Director, Social Media (AJC)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is one of the most storied brands in journalism, with a legacy that stretches back over a century. Our mission is to be The Soul and Substance of the South and we have a vision to transform this great institution into a modern media company.
That's where you come in.
The AJC is seeking a strategic, creative, and data-driven Director, Social Media to lead the brand's presence across platforms and drive meaningful audience engagement and growth.
As the AJC continues to scale into a modern media company, our social presence must become even more dynamic, central and visible. This role will shape the future of the AJC's social identity, building and overseeing innovative strategies that strengthen the brand, expand its reach, and foster deep connections with both loyal consumers and new audiences.
This proactive, self-starter should be ready to engage audience development, business partnerships, video and newsroom teams to build thumb-stopping, innovative social programming that reflects AJC's editorial standards and mission, fuels community, and creates monetizable opportunities.
This candidate should be experienced at setting high-level strategy and managing stakeholder expectation, while also able to plug in to daily content production to support creative output. This role will join the Content Development and Production team, and oversee a team of social producers and managers, while collaborating effectively with senior leaders and key stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities

• Own and evolve a cohesive, enterprise-level vision and organic content strategy across platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Reddit and other emerging channels, with a sharp focus on driving quality impressions and engagement, while defining a clear vision and voice.
• Build a content engine that scales: audience-informed, performance-tracked, and deeply integrated with product and growth goals.
• Lead and support content creation and oversee day-to-day social publishing, ensuring all content reflects the brand and each channel's voice, editorial mission, and visual identity.
• Evolve org-wide workflows to increase efficiency, creativity, accuracy, and innovative experimentation.
• Directly manage a team of social producers and creators; help develop skills while fostering an inclusive team environment.
• Work proactively with audience and growth partners to refine platform-specific monetization strategies and execute drive-back routes or referral traffic tactics that foster conversions; support social-based paid marketing efforts.
• Build upon an off-platform video strategy to drive audience engagement, in close collaboration with EP of Video and Business partnerships
• Partner proactively with reporters, producers, and creative teams to package content for maximum performance and resonance on each platform.
• Represent social interests in senior leadership meetings, ensuring strategies align with brand and business objectives.
• Analyze metrics and kickstart A/B tests and other experiments in service of organic growth; provide transparent readouts.
• Own social reporting and translate analytics and performance insights into actionable content strategies that drive channel growth and engagement rates.
• Develop creative, social-first campaigns and franchises to support editorial tentpoles, brand initiatives and revenue/sales goals.
• Evolve sponsorship opportunities and influence branded efforts to avoid brand dilution and content quality.
• Stay ahead of platform trends, emerging content formats, creator partnerships, and social tools to keep the AJC at the forefront of social evolution and digital innovation.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 10 years' experience in a related field (social media strategy, ideally within media, news or lifestyle brands). The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 8 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 5 years' experience in a related field; or 14 years' experience in a related field.
• 5+ years' experience in a management or leadership role
• Proven track record of growing and engaging audiences across multiple social platforms.
• Deep expertise in platform best practices, analytics tools, and emerging trends.
• Ability to leverage AI tooling to build efficiencies and automation
• Strong editorial sensibility and storytelling ability with a knack for adapting content across formats.
• Experience managing and mentoring teams in fast-paced, collaborative environments.
• Passion for news, journalism and storytelling, with the ability to balance editorial integrity and business priorities.
• Creative thinker who is both strategic and execution-focused, able to manage high-visibility projects with clarity and impact.

USD 134,900.00 - 224,900.00 per year
Compensation:
Compensation includes a base salary of $134,900.00 - $224,900.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.
Benefits:
The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.