Social Media Specialist, University Communications and Marketing

Kent State • Kent, OH

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Social Media Specialist creates, executes and supports social media content and strategy for University Communications and Marketing’s flagship channels, with a primary emphasis on engaging prospective and current students. The role produces social-native content that advances university priorities, builds affinity, and supports recruitment, yield and retention goals. The position reports to the Director of Digital Content and is based at the Kent Campus in Kent, Ohio.

The specialist develops and publishes original video, photography, graphics and copy; helps manage day-to-day publishing and the social media content calendar; coordinates scheduling with campus partners; and serves as a primary voice in community management. The role also covers university events and student-life moments, supports paid social campaigns, reviews analytics and recommends optimizations, and ensures content meets university brand, policy and accessibility standards. Additional work includes monitoring platform trends and peer institutions, collaborating with campus partners, maintaining the university social media account directory, and providing functional guidance to student employees when assigned.

The regular schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or as otherwise discussed with the supervisor. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. The position may involve travel between campus buildings and to off-campus locations, along with occasional prolonged standing and lifting, moving or carrying work-related equipment and materials. Applicants must submit a resume, cover letter and portfolio or relevant work samples, and must pass a security check.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism or a related field.
• Two years of experience managing social media channels for an organization, brand or publication.
• Experience creating social media content, including photo/video capture, editing and design basics.
• Knowledge of social media platform best practices, algorithms, formats and native features.
• Knowledge of marketing and communications principles, especially for digital platforms.
• Knowledge of social media analytics, reporting and performance measurement.
• Knowledge of digital accessibility standards as applied to social content.
• Knowledge of higher education culture and organization.
• Knowledge of AP style and copy editing for digital platforms.
• Knowledge of AI platforms for content research and multimedia enhancement.
• Written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
• Skill in social media content creation, including video capture and editing.
• Skill in using social media management tools such as Sprout Social, Meta Business Suite or Hootsuite.
• Skill in using Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva and other applicable software.
• Ability to organize information and projects, adhere to deadlines, and manage multiple projects and assignments.
• Ability to photograph and produce videography using mobile and DSLR equipment.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment when representing the university’s voice in public-facing channels.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with attention to detail and creativity.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with students, faculty, staff and campus partners.
• Ability to respond quickly and accurately in a fast-moving, real-time environment.
• Ability to provide positive leadership and direction for a specific area.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and travel on and off campus.
• Must pass a security check.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing social media for a higher education institution.
• Experience in graphic design for social media platforms.
• Experience in short-form vertical video production and editing.
• Experience with an enterprise social media management platform.
• Experience generating and interpreting reports from multiple social media platforms.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, shoot, edit and publish original social-native content, including video, photography, graphics and written copy.
• Assist with day-to-day publishing across flagship university social media channels, adapting tone, format and framing to each platform and audience.
• Maintain and execute assigned tasks from the UCM social media content calendar and coordinate scheduling with campus partners.
• Serve as a primary voice in community management and escalate questions, complaints and potential issues according to established protocol.
• Cover university events, traditions, campaigns and student-life moments on location by capturing photo and video content from multiple vantage points.
• Support paid social media campaigns through asset development, audience input, trafficking and performance monitoring, coordinating with UCM creative staff and/or vendors.
• Compile and interpret enterprise and native-platform analytics, identify trends, recommend optimizations and contribute to testing creative, copy and posting strategies.
• Ensure content meets university brand standards, policy requirements and accessibility standards, including alt text, video captioning, CamelCase hashtags and color contrast.
• Research and monitor peer institutions, competitor channels and platform trends; recommend formats, features and emerging platforms for university adoption.
• Collaborate with colleges, divisions and campus partners on content contribution, cross-promotion and channel best practices.
• Help maintain the university social media account directory and support account compliance reviews as assigned.
• Provide functional guidance to student employees as assigned, potentially including scheduling, content review and feedback.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

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