Social Media Associate

Poetry Foundation is seeking a full-time social media associate. The social media associate plays a key role in collaborating on social media strategy to increase engagement, foster community, grow Poetry magazine audiences, and communicate the work of the Poetry Foundation. This role is part of the Communications team, and reports to the communications manager, collaborating with team members on the to achieve the team’s shared goals. Collaborating closely with Grants, Editorial, Creative, Programs, and IT teams, this role requires a mix of creative content development, cultural fluency, and analytics savvy.

The Poetry Foundation is a hybrid workplace. This position will be in-person at our Chicago offices three days per week, with the option to work from home two days per week.

The Objectives You Will Meet

• Develop, curate, and post content across the Foundation’s multiple social media platforms (e.g, . Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube) in alignment with strategic efforts;;
• Produce social media content (e.g., short-form video, audiograms, behind-the-scenes features).
• Plan and execute social media campaigns in support of the Foundation’s philanthropic, editorial, and programmatic initiatives;
• Monitor and respond to social media interactions, building a vibrant and inclusive social media community;
• Manage relationships and workstreams with external content creators (e.g., poets who appear in social media content);
• Track performance analytics and prepare reports monthly and upon request to inform strategy;
• Create content calendars and maintain a consistent brand voice and visual identity;
• Collaborate on strategies to convert social media engagement into Poetry magazine subscriptions and community interest;
• Stay current with social media trends, tools, and best practices, especially within arts and culture spaces;
• Occasional travel locally or domestically to produce content for social media, inclusive of video.

Who You Are

A well matched candidate will bring the following skills to the role:

• 3+ years of experience managing professional social media accounts (internships included);
• 2+ years of experience collaborating with teams in a corporate or nonprofit environment;
• 1+ year of video production (story development, filming, and editing)
• Demonstrated success in growing digital audiences and engagement;
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills—especially short-form content;
• Creative skills to utilize existing branded templates and create collateral in design tools (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, and Figma);
• Strong organizational and time management skills;
• Deep collaboration skills in a team environment,
• Experience with social media management tools (e.g., Sprout Social, HootSuite, Cision) and analytics tools (e.g., Meta Insights, Google Analytics);
• Committed to promoting equity, access, and underrepresented voices in the literary field;
• Familiarity with poetry, literary culture, and/or arts nonprofit communications a plus.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? The Poetry Foundation is dedicated to building an inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or a future position!

If you are an interested candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at hr@poetryfoundation.org if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Poetry Foundation values the perspectives and talents of a diverse staff and is committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and employs personnel without regard to race, color, age, pregnancy, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, veteran status, marital status, disability, or any other bases protected by law.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For priority consideration, please apply by March 31, 2026.

How We Invest In You

Please note that the provisions of the benefit plan are subject to change.

• Health Insurance: Medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurance are available to full-time employees. The Foundation also offers short- and long-term disability, as well as life insurance.
• Retirement Plan: After six months of service, the Foundation will contribute 10% of the employee’s regular salary to the employee’s retirement plan account and the employee must contribute 5% of their regular salary. All employees may contribute non-matched pre-tax earnings at any time.
• Paid Time Off: All full-time employees are eligible for vacation days, sick days, floating holidays, and personal days. The Foundation is closed for 11 holidays per calendar year. Foundation staff also enjoy a paid holiday week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.
• FSA Benefits: Full-time employees have the opportunity to set aside pre-tax dollars for a Healthcare FSA, dependent care, transit expense, and parking expenses.
• Technology: All employees are provided with the hardware needed to perform their duties. This includes a laptop and accessories.
• All employees receive a complimentary subscription to Poetry magazine, special borrowing privileges from the non-circulating library collection, and access to Poetry Foundation events.