Social Media Specialist

As a university founded to be a place where "...any person can find instruction in any study," diversity and inclusion are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation. As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. Cornell Core values

As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture.

While position responsibilities vary greatly, the Skills for Success and Leadership Skills for Successare foundational to what is expected ofevery employee and leader working at Cornell. These skills are essential for individual and organizational success. Staff Skills for Success; Leadership Skills for Success

Department Background:

Cornell communicators share a mission to enhance and preserve the university's brand and reputation as a top research institution and a leader in higher education, and to support and promote critical programs that serve the university's teaching, research, and public engagement mission. Communication services are carried out through a matrixed organizational system in which University Relations houses the departments of News (Cornell Chronicle), Media Relations (pitching and servicing media requests), Brand (cornell.edu, multimedia production, brand management and governance), Strategic Communications (communications plans, key messaging, social media management), and Cornellians (digital alumni publication). Communicators in colleges, schools, and units regularly collaborate with, and consult, University Relations departments. University Relations serves as a partner and resource for all college/unit communicators.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Cornell CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second largest population of students, faculty and staff. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; food, energy and environmental resources; and social, physical and economic well-being.

The Cornell CALS Office of Marketing and Communications provides leadership and expertise in strategic communications and branding to elevate the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences brand and its world-renowned scientific discoveries. We tell the stories and show the impact of CALS' life-changing research, education and outreach through a digital-first strategy that leverages campus partnerships and news media to reach key audiences, which include current and prospective students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and state and federal partners.

Reporting to the Director of Marketing and Communications, the Social Media Specialist leads strategy and content creation and publication on college social media platforms, aligning with the college's editorial strategy to strengthen its reputation among key stakeholders. From the channels, this individual will promote key college initiatives, stories, events and programs, and serve as the primary community manager for all platforms. They will also produce reports analyzing performance, issue management, audiences and competitor trends to inform strategy, and proactively explore and evaluate emerging platforms. The Social Media Specailist will foster ongoing relationships with and serve as a subject matter expert for faculty, administrators, staff and students to stay informed on key issues, trends, urrent projects and best practices at the intersection of new media strategy and content promotion.

Position Summary:

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

This position serves the Cornell CALS Marketing and Communications team's strategic objectives in these main capacities:

• Designing and implementing the college's strategic approach to social media content creation and promotion. Plan, develop and publish compelling content across college digital platforms. Ensure that content meets high editorial and visual standards, employs best practices, and supports broader marketing and communications strategies. Creating strategies to optimize existing social channels and exploring opportunities to launch new channels that expand the college's reach to key audiences. The employee will research, collect and share performance analytics based on strategic goals, and maintain ranking and benchmarking information on competitors. An openness to experimentation, optimization and testing across digital channels, including with paid promotion, is desired.
• Delivering on the college's brand promise, vision and position on college social platforms, showcasing its research, teaching and outreach impact through creative content to engage digital audiences, including faculty, prospective faculty, alumni, students, staff, policy makers, partners and others.
• Collaborating as a key editorial team member, this role will work closely with the Director and Assistant Director of Creative Content to effectively package and promote editorial products on owned digital platforms, including social media, the college website and others. The employee will participate in weekly editorial planning meetings and collaborate on cross-team editorial strategies, and will also partner regularly with social media peers across Cornell/CALS to cross-promote content. In addition to social media, this position will manage the established news publication process on the college's website. This role is also responsible for monitoring digital discourse and sentiment on college platforms, coordinating with leadership on any needed response or internal coordination in the event of issue/crisis management.
• Working cross-functionally with partners at the college and university to align on best practices, strategic priorities, and optimal promotion of content. This role serves as an ambassador to University Relations' New Media team, and acts in an advisory capacity to CALS Marketing and Communications, as well as the college's various social media managers, to support university protocols and facilitate optimal content sharing and development.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in communication, journalism, marketing, media or a similar field and 3 to 5 years of experience in content design and production or equivalent combination.
• Superior writing and editing skills; strong understanding of how to write and design content for social media.
• Proficiency in image and video design tools.
• High level of proficiency in social media management and analytics tools.
• Experience developing distribution strategies for multiple social media platforms and audiences.
• Excellent judgment in sensitive and confidential situations, and the ability to follow established protocols.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects in a busy environment with flexibility, accuracy, efficiency, and attention to detail
• Ability to make sense of complex topics and quickly synthesize information for key audiences.
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.
• Experience incorporating the perspectives of multiple communities, including historically underserve communities.
• Able to anticipate challenges, obstacles, and future needs and proactively suggest options to mitigate risk.
• Regularly track and evaluate performance metrics to grow and improve audience engagement with target audiences.
• Ability to research and analyze methods, audiences and competitor trends to further team goals.
• Ability to take a leadership role on projects. Must be able to assist in developing operating and project budgets and able to travel within New York state and elsewhere on behalf of the college with occasional evening and weekend hours.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in higher education.
• Experience in content marketing.
• Proven ability to work as a team member with various staff, faculty, students, and community contacts to reach common goals of projects and programs.
• Proficiency is Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, marketing-automation tools, and any enterprise-scale CMS (e.g. Drupal) is desirable.
• Experience in recruiting and mentoring student interns.

How to Apply:

You must submit both a resume/CV and cover letter. Applications will not be considered without both submitted documents.

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EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.