Director, Social Media

Job Description

SUMMARY: As the Director, Social Media at K12, you will be responsible for elevating the brand's social presence, driving community engagement, and expanding K12’s digital footprint across all platforms. You’ll lead the development and execution of K12’s organic social media strategy while working closely with paid media teams to amplify brand awareness, grow social accounts, and foster deeper connections with students, parents, educators, and prospects. Combining strategic vision with hands-on execution, you’ll manage a growing social media team, collaborate cross-functionally, and leverage data-driven insights to optimize campaigns. A key part of the role will be creating innovative, impactful campaigns, managing influencer partnerships, and ensuring K12’s voice remains relevant, relatable, and compelling in an ever-changing digital landscape. Your ability to blend a passion for education with digital innovation will be essential in driving measurable results and aligning social media initiatives with broader business and marketing goals.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

Strategy & Innovation

• Lead K12's Social Media Vision: Architect and execute a forward-thinking social media strategy across major platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit etc.), enhancing brand advocacy and expanding our digital community.

• Platform Leadership: Stay ahead of emerging trends and platform developments, identifying new opportunities for engagement and growth. Implement strategies for organic social media initiatives.

• Continuous Optimization: Establish frameworks for A/B testing, content experimentation, and rapid optimization to ensure that we are always improving the performance of our social media efforts.

• Budget Management: Manage and optimize the social media budget, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated across organic campaigns, content creation, and partnerships. Maximize ROI by aligning social media spend with K12’s strategic goals and performance metrics.

• Content Strategy: Oversee content and content calendars that align with K12’s seasonal and thematic goals, (working directly with the Creative Content Manager) ensuring messaging resonates with parents, educators, and students while remaining on-brand.

Creative Direction

• Creative Direction: Oversee the creative vision for social-first content, working closely with the Creative Content Manager and cross-functional teams to develop campaigns that are platform-appropriate, visually compelling, and culturally relevant.

• Real-Time Content: Cultivate a social-first mindset, overseeing the production of real-time, trend-driven content that capitalizes on viral moments and cultural conversations.

• Campaign Strategy & Launches: Own the strategic planning, development, and execution of social media campaign strategies from inception to launch. Lead cross-functional kickoffs, ensuring that all teams are aligned on objectives, creative direction, timelines, and expected outcomes. Establish clear goals and KPIs to guide the execution of campaigns and measure their impact.

Partnerships

• Build Relationships: Cultivate relationships with influencers, educators, and thought leaders to amplify K12's brand presence and advocacy. Work closely across departments on campaign execution and content creation.

• Collaborate with Paid Campaigns: Collaborate with paid media team to ensure high-performing content is integrated into K12’s paid media strategy for maximum impact.

• Measure Impact: Establish key metrics to assess the effectiveness of new creatives and collaborations, ensuring alignment with overall brand goals and engagement targets.

• External Agencies: Ensure that agency-driven initiatives align with K12’s overarching social media and brand strategy. 

Community Engagement & Management

• Foster Connections: Develop community engagement strategies that drive deeper, more authentic interactions across all K12 social channels. Ensure K12’s social media presence feels welcoming, informative, and supportive.

• User-Generated Content: Lead efforts to amplify user-generated content that fuels organic growth and strengthens brand loyalty, all while safeguarding brand integrity across platforms. Collaborate with the Community Manager to identify and showcase community contributions that align with K12’s values and messaging.

• Moderate & Respond: Oversee efforts to maintain a positive and respectful online environment by moderating comments, responding to inquiries, and managing community interactions. 

• Communication: Lead strategic communication efforts concerning community management across multiple departments that interact with customer-facing teams. Act as the bridge between the Social Media team and other internal teams to ensure seamless communication and a unified approach in addressing community needs.

Analytics & Reporting

• Monitor Performance: Use analytics tools to track and measure the impact of social media efforts, providing actionable insights and strategic recommendations based on data.

• Executive Reporting: Provide regular updates and in-depth reports to leadership, clearly demonstrating the business impact of social media initiatives, including KPIs like engagement and brand awareness.

• Competitive & Trend Analysis: Conduct competitive analysis and keep K12 ahead of industry trends by staying informed of the latest social media and educational sector innovations.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead the Social Media Team: Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing social media team, fostering a collaborative and creative environment.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with marketing, product, creative, and PR teams to ensure social media efforts are aligned with broader marketing strategies and business objectives.

• Process Improvement: Establish efficient workflows for content creation, approvals, and campaign execution, ensuring the social media team can deliver high-quality, timely results.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises 2+ Full-time Equivalent (FTE) regular employees and/or contractors.  Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:   

• A visionary leader with a minimum of 7 years of experience in social media strategy, content creation, and community management, ideally in a digital or education-focused brand environment.
• A proven expert in building and scaling social media programs, with a track record of success across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.
• Data-driven and analytical, with deep experience using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Sprout Social, or native platform insights) to guide decisions and optimize performance.
• A strong communicator with excellent social media copywriting skills, able to adapt messaging for different platforms and audiences while maintaining a consistent brand voice.
• Strong creative vision and an eye for design, able to guide the production of social-first content that is both visually compelling and on-brand.
• A collaborator who thrives in cross-functional teams, able to align creative, content, and marketing teams to execute on a unified vision.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, and other design tools.
• Excellent presentation skills with ability to leverage technology effectively
• Experience leading and mentoring teams, with a focus on professional growth and fostering a collaborative culture.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with attention to detail
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, etc.); Web proficiency.
• Ability to clear required background check

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Communication or higher
• Experience in the education (EdTech) or digital learning space.
• Familiarity with social media advertising, including paid social campaigns, influencer marketing, and integrated media strategies.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• This position is virtual and open to residents of the 50 states, D.C.

Compensation & Benefits: Stride, Inc. considers a person’s education, experience, and qualifications, as well as the position’s work location, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value when determining a new employee’s salary level.  Salaries will differ based on these factors, the position’s level and expected contribution, and the employee’s benefits elections. Offers will typically be in the bottom half of the range.

We anticipate the salary range to be $139,191.00 to $239,712.00. Eligible employees may receive a bonus.  This salary is not guaranteed, as an individual’s compensation can vary based on several factors.  These factors include, but are not limited to, geographic location, experience, training, education, and local market conditions. Stride offers a robust benefits package for eligible employees that can include health benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off. 

The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.  All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works.  It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer. 

Job Type

The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor. All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works.  It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer.

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you can request the appropriate accommodation by contacting stridecareers@k12.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Stride, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants receive consideration for employment based on merit without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. Stride, Inc. complies with all legally required affirmative action obligations. Applicants will not be discriminated against because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.