Social Media Manager

Ronald James Group; Newcastle upon Tyne; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Ronald James Group is seeking an experienced Social Media Manager to lead organic social across two hair and beauty brands, building authority and engagement with both professional and consumer audiences.

You will manage two Social Media Executives, shape content strategy, collaborate with brand, digital and education teams, and nurture industry communities while reporting on KPIs.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in social media, community or brand-focused roles.
• Experience owning organic social strategy across major platforms.
• Experience leading a small team and mentoring direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Define and own organic social strategy across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
• Establish objectives, content pillars and platform strategies aligned with growth.
• Oversee weekly/monthly content planning for quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with brand, digital and education teams on campaigns.
• Lead strategic direction of social content across in-house and partners.
• Brief and direct shoots, campaigns and activations for social.
• Set visual identity, tone of voice and storytelling standards.
• Ensure content supports paid social, CRM and web activity.
• Develop founder, educator and spokesperson content per brand positioning.

Skills

Social media strategy

People management

Content leadership

Community building

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing or related field

Tools

Instagram

TikTok

Facebook

YouTube

Job description

We’re working with a highly successful, fast-growing business within the beauty sector, with an established presence across both the UK and international markets. Operating across both consumer and professional audiences, the business has built a strong reputation for premium products, exceptional quality and ethical sourcing. With an ambitious growth strategy and an expanding team, this is an exciting opportunity to join the business at a key stage of its development. The company has a collaborative, creative and innovative culture, with a genuine focus on employee wellbeing, sustainability and responsible business practices. This role can be remote, with occasional travel to their office in the North East.

The Role

We’re looking for an experienced Social Media Manager to lead the organic social media strategy across two established hair and beauty brands. This is a social-first, brand-led role with a particular focus on growing brand authority, engagement and community across both professional and consumer audiences. You’ll take ownership of the overall social strategy while managing and developing a team of two Social Media Executives responsible for day-to-day execution. A key part of the role will be building and nurturing the brand’s professional hairdresser and stylist community, creating engaging social-first content and developing meaningful relationships with industry professionals and brand advocates.

Key Responsibilities

Social Media Strategy & Direction

• Define and own the organic social media strategy across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and emerging platforms.
• Establish clear objectives, content pillars and platform strategies aligned with wider brand and growth goals.
• Oversee weekly and monthly content planning to ensure consistency, quality and strategic alignment.
• Collaborate with brand, digital and education teams to ensure social activity supports wider campaigns and business initiatives.

Content Leadership & Storytelling

• Lead the strategic direction of social content across in-house creation, stylists, educators and community-led storytelling.
• Brief and provide creative direction for social-first content shoots, campaigns and activations.
• Establish and maintain standards for visual identity, tone of voice and storytelling across organic social channels.
• Ensure content is created with repurposing in mind, supporting paid social, CRM and web activity where appropriate.
• Support the development of founder, educator and spokesperson content in line with wider brand positioning and thought leadership.

Leadership & Team Management

• Line manages and develops two Social Media Executives.
• Set clear expectations, priorities and objectives across the team.
• Provide ongoing coaching, guidance and feedback to support professional development and consistently high-quality output.
• Establish clear ownership across strategy, leadership and execution to create an efficient and effective social function.

Community, Performance & Reporting

• Develop the approach to community engagement and brand voice across social channels.
• Oversee sentiment monitoring and community insights, identifying advocates, creators and UGC opportunities.
• Own social and community reporting, tracking KPIs across brand growth, engagement and community participation.
• Use performance insights to continually refine content and social strategy.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Report into the senior Brand & Marketing leadership team and work closely with departments across the business.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders on social, content and storytelling initiatives.
• Act as a key internal expert for social media and community activity, providing strategic direction and leadership across the business.

Requirements

• Proven experience within a Social Media, Community or Brand-focused role, ideally within hair, beauty, cosmetics, fashion or a similar consumer-led industry.
• Previous people-management experience, including coaching and developing direct reports.
• Demonstrable experience owning organic social strategy across platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
• A track record of delivering social growth, engagement and measurable brand impact.
• A strong understanding of brand-led, social-first storytelling and the ability to translate brand positioning into engaging and culturally relevant content.
• Experience working with professional, trade or industry communities.
• Experience developing engaged communities, professional networks or brand advocacy programmes.
• The ability to brief, direct and oversee content creation including shoots, campaigns and social activations.