Social Media Director: Lead Strategy & Engagement

Alliance Defending Freedom; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 103,000 - 165,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental insurance

401(k) plan with 4% company match

Paid time off

12 paid holidays each year

Job summary

Alliance Defending Freedom seeks a Director of Social Media to lead the organic social presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. Set strategy, oversee a small team, and contribute to content strategy and audience insights.

You will partner with Creative Services, Communications, and Digital Advertising to align paid and organic content, measure KPIs, and drive engagement and brand awareness in a mission-driven nonprofit context.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications or journalism is required.
• 8+ years of social media experience in a large organization or agency.
• 3+ years leading a social media team.
• Expertise in platform algorithms, KPI's and metrics.

Responsibilities

• Own organic social media strategy and platform presence across major networks.
• Contribute platform insights and content performance data to strategy.
• Stay current on platform algorithms and formats to improve performance.
• Define channel-specific content approaches aligned with brand and mission.
• Direct planning, creation, and publishing cadence with the team.
• Collaborate with Creative, Communications, and Digital Advertising on planning.
• Lead and develop in-house social media staff, manage budget and performance.

Skills

Social media strategy

Team leadership

Content planning

Platform analytics

Branding

Project management

Presentation skills

Sprout Social

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications or journalism

Tools

Sprout Social

Job description

Make a difference with us! At Alliance Defending Freedom, we believe God has brought you here for His purpose—to stand for truth and defend the God-given right to live and speak it. Together, we protect religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights. Review our Statement of Faith to ensure we’re a fit for you.

Locations: Scottsdale, AZ / Lansdowne, VA / Dallas, TX

Team Overview

As Sr. Director of Social Media, you are a key member of the Marketing Team responsible for leading ADF's organic social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. You'll set the strategic direction for organic social content, translate platform and audience intelligence into ADF's broader content strategy, and build and lead an in-house team that produces ADF's day-to-day social content — staying close enough to contribute directly when priorities demand.

This role requires someone who thinks at the channel level: fluent in platform behavior, obsessive about content quality, and sharp on what actually drives audience engagement, while working in lockstep with Creative Services, Communications, and Digital Advertising to keep every channel pulling in the same direction.

Social media isn't a side channel at ADF — it's one of the primary ways we advance our mission, build public awareness, and engage the ministry friends who make this work possible. You'll own the quality, voice, and impact of that presence — extending ADF's global digital influence and playing an integral part in the ministry's growth.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Channel Ownership:

• Develop and own ADF's organic social media strategy and platform presence (currently Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn), amplifying brand awareness and growing ADF's share of voice with a clear focus on driving engagement volume, engagement rate, and long-term audience growth.
• Maintain deep, current knowledge of platform algorithms, content formats, and best practices across major social platforms and apply that knowledge to continuously improve content performance.
• Anticipate and capitalize on high-stakes cultural moments, reading the conversation landscape, thinking around the corner, and positioning ADF's voice ahead of emerging narratives rather than reacting to them.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators, reporting on performance regularly to Marketing leadership using data to drive content decisions.
• Own the social media budget, including agency relationships, creator partnerships, and technology.
  
  

Content & Creative Execution

• Direct the planning, creation, and publishing cadence of social media content in collaboration with your direct reports on the social media team.
• Provide creative input and recommendations for social media assets developed in partnership with Creative Services, ensuring content is optimized for platform engagement and consistent with ADF brand standards.
• Personally contribute to content creation and publishing as needed, stepping in to maintain quality and cadence when team capacity requires it.
• Ensure the team maintains an active and consistent community engagement presence -- monitoring comments, responding to followers, and representing ADF's voice across platforms.
  
  

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Lead the strategic partnership with Creative Services and provide creative direction on content production, contributing the audience insights and platform requirements that shape creative decisions and coordinating asset delivery for social distribution.
• Participate in integrated planning with the Digital Advertising team to ensure organic and paid social content are creatively aligned; share content performance insights across both channels to support unified reporting, and surface high-performing organic content as candidates for paid amplification.
• Coordinate with Communications on rapid response priorities and news developments, keeping the social team's efforts on owned platforms timely and complementary.
  
  

Team Leadership

• Lead, supervise, and develop in-house social media team; setting direction, shaping the team's structure, and investing in professional growth.
• Ensure projects are completed with excellence, on time, within budget, and consistent with ADF brand and messaging standards.
• Meet regularly with your Team Members to discuss their progress and complete performance reviews. This also includes approving PTO requests, timecards, and expense reports.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in marketing, communications or journalism.
• 10+ years of experience in social media for a large, complex organization or similar agency experience.
• 5+ years of experience managing a high-performing social media team.
• Deep knowledge of Social Media algorithms and trends for each major social platform, as well as industry standard KPI's and metrics for each platform.
• Proven ability to pivot quickly in response to breaking news, cultural moments, and shifting platform dynamics.
• Advanced knowledge of the marketing funnel and how organic social media plays a role in brand awareness, audience engagement and retention.
• Experience with Sprout Social or other social media management tools.
• Ability to build presentations and present content in a compelling way to large groups.
• Strong project management skills and ability to work under tight deadlines.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Non-profit experience.
• You're already following and engaging with ADF's brand across social platforms, or working in a space relevant to ADF's social presence.
  
  

Pay & Benefits

At Alliance Defending Freedom, we offer a competitive compensation and benefits package to support your well-being and growth. While we do not disclose specific salary ranges, our compensation is competitive with top non-profit law firms. Our benefits include 100% covered medical and dental insurance, medical and dependent care reimbursement, paid disability, long-term care, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan with a 4% company match. We prioritize work-life balance with paid time off and 12 paid holidays each year.

Want to Know More About ADF?

This salary range is reflective of a position based in Lansdowne, VA. This range is a good-faith estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on the candidate’s experience, skills, qualifications, and office location.

Virginia Salary Range

$119,800—$195,400 USD