Director of Social Media

About this role

Job Title: Director of Social Media

Department: Communications

Location: Washington, DC; Oakland, CA; or remote

Supervises: Up to 6 employees

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of interdependence. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel injustice, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our future. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it. Sierra Club has close to 700 staff across the country and a network of 64 local chapters that are led and fueled by thousands of volunteers. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with three labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

Scope: The Director of Social Media is a strategic, creative leader who shapes how Sierra Club shows up on social media. They do this by leveraging data and audience segmentation and combining an understanding of the latest social trends and creative content to tell a cohesive public narrative, generate concrete campaign wins, and foster meaningful engagement. This position requires a proven track-record of managing people, projects, and platforms to achieve successful outcomes around list growth and retention, campaigning and organizing, culture change, fundraising, and brand objectives.

This person must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment and managing a small team within a much larger group of stakeholders. The Director of Social Media will advocate for the strategies and build and manage the systems, processes, and standards that enable effective social media collaboration across the organization. They will serve as a strategic partner and educator to a variety of internal stakeholders, helping our colleagues understand how to work effectively with the Social Media team and support them in translating their expertise and priorities into compelling content for our social media audiences.

To be successful, the Director of Social Media will be on the leading edge of understanding social media trends, platforms, technologies, and marketing techniques; with a track record of using metrics to adapt these strategies and improve results. The ideal candidate will have an understanding of climate and environmental issues, tracking movement in narratives and cultural trends that can help the movement do the vital work of protecting people and planet while advancing solutions.

Job activities include but are not limited to:

• Social Media Identity Development: Leads on the creative development and delivery of Sierra Club’s social media identity – including voice, visual style, creative content, and innovative platform strategies – in close partnerships with key cross-departmental stakeholders. They will also coach and advise regarding social strategy for key organizational leaders and stakeholders.

• Creative and Reflexive Content Strategy: Stays nimble and on top of latest industry trends, breakthrough creative campaigns, pop culture, and current events – taking advantage of moments and trends in real-time. Balances multiple issues and shifting priorities to unify and strategically use our organizational voice(s) to respond to the world in real time. Diversifies content and leverages different social media platforms to develop visual and story-based content and market the organization, including its campaigns. Drives content strategies that foster meaningful engagement and a sense of community for both existing and expansion audiences.

• Developing and Advancing the Team: Develops a team of strategists, creatives, and content developers, managing individuals to contribute at their highest level. Fosters a team culture of innovation, collaboration and accountability alongside concrete near-term and long-term strategic planning. Works to create professional development and project management opportunities for staff.

• Programming: Sets and achieves programmatic goals through the integration of marketing functions, fundraising, storytelling, list growth, crisis response, influencer engagement and organizing tactics. Supports the development of data-informed strategies, tracking and reporting insights from audience segments, content and platform engagement, with monthly and quarterly social media reporting.

• Process and Governance: Develops, adapts, and supports a governance structure for our social program; including social media processes for internal and external Sierra Club audiences and key stakeholders. Establishes and enforces content intake, scheduling and review processes. Trains internal staff, chapters, and volunteers on social media best practices and brand standards. Manages contracts and projects with external vendors.

This position directly relates to the 24-hour news cycle which will sometimes require weeknight and weekend hours.

A successful candidate must have the following skills and experiences:

• A Do-er and a Director. You have experience doing top-to-bottom of what is required of a Social Media team; and have a demonstrated track record of both directing a team to successful outcomes, and rolling up your sleeves to do the work alongside of your team as needed.

• Creative. Your social media and change-making strategies have been driven through innovative and story-based content. You’ve worked with organizations to develop their tone and identity to successfully carve out their niche in the world. And you have the technical skill and creative tool…