Social Media Manager / Editor

Job title: Social Media Manager/Editor

Reports to: Senior Director of Marketing & Communications

Location: Fort Collins, CO (hybrid) or within the continental U.S. (remote); preference for applicants within the Mountain time zone

FLSA status: Exempt, regular full-time

Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Salary range: Typical starting range for a new employee in this role is $57,500 - $62,745/annually

NOTE: A digital portfolio is a required component of the job application.

Organization Description

Established in 1963, the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) is a 501(c) non-profit organization. In collaboration with academic partner Colorado State University, ISE delivers the Semester at Sea® (SAS) program, one of the longest operating higher education study abroad programs. Semester at Sea® provides its students a global comparative education through classroom and experiential learning in the field. The Semester at Sea® floating campus, the MV World Odyssey, carries around 550 students plus faculty, staff, and others. The duration of the semester voyage is typically 105 days, including visits to 8- 10 countries. ISE conducts two semester voyages annually. See semesteratsea.org for more information.

Organization Mission

Journeys of discovery that spark bold solutions to global challenges

Position Description

The Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) | Semester at Sea seeks a Social Media Manager/Editor to elevate the visibility, credibility, and reach of our global experiential education program across all online platforms. The manager drives our overarching social strategy, oversees multichannel execution, builds influencer and creator partnerships, and ensures content reflects both current social trends and our brand’s academic integrity, mission, and quality standards.

We seek a communications professional who deeply understands social media as part of a full-funnel marketing and communications ecosystem—someone who learns from current literature and best practices, builds audience and content strategies from data, produces content to drive SEO and AEO (answer-engine optimization) outcomes, and ensures every piece of content supports our enrollment, reputation, and institutional goals. The Manager/Editor will also lead engagement with our social media audiences, ensuring we thoughtfully interact with them and participate on public platforms such as Reddit, where authentic engagement and public relations efforts are a necessity.

The Social Media Manager/Editor hires, motivates, and mentors a full-time Social Media Coordinator who, along with a team of student assistants, sails onboard our ship and builds and posts content, ensuring alignment between home office strategy and voyage-based content production. The Manager/Editor also partners closely with the Digital Content Producer and each Voyage Videographer to ensure high-quality, high-performing video and multimedia assets are used on top platforms.

The Manager/Editor serves as editor for our News from the Helm Blog, curating or creating bi-weekly content that is intended to answer commonly asked questions, announce and promote new initiatives, and help our website routinely appear in LLM and search results related to study abroad, global engagement, and retirement travel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (see full job description in application link via ADP)

The individual in this position must be able to perform the essential duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodation:

Strategy & Channel Management (30%)

Content Production, Testing, & Editorial Management (25%)

Shipboard Social Media Team Management & Coordination (25%)

Analytics, Reporting & Optimization (10%)

Influencer & Creator Partnerships (5%)

Brand Stewardship & Public Relations Support (5%)

Additional Duties and Responsibilities (see full job description in ADP application system)

Minimum Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, media, digital strategy, or related field
• 3+ years of progressively responsible social media management experience for a consumer products brand, higher education, nonprofit, travel, or mission-driven global organization
• Portfolio showing strong social writing and editing excellence
• Experience supervising staff
• Deep knowledge of short-form video, TikTok-native storytelling, and cross-platform audience behaviors
• Strong understanding of analytics dashboards (Meta, TikTok, YouTube Studio, Sprout, Hootsuite, Later, or similar)
• Experience in Adobe Creative Suite Products (especially Photoshop, Premiere, and InDesign)
• Familiarity with website development software (primarily WordPress)
• Familiarity with project management systems such as Monday.com or Trello (ISE uses Monday); manage and track assigned projects in a timely and efficient manner
• Support the mission of ISE; reflecting ISE values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the SAS commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Experience negotiating or managing influencer partnerships.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Experience in long-term social media strategy and execution
• Familiarity with tenets of SEO and AEO-related content optimization and using data to inform content and posting plans
• Familiarity with paid social, retargeting, and advertising creative development
• Experience with international education, study abroad, nonprofit, or mission-driven programs
• Familiarity with safety considerations and risk management in public social storytelling
• Experience working with distributed/remote teams or creative teams in unconventional environments (e.g., shipboard, field staff, travel environments)
• Knowledge of SEO strategies
• Familiarity with Google Analytics
• Video production and photography experience
• Design experience (using Adobe Creative Suite)

Working Conditions

• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) position. Days of work and hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• During active voyages, work outside of business hours will be required in order to manage shipboard Social Media Coordinator
• Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand
• This position requires work performed in an office environment
• Travel domestically and internationally may be required once to twice a year for up to two weeks Travel may include time spent on a moving ship in the ocean, with little to no internet access at times

Physical Requirements of the Job

• The majority of work time requires sitting, bending at neck, waist, legs and arms; twisting body; and changing positions at will. Occasional standing, walking, stooping, bending, kneeling, and reaching
• Requires repetitive motions with hands and fingers, such as keyboarding, use of telephones, cell phones, etc.
• Requires close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus
• Work requires close attention to detail and accuracy, and varies in nature with periodic interruptions
• Computer and phone work at a desk for the majority of the day

Compensation

• starting range for a new employee in this role is $57,500 - $62,745/annually
• medical, dental, and vision insurance
• life insurance
• retirement contributions
• paid time off/leave
• summer hours & weeklong office closure in summer 2026
• 12 paid holidays in 2026
• wellness program
• tech stipend
• LinkedIn Learning

Application Deadline: Please submit your application on or before Monday, December 29, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST . Rest assured, every application submitted by the posted application deadline will be fully and carefully considered. Please note that submitting early does not confer any advantage, nor does reaching out directly, being referred, or having personal connections within the company.

Application Advice

• Use Google Chrome as your web browser. It interfaces with ADP better than other web browsers.
• Please complete and save your prepared documents in advance of beginning the online ADP application.
• Allow plenty of time to complete the application, upload materials, and submit the application.
• Work cannot be saved; applicants cannot return to in-progress applications at a later time.
• Once an application has been submitted, it cannot be altered or changed.

Application Instructions

To receive full consideration, please submit your application materials as follows:

• Submit both a cover letter and resume ; your cover letter should address your interest in the position and your qualifications as aligned with the requirements of the position.
• Submit your cover letter and resume as a single PDF file , not as a Word document or other file type.
• Save your PDF document with the file name that leads with your last name, for example, Smith,J_SocMediaMgr , and upload to the “Resume” option.
• A link to your digital portfolio is required within the application form; your portfolio should include the social accounts you have managed and links to publications, websites, and/or blogs that demonstrate your copy editing experience.

Failure to submit your application according to any or all of the above criteria may limit consideration for the position.

Please direct your application questions and position-specific questions to Human Resources at

humanresources@isevoyages.org

. Please, no phone calls.

The Institute for Shipboard Education|Semester at Sea® is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage anyone, regardless of race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, or any other classification protected by law, to apply.