Marketing and Communications Social Media Strategist
Job Description
Chalkbeat, the growing nonprofit news organization telling the story of education in America, seeks a social media strategist to grow our audience, help develop and maintain online communities on- and off-platform, and advise our local and national bureaus on daily social best practices.
Chalkbeat’s social media strategist will join a growing engagement team to help our network of local bureaus and national desk take full advantage of opportunities to promote our work and embrace new readers. The social media strategist will dive deep into our readership on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and emerging platforms to cultivate relationships with niche audiences, and expand our reach to bring vital education reporting to the people that need it most.
Who are you?
You are committed to local journalism and put the audience first. You have a capacity for creating safe, inclusive spaces online and stoking productive conversation among readers. You’re sharp, thorough, and organized, with a deep affection for spreadsheets and systems. You’re a self-starter who can keep up with the daily flow of stories publishing while also developing strategy for long-term projects. You like collaborative work, and can adapt social media plans for the newsroom’s various levels of familiarity and capacity. You’re known for your follow-through, and enjoy running experiments, collecting results, and making recommendations based on solid data.
What background and skills do you have?
- 2+ years of work experience in digital media and/or journalism
- Strong overall writing and editing skills
- Excellent news judgment
- Detail-oriented and able to work autonomously
- Experience with growing a brand’s audience and boosting loyalty through social media
- Experience using data to inform your work
- Knowledge of SEO best practices
We know there are great candidates who may not have all the skills we list, or who have other skills we haven’t thought of. If that sounds like you, please still apply and tell us more about yourself!
What will you be responsible for?
- Fine-tune social media strategy for the entire Chalkbeat network (seven local bureaus + national desk), according to best practices
- Manage scheduling for Chalkbeat’s main Facebook and Twitter profiles
- Support local bureaus with strategies to boost reach and make major features, projects, and investigations get the readership they deserve
- Collaborate with reporters, editors, and your engagement colleagues to identify and execute on growth opportunities, including new platforms
- Develop and maintain online forums (e.g., Facebook Groups) for new and existing Chalkbeat readers
Ideally, you’d be based in one of seven cities where Chalkbeat bureaus already exist: Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Memphis, Newark, or New York City. However, working remotely is a possibility for the right candidate.
This is a full-time position with benefits. Chalkbeat offers a competitive salary, commensurate with experience, and a generous benefits package, including a paid winter recess from December 25 – January 1.
About Chalkbeat:
Chalkbeat is the nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children, especially those who have historically lacked access to a quality education. We are mission-driven journalists who believe that an independent local press is vital to ensuring that education improves. Currently in seven locations and growing, we seek to provide deep local coverage of education policy and practice that informs decisions and actions, leading to better schools. Read more about our mission and values, and what’s in store for our next five years.
How to Apply
Please send an email to careers@chalkbeat.org by November 11 with the following and include “Social Media Strategist” in the subject line:- a PDF of your resume;
- up to three relevant examples of your work — which might include clips, social media campaigns, newsletters, events, or other engagement initiatives;
- sample copy for Facebook and Twitter for two Chalkbeat stories
