The Social Media Manager will own and drive both organic and paid social media strategies to generate high-quality leads and meet performance goals. This role is responsible for developing and executing a data-driven social strategy that increases brand awareness, engagement, and revenue impact, while being a creative mastermind that can create and manage a robust content calendar.

The ideal candidate is proactive, results-driven, and strategic—not just an executor, but a leader who continuously optimizes performance, identifies new opportunities, and pushes for innovation with Company's social presence. They must have deep expertise in both organic and paid social media, strong analytical skills, and a clear understanding of how social media contributes to demand generation in the Direct-to-Consumer space.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Own and optimize organic and paid social media strategy to drive brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation.
• Meet lead goals for both paid and organic social, proactively identifying optimizations to improve performance.
• Develop and execute paid social media strategies, ensuring effective targeting, ad creative, and budget management to generate high-quality leads efficiently.
• Consistently analyze key performance metrics, optimize campaigns, and proactively adjust content and paid media approaches to improve results.
• Generate a high volume of creative ideas for organic and paid content that bring the brand to life in fun, compelling, and shareable ways.
• Work alongside creative team (designers, copywriters, and video editors) to bring content ideas to life through compelling visuals and storytelling.
• Identify and capitalize on real-time engagement opportunities to strengthen brand presence, enhance audience connection, and drive conversation.
• Work closely with the Partner team to leverage influencers and subject matter experts for high-impact content.
• Implement a data-driven approach to social content, analyzing trends, tracking performance, and providing actionable insights that improve marketing effectiveness.
• Manage editorial and content calendars, ensuring the right balance of scheduled and real-time content to maintain relevance and engagement.
• Monitor industry trends, competitors, best practices, and internal sales feedback ensuring the brand remains ahead of social media innovations and opportunities.
• Own testing, campaign builds, reporting, and optimizations, making in-platform adjustments and budget pacing/forecasting decisions for paid social campaigns.
• Contribute to the post-lead journey, leveraging audience insights to nurture social-generated leads through re-engagement strategies, retargeting, and content that drives conversion.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Proven success in managing both organic and paid social media campaigns with a track record of hitting lead and engagement goals.
• Strategic and analytical mindset with experience in performance tracking, reporting, and optimization.
• Creative prowess who thrives on brainstorming and conceptualizing new ways to engage audiences.
• Ability to create compelling content themes and narratives, thinking through multiple angles to present key brand messages in fresh ways.
• Proven success in managing both organic and paid social media campaigns with a track record of hitting lead goals.
• Ability to proactively communicate insights, identify opportunities, and implement strategic improvements.
• Excellent writing, project management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Balance of strong strategic thinking and flawless execution, with impeccable attention to detail.

Education & Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in paid and organic social media marketing, preferably in an agency or in-house performance-driven role.
• Hands-on experience with social media management and analytics tools, preferably Sprout Social.
• Experience working with influencers/creators (and whitelisting) preferred.
• Experience working with/managing global brands and integrating social channels from various countries preferred.
• Basic video and editing skills for quick social video needs preferred.

Key Competencies:

• Proactive and data-driven – Takes ownership of results and continuously seeks optimizations.
• Strategic thinker – Not just an executor but a leader in shaping Sunlighten’s social presence.
• Engagement-focused – Strengthens community interactions and capitalizes on in-the-moment opportunities.
• Performance-oriented – Consistently improves key social media metrics and lead generation outcomes.