Senior Social Media Specialist, College Sports

ESPN is seeking a Senior Social Media Specialist to discover, develop, and distribute content across the ESPN social media platforms, with an emphasis on (but not limited to) college sports -- primarily football, M/W basketball, softball, baseball. An ideal candidate must have a passion and knowledge of sports (especially college sports), and have extensive experience writing social copy under pressure and creating both videos and photos that are optimized for social environments. A Senior Social Media Specialist will also be responsible for composing comprehensive plans and reports in support of college sports and collaborating across multiple teams to lead successful projects from start to finish. The Senior Social Media Specialist will report to the Social Media Senior Manager and will oversee at least one direct report.

This position is strongly preferred to be located in Bristol, CT. Additional locations considered are Los Angeles, CA or New York, NY.

Responsibilities:

• Creates content (visual, video, text) that is optimized for social platforms, specifically Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook
• Manages content planning and strategy for our college sports strategy
• Collaborates with multiple internal partners to make social content compelling and comprehensive to a broad audience
• Assigns work to select peers and designers on occasion
• Edits and approves social posts for journalistic accuracy, audience relevance, and tone, including real-time decision-making at various stages of content development
• Maintains proficiency and knowledge in all the latest social media trends and best practices
• Analyzes performance of social content and incorporate insights into future content decisions
• Performs supervisory duties and leads projects intermittently for a small team of Social Media members
• Sports happen on nights, weekends, and holidays and those shifts will be regular and required in this position

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 4 years’ experience working in a fast-paced social media environment with content creation responsibilities or relevant experience
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience using video editing software (e.g. Final Cut, Premiere)
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience using photo editing software (e.g. Photoshop, InDesign)
• Skilled in social media comprehension and execution across multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram
• Possess excellent news judgement and verbal/written communication skills
• Strong understanding of journalistic standards
• Ability to work quickly and juggle multiple tasks during a typical workday
• Ability to analyze and apply data to decision-making
• Appreciation and understanding of popular culture that contributes to an understanding of the tastes of ESPN’s social media followers
• Knowledge of current sports, including teams, players, storylines, and forward-facing media personnel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous brand voice and account launch management
• Experience using motion graphics or visual effects software (e.g. After Effects)
• Advanced knowledge of the latest social media and tech trends

Required Education:

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in journalism, communications, online/multimedia or related field

Additional Information:

• Must be comfortable working some weekends and nights

#ESPNMedia

The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles, CA is $77,080 to $103,400 per year and in New York, NY is $80,770 to $108,350 per year based on a 40-hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.