Social & Brand Engagement Program Manager

Ecentria•Northbrook, IL

5h•$70,000 - $100,000•Remote

About The Position

OpticsPlanet is seeking a full-time Social & Brand Engagement Program Manager to join their Marketing team. This role will lead social media and digital community engagement marketing for a 2A-focused organization, with an emphasis on automation through tools like AI to boost engagement, improve brand reputation, and expand brand visibility. The position involves overseeing strategy, execution, and optimization within a regulated industry, ensuring compliance while innovating with AI for personalized interactions, lead nurturing, and follower growth. The role goes beyond traditional social media management, focusing on designing and operating AI-assisted engagement pipelines, automated content generation workflows, and data-driven social campaigns. The candidate will interface with internal teams and partners to deploy campaigns, balancing creativity and strategy to craft content that elevates the brand's voice in retail media, while establishing scalable processes, analytics, and advocacy programs. This position reports directly to leadership and has significant ownership over the growth of social channels and community reputation. This is a fully remote and full-time position with some potential on-site visits to Chicagoland worksites.

Requirements

3-5 years of experience in social media in ecommerce retail
Hands-on experience in leveraging AI tools to generate content, engage automation, lead generation, and achieve measurable results
Bachelor’s degree is preferred
Experience in the 2A/Firearms industry is preferred
Deep familiarity, understanding, and experience in firearms and/or hunting
Strategic thinker with data-driven mindset
Creative problem-solver adaptable to platform and industry restrictions
Expertise in growing social followers for high-profile accounts
Strong understanding of social landscape and algorithms
Initiative-taker, collaborative, and organized
Strong communicator for cross-functional collaboration
Ability to manage multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously
Experience managing external content creators
Ability to organize and prioritize workload to meet deadlines

Nice To Haves

You have a true entrepreneurial streak. You love building-from-scratch, experimenting, and pushing ideas forward, without waiting for direction.
You thrive on creative problem-solving and see constraints as prompts for better, smarter work.
You carry a deep sense of responsibility and pride in everything you touch, and you hold yourself to a high bar.
You are technical and have curiosity about new platforms, tools, and cultural shifts, and you naturally explore what is emerging before others even notice it.
Creativity fuels you. You are always chasing new angles, formats, and storytelling ideas that make work feel fresh and alive.
You see social media as a playground of possibilities and feel energized by its pace, unpredictability, and constant opportunities to try something new.
You inspire people through your passion, resourcefulness, and determination.

Responsibilities

Design and implement social media strategies across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X (Twitter), Reddit and other popular/emerging channels to enhance brand visibility, positive sentiment, and community engagement.
Build brand authority and community presence across relevant platforms.
Drive AI automation initiatives, including tools for content generation, chatbots, predictive analytics, and automated posting workflows to optimize engagement and followership.
Analyze performance metrics to refine campaigns and achieve ROI targets.
Ensure all activities comply with platform policies, firearm industry regulations/standards, and legal compliance, avoiding prohibited content while maximizing reach.
Use AI to analyze content against shifting social guidelines before publishing, ensuring maximum reach without triggering "restricted" flags.
Collaborate with Marketing, Buyers, Suppliers, Partnership, and Compliance teams to align social efforts with business goals, such as lead generation and e-commerce integration.
Manage content creation, including short-form videos, influencer partnerships, and user-generated campaigns tailored to firearm enthusiasts.
Identify AI opportunities to automate repetitive tasks like scheduling, personalization, and data-driven targeting for efficient scaling.
Stay ahead of trends in AI, social media, social algorithms, and firearm sector dynamics.
Monitor feedback and sentiment on our social & community channels and flag any controversial issues.
Engage via community channels (like Reddit and Facebook groups) to increase presence and manage reputation.
Maintain a calendar for social, telling seasonal and impactful stories throughout the year that are aligned to brand vision, goals, and campaigns.