Director of Digital Media

Director Of Digital Media

The Director of Digital Media is a senior digital leader responsible for setting and executing the college's social media, digital display and digital signage strategy. This role blends hands-on digital strategy and execution expertise with people leadership, agency management, budget management and analytics ensuring the team produces high-quality, audience-driven content that advances institutional priorities and drives measurable engagement.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Digital Experience, the Director leads a team of digital media professionals and serves as a channel expert and strategic digital advisor across the organization. This position provides clear direction, coaches team members to grow their skills and makes data-informed decisions to continuously improve performance, engagement and brand impact across platforms.

Duties And Responsibilities

1. People leadership: Leads and develops a team of social media and digital content professionals through clear expectations, coaching and regular feedback. Sets strategic priorities and translates goals into actionable direction, ensuring accountability for quality, deadlines and performance. Mentors team members, builds individual strengths and fosters a culture of creativity, collaboration and continuous improvement. Supervises assigned staff by hiring, onboarding, assigning work, managing workloads, evaluating performance and making employment recommendations.

2. Social media strategy & management: Directs the development and execution of an integrated paid and organic social media strategy aligned with institutional goals and brand voice. Maintains deep, current expertise across major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube) and emerging channels. Provides hands-on guidance by evaluating content performance, recommending optimizations and advising on platform-specific best practices including AI optimized copy. Translates trends, algorithm changes and audience insights into clear, actionable direction for the team. Upholds and evolves institutional social media guidelines and best practices. Oversees community engagement strategies to foster authentic, responsive connections with students, faculty, staff and external audiences.

3. Digital display and digital signage strategy & content management: Leads the strategy, content planning, execution and performance evaluation of the college's paid digital display channel and owned digital signage network. Ensures content aligns with marketing campaigns, campus priorities and institutional messaging. Collaborates with creative services and campus partners to curate compelling visual content and manage submissions. Ensures digital display and digital signage engages a targeted audience, remains fresh, on-brand, accessible and measurable.

4. Channel integration and cross-functional leadership: Establishes and manages the content vision, ensures channel integration and maintains editorial standards across all digital platforms. Advocates for innovative methods for targeted message delivery - including paid, organic and user-generated content - and collaborates closely with brand strategy and communications teams to ensure that channel strategies and executions are aligned with the broader brand objectives. Develops frameworks that enable students, faculty and campus partners to make authentic contributions to the college's digital presence.

5. Budget management: This role is responsible for overseeing the strategic use of fiscal resources to maximize the impact of the college's digital media investments. The Director will make budget allocation recommendations related to social media tools, manage invoice payments and ensure cost-effective execution, improving ROIs and measurable performance outcomes.

6. Agency management: The Director supports the oversight of external agencies and partners, helping to set expectations, guiding work and ensuring the timely deliverables which align with strategic goals. This role assists in holding agencies accountable for performance and integrates their contributions into a cohesive, high-impact digital media approach.

7. Analytics, insights & performance optimization: Owns performance measurement and optimization for organic and paid digital media channels. Interprets data to inform strategic decisions, identify opportunities and course-correct when content underperforms. Leads testing, learning and iteration to continuously raise standards for engagement, reach, impact and return. Regularly reports on KPIs, audience insights and performance trends to inform leadership and stakeholders.

8. Protocol implementation: Develops and presents engagement, moderation and crisis-response protocols for proactive and reactive digital communications. Exercises sound judgment in high-visibility or high-pressure situations, balancing institutional priorities, audience needs and brand reputation. Coordinates with communications leadership, security, safety and HR teams to ensure alignment of protocols and response plans.

9. Collaboration & cross-departmental coordination: Works closely with communications, marketing, creative services, enrollment, media and marketing agencies and public affairs teams. Ensures digital platforms support recruitment, retention, storytelling and real-time institutional messaging needs.

10. Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements And Preferred Qualifications

· Bachelor's degree in Digital Communications, Marketing or a related field.

· 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in digital marketing, paid media strategy planning and execution, social media strategy or digital content management.

· Demonstrated experience leading or managing a team.

· Experience working closely with and guiding the work of a marketing agency partner.

· Budget management experience.

Additional Information

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Worker Characteristics:

· Proven people-leader with experience coaching and developing creative or digital teams.

· Strong, current expertise in social media platforms, content formats and engagement strategies.

· Hands-on experience evaluating performance data and optimizing content based on insights.

· Ability to balance strategic thinking with execution and real-time decision-making.

· Strong editorial judgment and storytelling skills across digital channels.

· Experience with digital signage content management systems (e.g., Korbyt, Four Winds, Carousel, Visix).

· Familiarity with SEO/LLM/Generative AI and other digital/streaming advertising.

· Knowledge of accessibility standards (ADA/WCAG) and inclusive content practices.

· Experience working with media relations, PR, or crisis communications.

· Proficiency with content planning, editorial calendars and project management tools (e.g., Asana, Trello, Monday.com).

· Highly organized, collaborative, adaptable and solutions-oriented.

Working Conditions:

In-office working environment during typical operating hours for college. Occasional lifting of light equipment, light walking between college buildings and ability to travel between campuses.

Occasional after-hours work to support urgent or time-sensitive digital situations.