Social Media Specialist - UW Medicine Strategic Communications

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

UW Medicine Strategic Communications has an outstanding opportunity for a Social Media Specialist who will focus primarily on crafting compelling, brand-aligned copy and narrative content for UW Medicine’s social channels, including UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center and the UW School of Medicine. At UW Medicine, our mission is to improve the health of all people through excellence in clinical, research and education and training programs. As the only comprehensive clinical, research and learning health system in the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region, UW Medicine provides the most up-to-date care for each individual patient, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides innovative learning programs for students, trainees and clinicians in health professions. UW Medicine’s Strategic Communications team plays a critical role in advancing the organization’s mission to improve the health of all people by delivering clear, timely, and effective communications to internal and external audiences. The team’s work spans media relations, internal and executive communications, hospital communications, crisis communications, social media engagement and enterprise-wide digital platforms, ensuring our messaging remains closely aligned with leadership priorities and institutional strategy. UW Medicine includes UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center, nationally recognized hospitals that serve distinct and diverse patient populations. Harborview Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility made up of approximately 7,000 staff members and clinicians dedicated to providing specialized care for a broad spectrum of patients from throughout the Pacic Northwest, including the most vulnerable residents of King County. Harborview is the only designated Level I adult and pediatric trauma and verified burn center in the state. Patients given priority for care include the non-English speaking poor; the uninsured or underinsured, victims of domestic violence or sexual assault; people incarcerated in King County's jails; people with mental illness or substance abuse problems, particularly those treated involuntarily; people with sexually transmitted diseases; and those who require specialized emergency, trauma or burn care. Harborview recognizes that delivering quality healthcare is enhanced by a strong commitment to teaching, community service and research. UW Medical Center is one of the world’s foremost academic health centers. It is ranked among the nation’s top hospitals with campuses at Montlake and Northwest, and is a global leader in complex medical care, pioneering research, and specialized treatment. UW Medical Center has around 11,000 staff members and clinicians across two campuses, who deliver exceptional, multidisciplinary care to a vast array of patients who come here from across the globe. The Montlake Campus is located adjacent to the University of Washington and the School of Medicine. The Northwest campus is located north of Seattle. Every day, dedicated and compassionate UW Medical Center team members bring excellence and commitment to the care of patients and their families. Social media content for these hospitals must reflect their unique roles, audiences, and responsibilities while remaining aligned with UW Medicine’s brand and values. This role emphasizes creating engaging, clear and conversational content to promote the UW Medicine brand, highlight patient and provider stories, and explain programs, studies and initiatives in a relatable way. While writing is the primary focus, this individual will also create visual assets, manage publishing, monitor accounts, and engage directly with audiences, ensuring flexibility and coverage when needed. The successful candidate will have a passion for social media that combines creativity with analytics to maximize audience engagement. This position is responsible for implementing social media strategy, creating high-quality content, monitoring analytics, and increasing brand awareness, engagement and audience growth while following social media best practices. The candidate must have a proven ability to creatively solve problems and collaborate with multiple stakeholders. Exceptional attention to detail is required, along with a commitment to writing excellence, to produce clear, accurate and error-free copy with sound judgment. The ability to write in a conversational voice while maintaining the UW Medicine brand integrity and upholding the credibility and professionalism of an academic medical institution is essential. Meeting the content demands and expectations of multiple internal clients while navigating the unique social media challenges of a large health system requires experience, empathy and sound judgment. This role supports UW Medicine’s mission to improve the health of all people and requires an understanding of the importance of health equity, community trust and responsible communication in a clinical and research environment. Content creation for UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center requires an understanding of their distinct missions, patient populations, and community responsibilities, and the ability to tailor messaging appropriately while maintaining UW Medicine brand alignment. Competing priorities require the ability to manage short- and long-term assignments in a way that achieves results and meets deadlines. This position also requires the ability to write clearly and thoughtfully for diverse audiences, using language that is inclusive, accessible and respectful. UW Medicine uses social media to educate and inform the public and share the stories of our patients, faculty, students and staff. It captures the humanity behind our organization and connects with our community in ways not possible in many other types of media. This position is critical to the reputation of UW Medicine.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, English or related field
Minimum of two years of professional social media experience, with demonstrated knowledge of current digital content best practices and experience creating content for social platforms
Exceptional writing skills with a proven ability to communicate to diverse audiences across platforms
Strong proofreading and editing skills with keen attention to detail
Demonstration of sound judgement and decision-making
Experience planning, scheduling, publishing and managing social media content
Understanding of social media analytics, including experience in measuring performance, testing content, learning from insights, and iterating to optimize results
Working knowledge of basic design, videography and photography principles for social media
Proven organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to work independently, prioritize across multiple projects and adapt to shifting deadlines and needs
Ability to build effective, collaborative working relationships both independently and as part of cross-functional project teams
Strong customer service and community management skills with the ability to monitor and engage with audiences in a professional and timely manner
Ability to meet deadlines while managing multiple, competing priorities

Nice To Haves

Photography and video production experience for social platforms
Proficiency in photo and video editing tools
Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (including Premiere, Illustrator and Photoshop) and Canva
Experience with social media management and publishing platforms such as Sprout Social
Familiarity with the AP Stylebook and best practices for digital writing
Experience in healthcare communications
Experience working within an academic or higher education institution
Experience supporting social media during crisis or high-risk communications

Responsibilities

Write posts and captions for various platforms using a tone that balances warmth, professionalism and accessibility
Develop story-driven features highlighting patients, providers, research, programs and community events
Adapt messaging to fit the strengths and requirements of each channel
Monitor channels, respond to comments/messages and escalate inquiries as appropriate to increase brand loyalty and positive sentiment
Grow social media channels including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram
Communicate with other teams for updates, campaigns and events to ensure story ideas are captured and scheduled
Schedule and publish posts via social media management tools such as Facebook Business, Sprout Social, or platform-native schedulers
Use Canva or similar tools to create supporting visuals for posts
Prepare images, videos, or graphics for publishing
Capture photos and short videos at events or hospitals
Edit basic images or videos for social use
Review analytics and provide insights and suggestions for future campaigns and content