"Assistant Director of Social Media"

Assistant Director of Social Media

Department: Marketing [1440]

Office: Manhattan University

Job ID: 3503905

Position Type: Administrator

Position Title: Assistant Director of Social Media

Salary Range: $65,000 - $75,000

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Executive Director of Marketing, the Assistant Director of Social Media is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing Manhattan University’s social media strategy to enhance brand awareness, engage key audiences, and support institutional goals for enrollment, alumni relations, fundraising, and community engagement. This role combines creative storytelling with strategic analytics to ensure the University’s social channels are dynamic, authentic, and aligned with our brand voice and mission. This role oversees all centralized social media channels, including both organic and paid content, as well as content development, scheduling, administration, reputation management, analysis, assessment, and all day-to-day operations. Additionally, the Assistant Director of Social Media assists the web team in managing day-to-day updates of Manhattan University’s institutional websites.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute an annual social media strategy aligned with the University’s marketing and communications plan and maintain and enforce brand guidelines, ensuring a consistent voice, tone, and visual style across all channels.
• Create, curate, and publish engaging content for official University social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, etc.).
• Create and manage all asset creation, including imagery and video, while also collaborating with photographers, videographers, designers, and campus partners as needed to produce high-quality visuals, videos, and stories.
• Work with Manhattan University leadership and vendor partners to develop and execute paid advertising on social media platforms
• Write compelling captions, headlines, and posts that align with brand messaging and resonate with target audiences.
• Identify key audience segments (prospective students, current students, alumni, faculty/staff, donors, community members) and tailor content strategies accordingly.
• Identify opportunities for real-time engagement around trending topics, holidays, and campus happenings.
• Regularly monitor comments and all social media activity, including nights and weekends, during emergencies, and respond as needed.
• Track and analyze social media performance using analytics tools (e.g., Sprout Social, Hootsuite, native platform analytics).
• Prepare monthly and quarterly reports on KPIs, audience growth, engagement, and ROI.
• Use data to optimize strategies, improve content performance, and guide future campaigns.
• Responds to requests for webpage changes made by campus and academic departments.
• Keep the website updated as information is shared with the Web team.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or related field.
• 2+ years of professional social media management experience, preferably in higher education or nonprofit sectors.
• Experience with paid advertising within all social media platforms
• Experience with uploading text and photos into a website content management system, ideally Cascade CMS, WordPress or Drupal
• Experience with HTML editing within a CMS to update content, fix broken links, and make other updates as assigned.
• Experience with social media scheduling tool such as Sprout Social or Hootsuite
• Experience with Meta Business Suite Marketing Tool
• Social media post copywriting
• Basic photography skills and knowledge of Photoshop
• Basic videography skills
• Strong writing, editing, and visual storytelling skills.
• Proficiency with social media management tools, analytics platforms, and basic graphic design/video editing software.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends for campus events.

Founded in 1853, Manhattan University is an independent Catholic Lasallian institution located in Riverdale, NY that embraces students of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. The mission of the University is to provide a dynamic student-centered educational experience that prepares graduates for lives of personal development, professional success, civic engagement, and service to their fellow human beings. We expect our faculty, administration, and staff to be knowledgeable about our mission and to make a positive contribution to the mission.

Manhattan University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, marital status, partnership status, pregnancy, caregiver status, domestic violence victim status, gender identity or expression, arrest or conviction record, criminal history, credit history, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, unemployment status and salary history. Manhattan University values and celebrates diversity and is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all employees. All interested, qualified persons are encouraged to apply.