Social Media Manager

Founded in 1843 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the College of the Holy Cross is among the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. A highly selective, four-year, exclusively undergraduate college of 3,000 students, Holy Cross is renowned for offering a rigorous, personalized education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition.

Holy Cross highly values the unique skills, perspective, talents and passion that each employee contributes to its learning community. To work at The College is to accept an invitation to participate in the growth and development of all campus members, students, faculty and staff. The College's commitment to diversity is an important feature of the Holy Cross education. Informed by the presence of diverse interpretations of the human experience, Holy Cross is building a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility. We seek others who support our values of diversity and inclusiveness. Job candidates of all diverse backgrounds who embrace the open and inclusive culture of Holy Cross are welcome and encouraged to apply.

Job Description:

In the Office of College Marketing and Communications, the Social Media Manager is a creative, entrepreneurial, and collaborative team member who actively participates in the College's communications efforts and leads its online social community efforts including social media and blogs. Reporting to the Managing Editor - Digital Content, this position is a member of a team responsible for curating and creating compelling content to support the College's strategic plan by working to strengthen the institution's image, expand visibility and engage target audiences including prospective students and their influencers, alumni, current students, faculty, staff and others. As such, this role works daily with the Writer and Multimedia Producer to create and share compelling content, and integrate social sharing strategies into all aspects of the content creation process.

With responsibility for all primary College social media platforms, this role is a key partner both inside and outside of Marketing and Communications, and works frequently with the Director of Media Relations, Associate Director for Web Communications, Strategic Marketing Manager and Editor of Holy Cross Magazine, as well as the Associate Director for Communications in Advancement, Admission counselors and other campus partners, to respond to and engage with audiences across platforms, in alignment with the strategic goals of the College.

Major Areas of Responsibility:

In addition to writing, creating, and coordinating communications for the College's social platforms, the Manager will:

• Serve as the day-to-day voice of the College in social media, providing both proactive and responsive communications. Responsible for the social media presence of the College's official public social media accounts including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and any new or future social media networks and initiatives.
• Manage and lead the college's social media presence, coordinating the efforts of marketing, communications and creative services staff members who monitor and contribute to social media conversations. Stay current about trends, developments and tools in social media, and advise the College on these.
• Develop and manage social media strategies that have measurable, beneficial results. Develop and maintain a robust social media content calendar, in coordination with and support of the larger editorial content calendar and academic calendar, to integrate institutional brand and marketing strategy through social media.
• As primary storyteller on social media, write / edit content which adheres to College style guidelines, as well as social media and search engine optimization best practices.
• Collaborate on College-wide integrated social media plans and campaigns with Alumni Relations, Advancement, Admissions and Athletics to promote institutional and departmental initiatives and campaigns.
• Refine, share and enforce College-wide guidelines and best practices for social media, primarily by leading the Social Media Users Group, but also by serving as a resource for campus colleagues for all online social components.
• Monitor social media conversations and track keywords utilizing tools such as Sprout and Hootsuite to highlight potential issues, and maintain understanding of audience sentiment of the College among the online audiences.
• Support College-wide crisis communications efforts via social media in close partnership with the director of media relations, including monitoring audience sentiment and responding to comments and questions.
• Identify opportunities for expanding awareness of the College among key audiences through social media. Recommend ad execute tactics, including social media advertising campaigns, to reach target audiences.
• Analyze results of social media content and campaigns utilizing native and third-party data analytics tools. Regularly present results, key takeaways and associated recommendations for improvement against objectives going forward.
• Manage the College's extensive blogging platform and program comprised of student, faculty, staff, alumni and department bloggers.
• Assist with major live streaming events (live campus tours, Commencement, Lessons and Carols, etc.)

Skill Requirements:

Ability to engage online audiences, including alumni and prospective students, as well as to provide valuable guidance on social media strategies to campus colleagues. Must be self-directed and able to work well with students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Experience in higher education is a plus.

• Understanding of the audiences, demographics and interests by various platform usage in order to target posts appropriately; ability to layer on understanding of the target audiences for the College.
• Ability to utilize measurement tools (such as Sprout and other native and third-party tools) to provide reports on Holy Cross' social media strategies, and continually find ways to improve on those metrics through testing and new initiatives.
• Is curious, driven to tell impactful stories, able to prioritize and think strategically and able to see the big picture while keeping a close eye on the details.
• Has proven ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize, and perform well on deadline as well as on long-term projects utilizing project management tools to full potential.
• Has experience and expertise in various social platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and WordPress. Understands how important it is to create compelling and sharable content, including photos and videos, and to write content appropriate for the parameters and best practices of each social platform.
• Has excellent interpersonal skills, and is a creative thinker and effective writer who embraces new technologies and is able to collaborate effectively across all departments and constituent groups.
• Stays current on new and emerging trends in social media and make recommendations for adoption of new social media networks and technologies.
• Understanding of strategic social media advertising and A/B testing to deliver greatest results against objectives. Possesses working knowledge of creating tracking links, including UTM-encoded links and utilizing tools such as Yoast for content optimization.
• Ability to contribute to and collaborate on campaign development, including calls to action, content creation, monitoring and reporting on outcomes. Awareness of how to develop and run social media advertising campaigns, and related ROI and impact measurement, preferred.
• Will enjoy working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and interacting with a diverse group of colleagues and contributors.
• Is a team player with creative ideas and energy to further develop the College's social media presence.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree required, preferably in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, English, or a related social science.
• 2-3 years of experience in content development, strategy, and management of social media, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong ability to write clear, engaging content that is platform and audience appropriate. Excellent writing skills required as well as a working knowledge of AP Style.
• Ability to balance high-quality, high-impact copy and visuals for maximum engagement. Knowledgeable in basic photo correction and video editing, as needed for social applications.
• Familiarity working with advanced social media tools and content management systems, as well as advanced social media publishing tools.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite or other creative tools, and experience leveraging in a professional capacity.
• Demonstrated experience understanding and adapting to a changing social media landscape, including learning new platforms.

Additional Information:

This is a full time, exempt level position.

College Description

The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit Catholic, undergraduate institution serving approximately 3,000 students. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and has a tradition of academic excellence. It is located atop Mount Saint James in Worcester, Massachusetts. The picturesque, 174-acre campus is an award-winning and registered arboretum.

Region Description

Worcester is a city of approximately 170,000 people centrally located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is approximately one hour from Boston, Hartford, and Providence, and three hours from New York City. Worcester is known as the Heart of the Commonwealth. Worcester offers many cultural and recreational opportunities.

The College is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and complies with all Federal and Massachusetts laws concerning Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in the workplace.

A member of the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA).

To review our Employee Benefit Options, please go to: https://www.holycross.edu/human-resources/benefits

Application Instructions:

Please attach a cover letter addressing the position requirements along with your resume.

In your cover letter please address how your work supports the College's mission as a Jesuit, undergraduate liberal arts college (see http://www.holycross.edu/mission) and its core commitment to diversity and inclusion. For more information, please visit http://holycross.edu/diversity.