Associate Director, Social Media, Sports

Sinclair, Inc. is looking for a passionate and experienced Associate Director, Social Media, Sports to lead the overall strategy, development, and growth of social content related to its sports podcasting division. This high-profile leadership role will focus on building strong brand identities for each show, amplifying the unique voices of the talent, while crafting tailored strategies to grow highly engaged audiences across all platforms. This position will sit at the intersection of creative content development and marketing, managing an existing portfolio, while leading the development and ongoing strategy for new shows. 

The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of experience leading social media and digital content strategy across sports and/or entertainment verticals. They will have the creative vision to develop exciting brands that engage audiences, combined with the technical expertise to execute bringing it all to life. Experiencing leveraging podcasting and/or long-form content is highly encouraged. 

What You’ll Do:

• Lead all development and execution of both short-term and long-term social strategies that drives audience growth, discoverability, brand awareness, and revenue across Sinclair’s portfolio of sports podcasts. 
• Develop and execute multi-platform social strategies for both new and existing podcasts that go beyond show clips. Create franchises leveraging both in-show and show-adjacent content to engage and grow audiences.
• Collaborate on the creative vision and strategies for new shows on social. Build audience profiles, develop voice/tone, create a content roadmap and audience engagement strategy, and work with talent, show producers, social strategists, and creatives to build a successful show brand from scratch.
• Hire, lead, and mentor a team of social strategists and creatives, fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, and collaboration that raises the bar on content creation. Build a clear department vision, set team and individual goals, and lead the department to deliver on objectives.
• Partner closely with the sales teams to seamlessly integrate brand partnerships and sponsorship elements into social content. Develop new and innovative new revenue strategies leveraging both talent and show social channels. 
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with high-profile talent, helping them optimize their social presence to grow their individual and show brands. Understand how to leverage their existing followings to organically create new franchises.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve workflows and efficiency. Develop and implement new processes that increase productivity and drive results across all channels.
• In partnership with marketing, create end-to-end community engagement strategies and fully integrate social in the brand strategic marketing plans. 
• Execute high-level strategies leveraging Sinclair’s vast content distribution channels to organically grow shows and bringing in new, engaged audiences.
• Leverage data, analytics, and other insights to inform content strategy and creative decisions. Track KPIs and prepare reports and presentations for talent, senior leadership, and external partners to demonstrate impact and suggest improvements.
• Collaborate directly with marketing teams to develop strategies and support execution of both paid and organic social campaigns, aligning both sides and creating synergies to drive show growth. 
• Study strategies of competitors, stay atop industry trends, and be an expert on new platforms, products, and methods to ensure Sinclair stays ahead of the curve.

Who You Are:

• 10+ years of experience leading social media and digital content strategy, preferably across large-scale brands leveraging high-profile talent. Proven track record of innovation, creative content development, and strong audience growth. 
• 5+ years team management experience, demonstrating strong leadership skills and the ability to set clear goals, prioritize projects, and push teams to perform at a high level.
• A strong passion for and deep knowledge of the sports, entertainment, and media landscapes both domestically and globally. 
• Expert-level understanding of social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook), their algorithms, and how content plays differently on each.
• Ability to bring creative ideas to life, from concept to execution. Experience with motion and still graphics, video production, and designing social-first content that drives engagement. Experience working with external agencies is preferred.
• Strong analytical skills mixed with creative intuition, leveraging internal and external data to measure performance, drive content decisions, and inform future strategies or adjustments.