Head of Social Media

Wessex Water Services; Bath; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 20%

25 days' holiday (28 with service)

Healthcare package

Life assurance

Car lease via salary sacrifice

Volunteer day

Enhanced family leave

Job summary

YTL UK is seeking an experienced Interim Head of Social Media to lead the social media function across its Group, including Wessex Water, YTL UK and YTL Construction UK. You will drive strategy, content and governance while guiding a small team and partnering with senior stakeholders.

You will shape social media performance, develop employee advocacy, and manage paid activity to deliver measurable outcomes across multiple brands and channels.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent professional experience in communications, PR, marketing or digital media.
• Significant experience delivering social media strategies in large organisations.
• Proven ability to lead high-performing teams and manage stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and delivery of the Group's social media strategy across brands and channels.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leaders, including executive profiling and thought leadership.
• Identify opportunities on emerging platforms and audience insights.
• Oversee planning and delivery of engaging social-first content and campaigns.
• Lead social media communications during incidents, maintaining governance and brand standards.
• Develop employee advocacy to amplify group stories.
• Build relationships across communications, marketing, HR and customer services.
• Coach and develop the social media team and embed best practice.
• Oversee community management, audience engagement and sentiment monitoring.
• Manage paid social activity, budgets and performance with data-driven optimisations.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Hands-on delivery

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Influencing skills

Budget management

Social media strategy

Analytics

Crisis communications

Education

Degree in Communications or related field

Tools

Hootsuite

Sprout Social

Brandwatch

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and strategic communications professional to join YTL UK as Interim Head of Social Media on a 12-month maternity cover contract.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead and shape social media activity across a diverse portfolio of businesses, including Wessex Water, YTL UK and YTL Construction UK.

Reporting to the Group Director of Corporate Affairs, you will be responsible for delivering a coordinated, high-performing social media function that enhances reputation, supports business objectives and drives audience engagement across the YTL UK Group of companies.

You will lead a small team and work with senior stakeholders across multiple businesses, providing expert advice on social media strategy, content, governance, paid campaigns, reputation management and emerging social media opportunities.

What you'll do

As Interim Head of Social Media, you'll lead and shape the social media strategy for YTL UK and its Group companies, ensuring a consistent and engaging presence that supports business objectives, strengthens reputation and delivers measurable impact.

Working closely with senior leaders and communications teams, you'll identify opportunities to grow audiences, enhance engagement and maximise the value of social media across the organisation.

You will:

• lead the development and delivery of the Group's social media strategy, ensuring activity supports business objectives, protects reputation and drives engagement
• provide strategic advice and support to senior leaders and stakeholders, including executive profiling and thought leadership opportunities
• identify opportunities through emerging platforms, trends, technologies and audience insights to continually enhance social media performance
• oversee the planning and delivery of engaging social-first content and integrated campaigns across multiple brands and channels, ensuring a consistent and effective approach
• lead social media communications during incidents and reputational issues, maintaining governance, brand standards and best practice
• develop employee advocacy opportunities that enable colleagues to share and amplify stories from across the Group
• build strong relationships with stakeholders across communications, marketing, HR, customer services and operational teams to drive collaboration and knowledge sharing
• lead, coach and develop the social media team, while supporting social media practitioners across the Group to embed best practice and continuous improvement
• oversee community management, audience engagement and customer conversations, monitoring sentiment and emerging issues to identify risks and opportunities
• manage paid social activity, budgets and performance, using data and insights to optimise results, demonstrate value and provide recommendations to senior stakeholders.

What you'll need

We're looking for someone who combines strategic thinking with hands‑on delivery and thrives in a fast‑paced communications environment.

You’ll have:

• a degree-level qualification in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, Digital Media or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience
• significant experience developing and delivering social media strategies within a complex organisation
• experience leading and developing high‑performing teams, alongside strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
• experience delivering integrated social media and communications campaigns, including paid social activity and budget management
• strong knowledge of social media management, listening and reporting tools, such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Brandwatch or equivalent
• excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to advise and influence senior stakeholders
• strong analytical and project management skills, with the ability to use data and insights to inform decisions, manage multiple priorities and deliver measurable outcomes
• a strong understanding of social media governance, accessibility, reputation management and crisis communications
• knowledge of current and emerging social media platforms, trends and technologies
• the ability to work effectively under pressure and adapt to changing priorities.

A full UK driving licence is required for this role.

What you'll receive

• A combined pension contribution of up to 20%.
• Career progression and professional development opportunities.
• 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service.
• The opportunity to sell up to five days of holiday every year.
• The opportunity to buy up to ten days of holiday each year (subject to conditions).
• A healthcare package that allows you to claim back healthcare costs.
• Life assurance of up to eight times your salary.
• The opportunity to lease a new electric car through salary sacrifice (subject to conditions).
• Cashback and discounts from more than 3,000 retailers.
• One paid volunteering day each year.
• Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements.
• Access to an interactive health and wellbeing platform.
• Support from trained mental health first aiders.
• A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend someone who is successfully recruited by us.

Who we are

YTL UK is part of the international YTL Group based in Kuala Lumpur. The UK companies include:

• Wessex Water - one of the top-performing water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.9 million people across the South West
• YTL Developments - a major UK developer currently redeveloping a 450-acre former airfield into an award-winning, exciting mix of houses, apartments, schools, commercial space, restaurants and hotels, to make a truly sustainable new community
• YTL Construction UK - a top 20 UK contractor providing fully integrated services to infrastructure, residential, commercial, industry, energy and environmental sectors
• YTL Live - the development and operation of an entertainment complex that includes a 20,000 capacity arena, conferencing and exhibition space
• plus a number of other retail, environmental and specialist businesses.

Our people tell us that YTL UK is a great place to work, which is why so many of them stay with us! You will have a unique opportunity to develop and progress your career within such a diverse group.

We are passionate about diversity and inclusion - with that in mind, all applicants are welcome. We are delighted to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are a Disability Confident Employer.

If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please inform a member of our Recruitment team.