Social Media Community Engagement Specialist - San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a nonprofit international conservation leader, committed to inspiring a passion for nature and creating a world where all life thrives. Empowering people from around the globe to support our mission to conserve wildlife through innovation and partnerships, we support cutting-edge conservation, and bring the stories of our work back to our two world-famous front doors - the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park - giving millions of guests, in person and virtually, the opportunity to experience conservation in action. The deep and extensive knowledge gained from more than a century of experience in wildlife care, health, veterinary services, nutrition and conservation makes us invaluable in the global effort to save species. Our team members play a crucial role in driving our conservation efforts forward and bringing us closer to a world where all life thrives.

HOW YOU WILL IMPACT OUR MISSION
The Social Media Community Engagement Specialist is a dynamic relationship-builder and social media professional responsible for cultivating and nurturing the brand's digital community ecosystem, focusing on transforming audience interactions into meaningful connections through comprehensive growth approaches, proactive communication, and deep community sentiment analysis. Reports to the Director of Social Media.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Influencer & Celebrity Management: Develops and manages organic and paid social media influencer partnerships, including identifying and vetting strategic partners, creating protocols for visits and trade agreements, maintaining relationships, and tracking performance to ensure long-term engagement success.
• Proactive & Reactive Community Management: Oversees social media community engagement by monitoring platforms, analyzing sentiment, addressing guest & user concerns, leading strategy for online forums, collecting UGC, and facilitating crisis communications. Keeps a pulse on the competitive landscape and pop culture in real-time to develop strategic, timely social media communications that align with brand objectives, create opportunities for discovery, and capture audience attention.
• Trend-Spotting & Sentiment Adaptation: Creates community-driven and engagement-focused social media content, ensuring alignment with audience sentiment, trends, and overall wildlife conservation mission.
• Campaign Integration: Collaborates and coordinates with internal teams, agencies, and external partners to orchestrate cohesive social media content for executive leadership platforms, key events, strategic brand collaborations, etc, strengthening community connections and reaching new audiences.
• Reporting & Insights: Utilizes analytical software and tools to measure, manage and report on social media community engagement metrics and success, including sentiment shifts, influencer ROI, trends, and audience growth, to inform future strategies.
• Filming & On-Site Production: Provides on-site social media support and visual content creation support during filming and events, collaborating with production teams.
• Strategic Synergy: Collaborates closely with the full social media team to align on stories, integrate audience insights into the overall content strategy, and determine what constitutes success. Assists in creating an overall strategy for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's use of social media.
• Other Duties as Assigned: Adapts to evolving social media needs, exploring new tools and platforms to enhance community engagement. May include, but not limited to: facilitating cross-departmental social media training, drafting social media policies, speaking at industry conferences, paid social support, competitive analysis projects, social SEO optimization, etc. Allocations may shift based on organizational needs.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Excels at building authentic relationships with influencers and community members to cultivate brand advocacy. Solution-oriented, pop culture savvy, and skilled at turning everyday interactions into meaningful partnerships that advance our mission. Resourceful and self-motivated, with the energy to inspire and expand a vibrant community. Background in or passion for wildlife conservation; professional agency experience a plus.

JOB EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 3+ years experience working professionally in social media required
• Intermediate photography and videography skills preferred
  
  

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree in English, Journalism, Humanities, Social Sciences, Public Relations, Communications, History, or a related field or equivalent specialized training required
• CA Driver's License Upon Hire
  
  

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Strong working knowledge of social media channels, trends, tools, strategies, and tactics.
• Professional writing ability.
• Able to communicate effectively with a high level of tact and diplomacy.
• Knowledge of copyediting and photography and videography for social media.
• Able to operate moderately complex computer software programs.
• Able to operate Adobe Creative Suite.
• Strong working knowledge of content creation and marketing/brand best practices.
• Strong working knowledge of social media influencer/creator management.

SOME OF THE PERKS YOU WILL ENJOY AS A TEAM MEMBER

• Free admission to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
• Family Passes
• Complimentary Tickets
• Local and In-House Discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellness Program
  

IMPORTANT DETAILS

• Location: San Diego, CA
• Position Type: Salaried Full-Time Exempt Position
• Salary Rate: $77,225.60

About The Salary Ranges
Please note that the salary range mentioned in this job posting should serve simply as a guide. The final compensation offered may vary based on a variety of factors, including bonuses and/or incentives, or a candidate's experience and skills. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is committed to providing a fair, equitable, and competitive package that reflects the value an individual brings to the organization.

Fraudulent Recruiting
Beware of fraudulent recruiting. Legitimate San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance contacts will use an @sdzwa.org email address. We do not request money, checks, equipment orders, or sensitive personal data during the recruitment process. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance only conducts interviews via phone, Zoom, Teams or in-person.

If you have been asked for any of the above, or believe you have been contacted by someone posing as a San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance employee, please e-mail sdzwacareers@sdzwa.org. If you feel that you have been the victim of fraud, please contact your financial institution(s) immediately.

Be an ally for wildlife by joining our team!

At San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, we thrive on celebrating our differences. Diversity is vital for the benefit of our team members, our guests, our community, and our wildlife.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, please email your request to sdzwacareers@sdzwa.org and provide the job title and location to which you are applying.

As a Federal Contractor, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is required to participate in the E-Verify Program to confirm eligibility to work in the United States. We are not offering sponsorship for this position at this time.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a drug free workplace.