Reports to: Vice President of Communications

Department: Communications

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

About the Central Park Conservancy

Central Park is one of the world's most famous and beloved urban public spaces. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1857, the 843-acre Park was the country's first purpose-built public park and is a National Historic Landmark. The Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1980 to rescue the Park, which had fallen into serious disrepair. Since then, the Conservancy has overseen the investment of approximately $1 billion in the restoration of the Park, and now hosts over 40 million visitors a year.

The Conservancy's mission is to preserve and celebrate Central Park as a sanctuary from urban life. The City of New York has formally entrusted the care of the Park to the Conservancy, which is responsible for every aspect of its care, including landscape maintenance, capital improvements, and the visitor experience. Committed to sharing the best practices in urban park management, the Conservancy also serves as a resource for other NYC parks and public-private partnerships worldwide. The Conservancy employs roughly 400 people and has an operating budget of $100 million.

Job Summary:

The Central Park Conservancy is seeking a full-time Director of Social Media to tell creative stories that advance the mission and brand awareness of the Conservancy.

With an experienced understanding of social media platforms, production and editing, and analytics, this person will oversee strategic social campaigns to support institutional initiatives, develop content to refine the Conservancy’s social “voice,” and manage real-time public engagement. Reporting to the Vice President of Communications, the ideal candidate will possess strong writing skills with an eye for creative visual design, work seamlessly within a collaborative, fast-paced team, and have a genuine love for Central Park.

Responsibilities:

• Manage and develop the Conservancy’s social media voice across all platforms to tell the organization’s story and spotlight its staff’s role as the foremost experts who care for Central Park
• Strategize, develop, and execute social media strategy and content creation across channels; produce and edit videos; oversee the social media content calendar setting targets and timelines for key initiatives, content production, and engagement
• Oversee and mentor a small, tight-knit team to execute social strategy and day-to-day operations; manage third-party vendors and partnerships
• Collaborate with the wider Engagement and Experience team on cross-platform messaging to ensure alignment across all public-facing platforms; engage colleagues across the Park to tell their stories and spotlight their work
• Own daily community management across all platforms, including responding to inquiries, collaborating with partners, and leveraging evergreen and social trends
• Partner with the Director of Marketing to ideate and execute, as needed, paid media and influencer strategies
• Track key performance metrics across platforms to maximize performance and inform strategy; collaborate with the digital analytics team to develop actionable reports and analysis on social media performance

Requirements:

• Minimum of 6-8 years of increasingly progressive social media strategy, team management responsibilities, content production, and crisis management skills
• Possess excellent knowledge of current social media platforms, Microsoft Office, Sprout Social, Adobe Analytics and Creative suite, and other digital productivity tools, including photo and basic video editing
• Demonstrate superb verbal and written communication skills, including robust experience interacting with the public online, interviewing community members, and ability to collaborate with hundreds of colleagues across the organization
• Understand latest social trends, moments, and digital landscape to creatively identify where the Conservancy can enhance its voice and reach new audiences
• Manage a small yet robust team of social media experts, including working nonstandard hours (holidays and weekends)
• Undergraduate degree (preferably in Communications, Journalism, Marketing or equivalent)

Salary range: $112K - $139K (based on experience)

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION:

The Central Park Conservancy’s work is guided by the belief that Central Park, and all public parks, must be managed and actively protected as an inclusive and democratic space for all.

Working closely with our New York City partners, we will always strive towards creating and sustaining a sense of belonging for all visitors and advocating for equitable and accessible public use of the Park.

In service of this belief, we are committed to fostering a workforce and organizational culture that is as diverse as Central Park itself and the dynamic city it serves.

Safety Requirements:

Establishment and maintenance of a safe work environment is the shared responsibility of this organization and employees at every level. The Conservancy will make every effort to ensure a safe environment and follow federal, state, and local safety regulations. Employees are expected to obey safety rules and to exercise caution in all their work activities. Accordingly, employees should be aware of any hazards which could cause an injury or accident (e.g., spills, obstacles in walkways, etc.). If an employee discovers a potentially dangerous condition, he/she/they should alert other employees and notify his/her/their supervisor immediately.

Disclaimer:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.