SOCIAL MEDIA ASSOCIATE

Chicago Bears • Lake Forest, IL

8d • $20 - $20 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Development Program is a paid 12-month full-time (temporary) experience designed for early-career individuals or those beginning their professional careers. A bachelor’s degree, relevant certification, or a combination of related education and experience aligned with the responsibilities of the role is required. Relevant coursework, training, or equivalent experience is valued. The format allows for structured professional development and hands-on learning.

The Chicago Bears Social Media Department stives to connect fans to our iconic brand and grow affinity by telling unique, authentic stories that excite, inform and build relationships for generations. The Social Media Associate will elevate the social media presence and voice of the Chicago Bears through the club’s social activity. This person will help engage current fans and grow the next generation of Bears fans by creating and distributing social content that is relevant, timely and innovative across all platforms the club is active on. The Social Media Associate will adhere to the brand’s social media strategy and style guidelines when posting to any of the club’s social media accounts. The ideal candidate will demonstrate good communication and interpersonal skills as well as a strong knowledge of football and the Chicago Bears organization. This position would work primarily at the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest, IL plus at Soldier Field for home gamedays, with the ability for some remote work.

Please Note: All candidates must include samples of published social media work as part of application to be considered.

2026 Associate Development Program Dates: Monday, June 1, 2026 – Friday, May 21, 2027

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing, or a related discipline; relevant experience considered
• Strong knowledge/understanding of social media best practices and pitfalls across the industry and social platforms, including (but not limited to): TikTok, Instagram, X, Snapchat, Facebook & Threads
• Impeccable attention to detail, grammar and proofreading skills
• Possess professional communication skills, including written and oral correspondence. This includes the ability to establish a rapport with others and build strong interpersonal relationships with a variety of personalities
• Possess strong time management, organizational and problem-solving skills
• Must be able to effectively work in a fast-paced environment and demonstrate the ability to juggle multiple tasks and projects while keeping key stakeholders updated
• Must be dependable, willing to take initiative and able to adapt to a variety of situations
• Ability to work both independently and desire to work collaboratively within larger group discussions, brainstorms, and meetings
• Able to work non-traditional hours, in non-traditional settings, including weekends, evenings and holidays and able and willing to travel to off-site events as needed
• Ability to stand/walk for long periods of time in varying weather conditions, climb up/downstairs, lift heavy objects
• Reliable transportation is required for this role.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of Photoshop, Premiere and principles of photography, videography, graphic design is a plus
• Experience in sports is a plus

Responsibilities

• Support social media strategy, inclusive of social media brand standards, voice and platform-specific execution in order to serve avid fans and reach new, younger fans.
• Assist with writing compelling, branded, timely and engaging copy for social media posts, while keeping in mind the Bears voice and platform-specific strategy. Promote various content types with the goal of maximizing reach and engagement while being mindful of the organization and maintaining the Bears best interest.
• Manage entertainment social media platforms, including mascot and drumline. Ideate, capture, edit and post content on these channels that target the next generation of fans while maintaining Bears voice and brand standards.
• Help maintain the social content calendar and aid in execution of day-to-day posts, including around tentpole moments, gamedays and sponsored content. Support content capture opportunities when necessary.
• Brainstorm new concepts and monitor emerging tools/updates in order to connect with the next generation of Bears fans.
• Monitor and engage with fans and accounts of players, NFL and other sports, leagues, clubs and entertainment entities.
• Aid in the creation of weekly social media analytics reports by tagging content and providing takeaways that can shape our strategy.
• Assist full social media team when needed, inclusive of corporate partnership content, social media analytics, player social media marketing, international social media marketing and influencer social media marketing.

Benefits

• Optional medical coverage (employer paid premium + employee paid deductible)
• Up to 2 days a week of remote work (role dependent)
• 5 days of paid vacation time, 3 paid sick/mental health days plus 10 paid holidays, paid time off to volunteer
• complimentary preseason tickets for one game, ability to buy additional tickets for home & away games
• FREE breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks, access to onsite fitness facilities and BearsFit, complimentary Calm app access
• Social events for staff and their families, Employee Resource Groups, and more
• complimentary LinkedIn Learning access, professional development sessions, guest speakers, mentorship

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level