Social Media Content Manager

At UEL, we're on a mission to transform lives through education, supporting our vibrant and diverse student community and building a future-facing institution rooted in innovation and inclusion. Our External Relations Directorate brings together specialist teams across communications, marketing, student recruitment and digital, all working together to drive our Vision 2028 forward.

Our dynamic team is a creative, fast-paced environment where no two days are the same. Social media is central to how we tell the UEL story – from celebrating our students and showcasing our academic expertise to building our reputation and supporting student recruitment.

As our Social Media Content Manager, you'll be the creative engine behind UEL's social channels, turning our content strategy and pillars into compelling, high-performing daily content. Working closely with the Head of Social Media, you'll lead the end-to-end content journey – from spotting a story and developing the idea, through scripting and filming, to editing, publishing and measuring performance.

At the heart of the role is authentic storytelling. You'll uncover the people and experiences behind the University – our students, alumni, academics, staff and communities – and turn their real stories into engaging social content. You'll know when a story needs a polished creative treatment and when the most powerful approach is simply to capture a genuine moment as it happens.

Responsibilities:

- Leading the creation and production of original social content across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other key platforms, with video, mobile cinematography and visual storytelling at the heart of your work.
- Managing the social content pipeline, including content calendars, production schedules, publishing workflows and approvals.
- Acting as the final creative gatekeeper for social content, ensuring everything is accurate, accessible, proofread, on brand and meets a high creative standard.
- Keeping ahead of emerging social trends, creator culture, TikTok formats, editing styles and opportunities to create timely, trend-reactive content for UEL.

This is a hands-on role for someone who loves making things. You'll be as comfortable getting out from behind the desk to find a great story and put a camera in front of someone as you are developing a creative idea, writing a sharp social hook or coaching the next generation of content creators.

You'll understand that the best social content doesn't always come from a big campaign or a perfectly scripted shoot. Sometimes it's a student's reaction, an unexpected moment on campus, an academic explaining something brilliantly, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse of university life. You'll have the editorial judgement to recognise those moments and the creative skills to turn them into content people want to watch and share.

About You:

We're looking for an experienced social media creative who combines outstanding production skills with strategic awareness, editorial judgement and a genuine understanding of what makes people engage online. You'll be a natural storyteller who is curious about people. You know how to make contributors feel comfortable on camera, ask the right questions and find the human detail that turns an ordinary story into compelling content.

Benefits:

UEL offers a genuinely competitive salary and a range of excellent benefits. Full details are available at https://uel.ac.uk/benefits-professional-services-positions

UEL is an inclusive equal opportunities employer and is proud of its Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion achievements. UEL is a Disability Confident employer and values all applications. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process.