Head of Social

Substack
New York, NY
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have 8+ years in social media and experience leading teams in media or creator-economy spaces.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 8+ years in social media and team leadership experience in media or creator-economy companies
    — “8+ years in social media. Including 3+ years leading teams, ideally at a media, publishing, creator-economy, or consumer technology company.”
  • Individuals who can shape brand storytelling and drive cultural credibility through social channels
    — “turn social into a driver of consumer discovery, creator growth, and cultural credibility.”
  • Candidates who are deeply familiar with multiple social platforms and can judge which stories cut through
    — “Deeply familiar with how platforms work today, from short-form video to text-first feeds, and have the judgment to know which stories can cut through.”

Things to consider

  • The role involves leading a team and setting high standards for both strategy and execution.
    — “Lead the team and the work. Hire, manage, and develop a multidisciplinary social team, and set a high bar for craft and judgment.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience in building recognizable voices and growing audiences on social platforms.
    — “Exceptional Audience Building. A track record of building a recognizable voice and growing an audience on social platforms.”
  • Emphasize your ability to execute large-scale social campaigns and shape brand moments.
    — “Manage proactive storytelling. Turn the brand’s positioning into a consistent point of view across daily posts. Build and execute larger social moments as part of major brand campaigns.”
  • Demonstrate fluency in platform-specific content strategies and cultural relevance.
    — “Fluency in Platforms. Deeply familiar with how platforms work today, from short-form video to text-first feeds, and have the judgment to know which stories can cut through.”
  • Showcase your data-informed approach and ability to measure social impact on business goals.
    — “Measure what matters. Define the metrics that connect social to business outcomes, and report on them to leadership.”
  • Include examples of turning product launches into compelling social narratives.
    — “Product storytelling: Work with product and growth to turn launches and features into stories that travel on relevant social platforms.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • increased brand visibility and creator growth
  • optimized social media campaigns
Typical background
8+ years of experience in social media, including 3+ years in leadership roles

Skills & requirements

Required

Social Media StrategyTeam ManagementContent CreationAudience BuildingData Analysis

Preferred

Product StorytellingRapid Response Strategy

Stack & domain

Social Media StrategySocial Media ManagementSocial Media AnalyticsContent CreationBrand ManagementLeadershipCommunicationTeam ManagementCreative ThinkingMediaPublishingCreator EconomyConsumer Technology

About the role

Original posting from Substack via Ashby

Substack is building a new economic engine for culture, giving the brightest, most interesting, and most creative people on the internet the power of their own publishing platform. Substack empowers independent writers, artists, videographers, podcasters, and creators of all types to create, share, and make a living off their work through subscriptions, while offering them creative freedom, ownership, and a direct connection to their audiences.

We’re looking for a Head of Social to own how Substack shows up on external social channels, and turn social into a driver of consumer discovery, creator growth, and cultural credibility. This is a leadership role on the Brand & Communications team. You will set the vision, hire and develop a small team across social strategy, creative, and community, and stay close enough to the work to shape what ships each day.

The ideal candidate is a creative thinker with deep fluency across social platforms. This person will define Substack's social vision and platform-by-platform strategy, tied to company goals for creator growth, reader acquisition, and brand perception. They will partner with the editorial, partnerships, and product teams to determine which channels make sense for amplifying which moments, in service of promoting creator stories and positioning Substack as the home for great culture.

This role will sit on the Brand & Communications team and will report directly to the Head of Brand & Communications.

Core responsibilities

  • Lead the team and the work. Hire, manage, and develop a multidisciplinary social team, and set a high bar for craft and judgment.
  • Manage proactive storytelling. Turn the brand’s positioning into a consistent point of view across daily posts. Build and execute larger social moments as part of major brand campaigns.
  • Build a rapid response strategy. Build systems and a perspective on rapid response, so the team can effectively move fast and weigh in on stories relevant to the brand.
  • Turn creators into heroes. Partner with the Partnerships & Editorial teams to spotlight the writers, podcasters, and video creators who make Substack distinctive.
  • Product storytelling: Work with product and growth to turn launches and features into stories that travel on relevant social platforms.
  • Measure what matters. Define the metrics that connect social to business outcomes, and report on them to leadership. Use data, testing, and audience insight to decide what to make more of, and what to stop.

About You

  • 8+ years in social media. Including 3+ years leading teams, ideally at a media, publishing, creator-economy, or consumer technology company.
  • Exceptional Audience Building. A track record of building a recognizable voice and growing an audience on social platforms.
  • Strong editorial instincts. Know what makes a post worth sharing, and you can say why a draft isn't there yet. Move quickly, while holding a high bar for excellence.
  • Fluency in Platforms. Deeply familiar with how platforms work today, from short-form video to text-first feeds, and have the judgment to know which stories can cut through.
  • A data-literate approach: Set clear goals, test, and report honestly on what worked. Leverage data to inform strategy, and adjust when things aren’t working.
  • Exceptional Writer and Communicator. Sharp, clear communicator with a strong sense of the voice and tone for the brand.
  • Substack Literate. A genuine interest in independent media and the culture around it. Being a Substack creator is a plus.

Substack offers a competitive compensation package that includes salary, equity, and exceptional benefits. The salary range for this role is $180k-$240k with final offers based on experience and expertise.

Substack is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), age, national origin, veteran or disability status. We’re seeking people passionate about enabling independent expression and building a better business model for creators. If you want to see what media, communities, and content can become when unmoored from advertising models, and you have the skills and experience to contribute, we’d love to meet you.

Please see our Privacy Notice for details regarding Substack's collection and use of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UjmY1acxnd27iIde83PxR7XdecR29aIyfkkmEOwAMGY/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.a0wuzmt3mjmm.

Source: Substack careers (Ashby)

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