Director, Social Media & Narrative Strategy Intercollegiate Athletics

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff. As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic, and social value. We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles , Principles of Community , and Strategic Plan .

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Departmental Overview

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics consists of more than 275 staff members and coaches and sponsors 30 varsity sports programs. These 30 programs include more than 850 student-athletes who participate in the various sports programs annually within the National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Position Summary

The Director, Social Media & Narrative Strategy leads the department's digital evolution by transforming raw fan data into compelling narratives that advance the Cal brand, drive fan engagement, ticket sales, donations, sponsorship value, and student-athlete recruitment and retention. This position serves as a data-driven storyteller responsible for building a seamless "digital fan/athlete journey" across consumer segments that maximizes ROI and generates new fans across all owned and paid platforms. The Director, Social Media & Narrative Strategy, leads the strategy, planning, and organizational alignment of all of the Cal Athletics social media accounts in collaboration with sport-specific leads. The primary goal is to enhance the program's national reputation to attract elite recruits and brands, and to engage the fan base through authentic storytelling with an eye toward student-athlete acquisition and revenue generation. This role collaborates extensively with internal units to lead the seamless integration of all digital platforms and tools within the strategic framework of the department to drive decision making. Additionally, the position maintains key external contacts, including an influencer network for partnerships and collaborations. The Director, Social Media & Narrative Strategy is responsible for recruiting, building, and supervising a consistent workforce of students and interns to scale digital support across the department and oversees the creation of a comprehensive digital training program for student staff to mentor them in professional-level storytelling and ensure a consistent brand story across Athletics.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: June 22, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

Data-Driven Creation and Decision Making

• Build and oversee an integrated analytics framework to track the full fan and recruit lifecycle.
• Leverage the analytics and develop a dashboard to make data-driven decisions around content creation that increase conversion rates, optimize engagement rates, increase followers, and maximize ROI.
• Translate complex datasets into executive-level insight stories and dashboards that guide departmental strategy and create a reporting mechanism for department visibility.

Strategic Brand Narrative

• Direct a multi-channel content strategy to authentically tell the Cal brand story through athlete-driven narratives and exclusive access.
• Collaborate with creative and athletic teams to ensure every piece of digital content drives a specific "Call to Action" and consistent brand narrative.
• Leverage NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunities within the overall Marketing strategy to integrate student-athlete stories into the department's commercial ecosystem.

Revenue Generation

• Own the digital sales funnel for tradition and new revenue streams, including season tickets, premium seating, key donation tent poles, auctions, loyalty programs and other digital workstreams.
• Optimize Cal's tech stack (e.g., Sidearm Sports, Paciolin, Google Analytics) to take advantage of key revenue generating moments throughout the calendar year.
• Partner with external sponsorship agencies (e.g., Learfield, TheLinkU) to monetize digital inventory through data-backed partner activations.

Budgeting & Strategy

• Manage digital ecosystem budgets, track expenses, and evaluate the fan engagement via feedback and data to improve future stories.

Influencer Network

• Own the Cal Athletics digital influencer network for collaborations and other brand advancing initiatives.

Quality Control & Post-Campaign Analysis

• Govern the post-campaign review process by analyzing fan engagement and digital performance; implement continuous improvements to maintain Power 4 conference excellence.

Other responsibilities as assigned, including professional development.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of program activity and best practices.
• Problem-solving skills; multi-task, work with frequent interruptions, and effective listener.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in the English language.
• Proficiency in the use of computer applications relevant to job duties and/or the ability to learn.
• Mastery of tracking the fan/recruit lifecycle using tools and dashboards.
• Ability to build executive-level dashboards that translate complex raw data into actionable "insight stories."
• Expert knowledge of integrating disparate digital tools to create a seamless user journey.
• Deep understanding of A/B testing and digital sales funnels to maximize ticket sales and donation ROI.
• Skill in directing cohesive narratives across social media, web, and email that drive specific "Calls to Action."
• Knowledge of integrating Name, Image, and Likness opportunities into the broader college athletics commercial ecosystem.
• Experience in building and managing a network of digital influencers to amplify brand reach and student-athlete recruitment.
• Familiarity with emerging AI tools for content personalization, automated fan engagement, and workflow efficiency.
• Proven ability to partner with agencies to value and sell digital inventory through data-backed activations.
• Skill in managing complex digital budgets while providing post-campaign analysis to justify spend.
• Ability to design a "digital training program" that scales professional-level storytelling through a student and intern workforce.
• Capability to align Creative, Development (donations), and Ticket Office units under one unified digital framework.
• Strong skills in coaching and mentoring lower level staff, students, and interns.
• Time and project management skills to effectively establish priorities and meet competing deadlines both for themself and the team.
• Interpersonal communications and people management skills to interact effectively with a variety of clients, staff and vendors.
• Strong skills and fiscal responsibility to plan and manage the Digital Ecosystems budget.
• Must maintain current knowledge of applicable rules and standards of the Pacific-12 Conference, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), as well as other associations and agencies to which the Berkeley campus of the University of California adheres, and, at all times avoid any and all violations of these rules and standards and/or the ability to learn.

Preferred Qualifications

• None listed.

Education / Training

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website .

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $105,000-$115,000.

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Driving Required

Required to hold a valid driver's license, have a driving record that is in accordance with local policies/procedures, and/or enroll in the California Employer Pull Notice Program.

Other Information

• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position will be governed by the terms and conditions in the agreement for the Communications, Marketing, and Sales Professionals, represented by the UAW.

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Mandated Reporter

This position has been identified as a Mandated Reporter required to report the observed or suspected abuse or neglect of children, dependent adults, or elders to designated law enforcement or social service agencies. We reserve the right to make employment contingent upon completion of signed statements acknowledging the responsibilities of a Mandated Reporter.

Misconduct

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

Misconduct means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace


Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.