Social Media Manager

Loungers ltd; Bristol; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK hospitality operator is looking for a Social Media Manager to define and implement its social media strategy. This role involves creating content, managing community engagement, and coordinating with influencers across its brands. You will have a hands-on approach and a strong focus on driving brand awareness and engagement. A passion for social trends and the ability to coach teams are essential. The role offers various perks, including 28 days holiday and 50% off food.

Benefits

28 days holiday

50% off food

Up to 10% bonus

Pension contribution

Mental health support

Company events

Qualifications

• 4+ years in social media roles, ideally in hospitality or lifestyle brands.
• Strong track record of content creation and editing.
• Experience managing influencers/creators.

Responsibilities

• Define social media strategy and KPIs for brand awareness.
• Create and publish engaging content across social platforms.
• Manage community engagement and train site teams.

Skills

Content creation

Community management

Influencer management

Social media strategy

Customer engagement

Job description

About Us

Loungers is a substantial and growing operator in the UK hospitality sector, operating over 300+ sites in England and Wales across three distinct but complementary brands, Lounges, Cosy Club, and Brightside. Founded in 2002 by three friends who wanted to create a neighbourhood café-bar that they would want to go to, the Group is now the only growing all-day operator of scale in the UK and has consistently outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years. Despite being the fastest growing café/restaurant group in the Country, Loungers has retained its entrepreneurial spirit and quirky 'Loungey' local community atmosphere.

This is a Bristol based role with some travel required around England & Wales.

Purpose of Role

We're looking for a Social Media Manager who lives and breathes social. This role is both strategic and hands-on - defining our social approach across platforms, content pillars, and influencer activity, while also creating, editing, publishing, and engaging day-to-day.

The Social Media Manager will own our branded social handles across Loungers, Cosy Club and Brightside, while also coaching and influencing sites to create high-quality local content. It's a role that spans strategy, content, community management, and influencer marketing, tying closely with PR and with one eye on how organic social fuels paid.

Key Responsibilities

Social Strategy

• Define the role of social within the broader marketing mix, including how we drive awareness, consideration, and conversion.
• Decide which platforms to prioritise and set content pillars that bring our brands to life.
• Benchmark against hospitality competitors and best-in-class social brands, setting clear KPIs.

Content & Publishing

• Lead the content calendar: plan, schedule, and deliver activity across all brands.
• Create, edit, and publish content (copy, video, design tweaks).
• Work with the in-house Studio for larger creative needs.
• Be responsive and flexible - adapting content plans as opportunities and trends arise.

Community Management

• Own daily community engagement across branded handles (comments, DMs).
• Train and coach site teams to create on-brand, engaging local content.
• Provide sites with toolkits and templates (via Canva/Bynder/CapCut) to ensure consistency and quality.

Influencer & Creator Marketing

• Use content creator marketplaces to brief, recruit, and manage influencers/creators.
• Ensure influencer activity ladders up to campaign goals and brand positioning.
• Explore opportunities to amplify UGC through paid (spark ads, boosts).

Measurement & Effectiveness

• Define KPIs for social (reach, engagement, follower growth, content performance, site participation).
• Use benchmarks to measure effectiveness and report back to the business.
• Ensure social activity ties to wider marketing objectives and brand health.

CRM

• Own the CRM calendar
• Build content that ties in with campaigns and moments
• Segment the Airship audiences to tailor communications
• Measure effectiveness and optimise

Integration with Marketing Team

• Partner with the PR Manager to align on Owned + Earned storytelling.
• Collaborate with Paid Media Manager on amplifying organic content into paid.
• Work with Brand Managers to deliver campaign content, and with Community Lead to showcase local initiatives.

Skills & Experience

• 4+ years in social media roles, ideally in hospitality, lifestyle, or consumer brands.
• Strong track record of content creation and editing (short-form video, copy, basic design).
• Confident in community management and customer engagement.
• Experience managing influencers/creators - from briefing to reporting.
• Understanding of social KPIs and benchmarks, with ability to link activity to awareness, consideration, and conversion goals.
• Passionate about social, trends, and brands - able to spot opportunities quickly and creatively.
• Organised and structured, able to own the calendar, but adaptable to the living, breathing nature of social.
• Comfortable balancing big-picture strategy with hands-on execution.
• Excellent communicator and coach, able to influence site teams and maintain consistency across 300+ venues.

Success in this Role Looks Like

• Our branded social handles grow in reach, engagement, and relevance, with content that feels distinctive and on-brand.
• Sites are supported, trained, and confident in creating high-quality local content.
• Influencer partnerships drive awareness and earned reach, with UGC integrated into campaigns.
• Social activity contributes clearly to wider marketing goals - not just vanity metrics.
• Owned and earned activity works seamlessly with PR, and feeds naturally into paid when required.
• Social becomes a core storytelling channel for Loungers, Cosy Club, and Brightside - both consistent and agile.

What’s in it for you?

• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• A culture that appreciates ideas and celebrates individuality
• Founder-led business - we might have c300 sites, but we still maintain an entrepreneurial spirit through everything we do
• 50% off food at all Lounges, Cosy Clubs and Brightsides
• Up to 10% bonus
• Pension contribution
• 24/7 mental health support
• Amazing events including LoungeFest - our annual company festival - Christmas parties and more
• We want to work with nice people so if you want to work hard, have fun and be part of the Loungers ride, we'd love to have you.