Director, Social Media and Digital Engagement
Job Summary
The Director of Social Media and Digital Engagement leads UMGC's social media strategy and digital engagement ecosystem to advance the university's mission, visibility, and reputation. This role drives alignment across channels, amplifies authentic community voices, and ensures content is structured for modern digital discoverability, including AI-driven platforms. The Director manages a small team and builds scalable systems that strengthen engagement, workflows, and cross-functional collaboration.
Primary Duties
- Global Social Media Strategy & Institutional Alignment: Leads UMGC's social media strategy, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and integration with the broader communications calendar. Partners across the Office of Communications and university stakeholders to deliver coordinated, audience-centered messaging that strengthens brand narrative and engagement.
- Community Engagement & Organic Amplification: Develops and executes strategies that elevate student, alumni, faculty, and staff voices through authentic storytelling and engagement. Builds scalable approaches to encourage community participation and user-generated content, positioning organic advocacy as a core driver of visibility and reputation.
- Oversees social media platforms, digital engagement tools, and digital signage systems, along with associated vendor relationships, to support publishing, listening, and audience engagement across channels. Uses analytics and insights to continuously refine strategy, improve engagement, and inform decision-making across digital and physical digital channels.
- Digital Innovation & Discoverability: Integrates emerging best practices in digital communications, including AI-driven search, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), into content and campaign planning. Ensures university content and community narratives are structured to be discoverable, credible, and visible across evolving digital and conversational platforms.
- Team Leadership & Operational Management: Provides strategic direction, coaching, and daily oversight for the digital engagement team, including content creation and community management roles. Establishes clear workflows, roles, and expectations that improve efficiency, empower team autonomy, and sustain high-quality output.
Required Education and Experience
Education
4-year college degree in Communications, Marketing, or Social Media
Experience
- 7 to 10 years experience in higher education, communications, social media management.
- 3 to 5 years of supervisory experience
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrated experience leading social media or digital communications efforts
- Solid understanding of UMGC's mission and the operations of a large public university
- Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across the institution
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; sound judgment in representing the university online
- Proficiency with social media and digital communication tools; strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance data and audience insights
- Demonstrated ability to lead with limited oversight as a proactive, self-starting operator who can manage teams, workflows, and priorities independently while knowing when to elevate issues; experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing stakeholders without direct authority
- Ability to navigate complex situations, manage competing priorities, and handle conflict with professionalism and strong emotional intelligence
All submissions should include a cover letter and resume. UMGC offers competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits for qualifying positions, such as tuition remission, generous leave and healthcare.
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