Stride is hiring: Director, Social Media in St Paul

Job Description SUMMARY: As the Director, Social Media at K12, you will be responsible for elevating the brand's social presence, driving community engagement, and expanding K12's digital footprint across all platforms. You'll lead the development and execution of K12's organic social media strategy while working closely with paid media teams to amplify brand awareness, grow social accounts, and foster deeper connections with students, parents, educators, and prospects. Combining strategic vision with hands-on execution, you'll manage a growing social media team, collaborate cross-functionally, and leverage data-driven insights to optimize campaigns. A key part of the role will be creating innovative, impactful campaigns, managing influencer partnerships, and ensuring K12's voice remains relevant, relatable, and compelling in an ever-changing digital landscape. Your ability to blend a passion for education with digital innovation will be essential in driving measurable results and aligning social media initiatives with broader business and marketing goals. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties. Strategy & Innovation: Lead K12's Social Media Vision: Architect and execute a forward-thinking social media strategy across major platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit etc.), enhancing brand advocacy and expanding our digital community. Platform Leadership: Stay ahead of emerging trends and platform developments, identifying new opportunities for engagement and growth. Implement strategies for organic social media initiatives. Continuous Optimization: Establish frameworks for A/B testing, content experimentation, and rapid optimization to ensure that we are always improving the performance of our social media efforts. Budget Management: Manage and optimize the social media budget, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated across organic campaigns, content creation, and partnerships. Maximize ROI by aligning social media spend with K12's strategic goals and performance metrics. Content Strategy: Oversee content and content calendars that align with K12's seasonal and thematic goals, ensuring messaging resonates with parents, educators, and students while remaining on-brand. Creative Direction: Creative Direction: Oversee the creative vision for social-first content, working closely with the Creative Content Manager and cross-functional teams to develop campaigns that are platform-appropriate, visually compelling, and culturally relevant. Real-Time Content: Cultivate a social-first mindset, overseeing the production of real-time, trend-driven content that capitalizes on viral moments and cultural conversations. Campaign Strategy & Launches: Own the strategic planning, development, and execution of social media campaign strategies from inception to launch. Lead cross-functional kickoffs, ensuring that all teams are aligned on objectives, creative direction, timelines, and expected outcomes. Establish clear goals and KPIs to guide the execution of campaigns and measure their impact. Partnerships: Build Relationships: Cultivate relationships with influencers, educators, and thought leaders to amplify K12's brand presence and advocacy. Work closely across departments on campaign execution and content creation. Collaborate with Paid Campaigns: Collaborate with paid media team to ensure high-performing content is integrated into K12's paid media strategy for maximum impact. Measure Impact: Establish key metrics to assess the effectiveness of new creatives and collaborations, ensuring alignment with overall brand goals and engagement targets. External Agencies: Ensure that agency-driven initiatives align with K12's overarching social media and brand strategy. Community Engagement & Management: Foster Connections: Develop community engagement strategies that drive deeper, more authentic interactions across all K12 social channels. Ensure K12's social media presence feels welcoming, informative, and supportive. User-Generated Content: Lead efforts to amplify user-generated content that fuels organic growth and strengthens brand loyalty, all while safeguarding brand integrity across platforms. Collaborate with the Community Manager to identify and showcase community contributions that align with K12's values and messaging. Moderate & Respond: Oversee efforts to maintain a positive and respectful online environment by moderating comments, responding to inquiries, and managing community interactions. Communication: Lead strategic communication efforts concerning community management across multiple departments that interact with customer-facing teams. Act as the bridge between the Social Media team and other internal teams to ensure seamless communication and a unified approach in addressing community needs. Analytics & Reporting: Monitor Performance: Use analytics tools to track and measure the impact of social media efforts, providing actionable insights and strategic recommendations based on data. Executive Reporting: Provide regular updates and in-depth reports to leadership, clearly demonstrating the business impact of social media initiatives, including KPIs like engagement and brand awareness. Competitive & Trend Analysis: Conduct competitive analysis and keep K12 ahead of industry trends by staying informed of the latest social media and educational sector innovations. Team Leadership & Collaboration: Lead the Social Media Team: Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing social media team, fostering a collaborative and creative environment. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with marketing, product, creative, and PR teams to ensure social media efforts are aligned with broader marketing strategies and business objectives. Process Improvement: Establish efficient workflows for content creation, approvals, and campaign execution, ensuring the social media team can deliver high-quality, timely results. Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises 2+ Full-time Equivalent (FTE) regular employees and/or contractors. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems. MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: A visionary leader with a minimum of 7 years of experience in social media strategy, content creation, and community management, ideally in a digital or education-focused brand environment. A proven expert in building and scaling social media programs, with a track record of success across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. Data-driven and analytical, with deep experience using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Sprout Social, or native platform insights). #J-18808-Ljbffr