of digital advertising campaigns by developing social media content, targeting strategies, and performance insights
Event, Student Life, and Campaign Support
- Leads social media promotion for major University events (e.g., Commencement, Convocation, Homecoming, Open House, Accepted Student Days, Alumni events) and Advancement fundraising campaigns
- Attends University events, both on and off campus, to capture compelling photo and video content for social media channels
- Coordinates with Strategic Communications team to ensure timely and appropriate social media response to news events and University announcements
Social Media Governance
- Assists with the development, monitoring and maintenance of University-wide social media policy and guidelines
- Serves as an expert resource for departments across campus, helping to refine messaging and improve social media efforts
- Hires, trains, and supervises student employees to support content development and digital strategy while maintaining brand consistency
- Monitors and responds appropriately to user interactions in a timely manner, elevating concerns to relevant departments
- Identifies opportunities to collaborate with the campus community to generate authentic social media content
- Fosters relationships with key University stakeholders (e.g., Student Affairs) to support storytelling across marketing, advancement, and communications objectives
- Attends off-campus media events and presentations
Performs other job-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned and/or the job description changed periodically to reflect changing organization needs
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, public relations, or related field
EXPERIENCE: Demonstrated experience (3 years) managing social media in a corporate, nonprofit, or higher
education setting, with strong content creation skills for platforms including Instagram,
Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and emerging platforms
Demonstrated (2 years) experience managing projects and/or staff
Demonstrated (3 years) experience using social media management and analytics tools
Experience collaborating with multiple stakeholders on integrated communications campaigns
OTHER: Flexible schedule including evening and weekend hours, as required; Frequent travel to off-campus locations required
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master’s degree
- Previous experience using social media for higher education, nonprofit organization, or advancement/fundraising initiatives
- Knowledge of AP style and public relations best practices
- Experience with donor communications and alumni engagement through digital channels
- Background in integrated marketing communications or public relations
- Familiarity with advancement/fundraising communications strategies
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
- Exceptional ability to craft inventive and effective marketing materials that capture attention across diverse audiences
- Fluency in current social platforms and adaptability to learn emerging platforms quickly
- Sharp understanding of what makes content engaging—whether it's shared, saved, or sparks meaningful conversation
- Skilled in producing high-quality, scroll-stopping content using video and photography
- Solid understanding of marketing, public relations, and advancement communications with creative application
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills—clear, compelling, and on-brand across different contexts
- Strong collaborative skills with ability to work effectively with diverse teams, voices, and perspectives across multiple departments
- Self-starter who thrives independently while maintaining strong teamwork and partnership approach
- Strong critical thinking, sound judgment, and keen editorial eye for brand consistency
- Understanding of crisis communications and ability to respond appropriately to sensitive situations
SALARY: $66,611.58 - $80,000
UMass Dartmouth offers exciting benefits such as:
- 75% Employer-Paid Health Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Life Insurance
- Long Term Disability
- State Pension Retirement Plan
- Optional Retirement Savings Plans
- Tuition Credit (Employee, Spouse, & Dependents)
- Twelve (12) paid holidays
- Paid personal, vacation, and sick time
- And More!
Benefits for ESU Union: ESU
Applicants must be authorized for employment in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship is not available.
To apply please submit a letter of interest, a current resume and the contact information for three professional references.
The deadline for internal applicants is November 20, 2025.
The review of internal and external applications will be ongoing until the position is filled.
The projected start date for this position is on or after January 1, 2026.