Digital Engagement & Community Manager

POSITION SUMMARY: 
Reporting to the Assoc. Director of Digital Engagement, this role stands at the helm of the Academy’s digital-engagement and content-creation work, driving our Brand social channels, content strategy and creation, virtual programming, internal paid-social advertising, and more. In this capacity, the DE Manager is responsible for the work and growth of a team of talented Digital-Engagement Specialists, for providing DE-related support to a wide range of Academy departments, and for thought-partnering with the Assoc. Director of DE to establish and execute on team and institutional DE goals, strategy, and best practices. These responsibilities break down into two basic buckets of work, detailed below, and require being physically on-site a minimum of three days per week.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are intrinsic to Academy culture and operations, from recruitment and retention to science and advocacy. Explore Our Commitment to Racial Equity to learn about our intentional engagement of traditionally excluded groups in an effort to spark interest in or foster pathways to scientific careers.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:
Come join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! The Academy’s new strategic plan includes three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a range of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every ­one of the qualifications for the position.

The position is a hybrid of on-site/work from home in California and this arrangement can change as business needs warrant. Employees and jobs who meet the eligibility requirements for work from home may do so as long as they work out of their home in California and can easily come onsite in San Francisco.The Academy is located in Golden Gate Park. Candidates are required to have up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination, including receiving a booster shot, as a condition of employment, absent qualifying exemptions in accordance with applicable laws. Individuals receiving a conditional offer of employment from the California Academy of Sciences will be provided the full text of the vaccination policy.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Drive the DE team’s content strategy, overseeing content creation and execution across owned platforms as well as the growth and development of team Specialists.

  • Work closely with the Assoc. Director of DE to identify content priorities based on the Academy’s mission, initiatives, visitation priorities, and other work, and guide DE Specialists’ execution of same
  • In partnership with the Assoc. Director of DE, develop and execute high-level strategies that drive KPIs for the Academy’s social ecosystem (includes Brand plus all directly managed sub-brands, i.e. NightLife, bioGraphic, and BigPicture)
  • Be directly responsible for all Brand social-channels (primary platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TIkTok, and LinkedIn, with secondary maintenance accounts on Tumblr, Snapchat, and Pinterest.) This work includes but is not limited to publishing (and/or reviewing content prior to publishing), social care, and metrics collection and reporting.
  • Manage and support the growth of our Digital-Engagement Specialists, work that includes not merely ensuring that responsibilities and goals are met but working collaboratively to identify professional goals for each individual and providing tailored guidance and coaching
  • Work strategically and collaboratively to define, build capacity for, and elevate the production quality of all Academy livestreams, live events, videos, and programming
  • Drive DE’s influencer program and on-the-floor activation efforts to expand and connect audiences more compellingly to Academy work
  • Maintain and deepen the DE team’s network of critical relationships with a wide range of internal staff and departments, a key factor in our ability to create best-in-class content

With support from the Assoc. Director of DE, act as team-lead in providing a range of direct DE support (including trainings and consultations) for a wide range of internal departments/partners.

  • Manage DE’s paid social program, for which we treat internal departments and teams as clients by advising and executing on every piece of the process, from budget and strategy to campaign launch
  • Be responsible for all paid social relating to the Academy’s NightLife series, managing a separate and significant budget to drive attendance and awareness
  • In collaboration with department-partners, support all DE Specialists’ paid social work in support of bioGraphic and BigPicture
  • Provide guidance and support to all internal departments that create live programming to ensure those products reflect Academy voice and standards. This includes direct management of our virtual NightSchool series, a DE product produced in collaboration with the NightLife team
  • Partner directly with Membership as we work together to significantly evolve and elevate current digital programs and community-building
  • Lead and/or significantly contribute to the execution of all identified digital special-projects, and guide team Specialist’s contributions to same
  • Monitor all third-party review platforms and work with Guest Experience and other teams to provide knowledgeable responses and social care across same

EXPERIENCE and/or EDUCATION:
A qualified candidate will possess a combination of the following education and/or equivalent experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in English, Creative Writing, Communications, Science, Marketing, Liberal Arts, or related area of study
  • 6+ years of experience in communications, digital engagement, social media, or comparable combination
  • 4+ years experience representing a brand on social media, paid and organic
  • 2+ years experience managing a team

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

  • Strong writer and editor with an excellent radar for voice and tone, and the ability to modulate their own writing style to match.
  • Gifted storyteller with a proven ability to iterate stories across platforms on behalf of a organization or brand
  • Professional-level fluency in core social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube), including paid and organic, plus a solid understanding of best practices and industry trends
  • Demonstrated commitment to supporting and evolving a team
  • Demonstrated background in or passion for science and nature
  • Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion
  • Ability to speak effectively before groups or individuals.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to meet the job’s essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, use a computer, and communicate on the phone, in person, and online meetings/calls. Must be able to perform repetitive motions 75% of the time. Must be able to transport 30 lbs.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Please upload a resume, cover letter, and complete the brief online application on our careers page.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).

The California Academy of Sciences is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to ensure that all employees and applicants receive equal consideration and treatment, regardless of race, color, creed, gender (including gender identity or gender expression), religion, marital or domestic partner status, age, place of birth, national origin or ancestry, physical, mental or medical disability, height or weight, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship, military service status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.