Social Media Executive

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

The role of Social Media Executive requires an outward-facing, trend-aware expert in channel management, community building, and data-driven reporting.

The role is part of the Social Media Team which enhances the University’s reputation by leading the strategic management, optimisation, and growth of our social media channels. The team engages diverse global audiences - including current and prospective students, staff, academics, funders, and policymakers - by ensuring our digital communities are vibrant, inclusive and engaging.

Working alongside a dedicated in-house creative team that delivers high-quality assets, the role will focus on distributing this content, fostering active digital communities, and analysing performance to maximise reach and engagement. You’ll work with colleagues to plan activity that is timely, innovative and relevant for our audiences, channels and objectives. You will also serve as a champion for best practices, aligning social media activity across the wider university community.

In return, you’ll work collaboratively with some of the most inspiring students and academics to enhance the University’s global reputation.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• Publish engaging high quality content for the University’s social media channels - primarily Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok - in collaboration with creative content teams and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate day-to-day posting schedules ensuring timely and relevant updates that reflect key university news, campaigns and announcements.
• Write compelling, accessible and inclusive copy tailored to different audiences (students, staff, alumni, prospective students, industry partners)
• Support the implementation of the university’s social media strategy in line with institutional goals.
• Coordinate and evaluate social media campaigns for student recruitment, reputation and events.
• Support community management to ensure timely responses to content including comments and mentions, fostering positive engagement with the University’s key audiences.
• Identify and escalate reputational risks, sensitive issues or crises to senior colleagues.
• Track, analyse and report on social media performance using analytics tools, providing insight and recommendations to improve engagement and reach.
• Keep up to date with trends and platform developments.
• Coordinate key initiatives such as the student photographers.
• Act as a brand guardian, driving appropriate usage and messaging by ensuring accurate and consistent representation within the brand and reputation guidelines, to create a clear, confident, consistent voice with correct use of visual ID.
• Any other duties as required including attendance at events and other critical business activity throughout the year including evenings and weekends.