Social Media Manager

About the role

The professional will manage a significant portion of the Kyiv Independent's day-to-day social media operations, ensuring a constant news presence across all channels. They will quickly publish and distribute breaking news, long-form articles, videos, and other multimedia materials to engage audiences effectively. The role requires adapting complex journalistic content for diverse platforms, audiences, and formats while rigorously maintaining accuracy and editorial integrity. Close collaboration with journalists and editors is essential to transform hard news into compelling, informative, and engaging social media narratives. The manager will monitor the news cycle continuously to identify opportunities and present stories in the most effective ways across various social platforms. They will create, adapt, schedule, and publish original content that strengthens the outlet's international reach and overall impact. This position involves launching and supporting creative social media initiatives, promotional campaigns, and special projects aimed at growing the community. Ultimately, the hire will play a key role in helping the outlet serve as the bridge between Ukraine and the world by delivering reliable news and context to a global audience.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Manage a significant portion of the Kyiv Independent's day-to-day social media operations across multiple platforms.
• Quickly publish and distribute news, articles, videos, and other materials to meet the demands of a 24-hour news cycle.
• Adapt journalistic content for different platforms, audiences, and formats while maintaining accuracy and editorial integrity.
• Work closely with journalists and editors to turn reporting into compelling, informative, and engaging social media content.
• Monitor the news cycle and identify opportunities to present stories effectively across various social media channels.
• Create, adapt, schedule, and publish original content tailored for the Kyiv Independent's social media channels.
• Track performance metrics, analyze social media data, and adjust content and platform strategies to maximize engagement.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external contributors to ensure content is timely, accurate, and impactful for the audience.
• Support and launch creative social media initiatives, promotional campaigns, membership campaigns, and special projects.
• Help strengthen the Kyiv Independent's international reach and overall social media impact through innovative strategies.
• Maintain a consistent posting schedule that aligns with the outlet's rotating shift model and news priorities.
• Ensure all published content adheres to strict editorial standards and brand guidelines.
• Utilize social media management tools to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
• Engage with the community by responding to comments and messages in a professional and timely manner.
• Stay updated on trends, platform updates, and best practices in social media and digital journalism.

Requirements

• Proven professional experience in social media management, digital communications, digital marketing, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience managing major social media platforms, particularly Instagram and Facebook.
• A good understanding of LinkedIn and TikTok, including their audiences, content formats, and platform-specific approaches.
• A broad understanding of how social media content works, how platforms differ, and how their algorithms influence distribution and engagement.
• Excellent written and spoken English, at Upper-Intermediate to Advanced level.
• Strong communication, organizational, and time-management skills to handle multiple priorities.
• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work quickly and make decisions in a fast-moving news environment.
• Ability to adapt journalistic content into engaging platform-specific formats without losing its original meaning or context.
• Familiarity with multimedia content creation, including editing images and short videos.
• Willingness to work rotating shifts, including mornings, days, evenings, and weekends, as required by the news cycle.
• Capability to perform duties effectively in a fully remote or hybrid work setting.
• Commitment to working for a Ukraine-focused English-language news outlet with a global audience.

Nice to have

• Experience working in media, journalism, publishing, communications, or another fast-paced content environment.
• Experience with video editing tools such as CapCut, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or similar software.
• Experience managing breaking-news or real-time social media content.
• Experience working with promotional, membership, or audience-development campaigns.
• Familiarity with Telegram, Threads, X, Reddit, or other additional social media platforms.

Practical notes

This role operates on a rotating shift schedule to cover news around the clock, including evenings and weekends. Shifts include morning, day, and evening blocks, rotating weekly, with weekends requiring periodic work. The schedule maintains a two-day off pattern each week, though days off may vary and include combinations such as Friday-Saturday, Saturday-Sunday, or Friday-Sunday. The position may be performed fully remotely or in a hybrid format, depending on the candidate's preference, and does not require office attendance. The role is based in the Europe region with full-time engagement.