Social Media & Channel Manager

Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO6 £54,267 - £57,402

Contract Type: Full time Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 21/09/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): September - October 2026

Reference: 2255

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:
Reporting to the Senior Media Manager, the primary purpose of the role is to lead, drive and

deliver a strategic, evidence-based and highly engaging approach to social media and other digital channels including e-newsletters and WhatsApp Channels, for the entire council.

You will set up content planning and governance frameworks, ensure that content is timely, relevant, and aligned with council values and objectives. And you will see that our channels are developed and grown according to a highly informed understanding of the audience demographics and behaviours relative to them, with regular community and content audits informing a holistic multi-channel approach.

While not directly responsible for web content you will work with colleagues in the Digital team to develop effective journeys linking engagement based content and static web-based content to a range of resident outcomes.

We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

To maintain and enhance the council’s reputation and deliver resident engagement and resident experience outcomes through a social media approach built of an intimate understanding of audiences and the best means of reaching them.

To develop high quality and award-winning digital engagement plans and strategies that enable the Council to deliver its priorities.

Manage the Social Media Officer and commission and influence content production provided from across the Communications and Campaigns service and beyond.

To set up effective communities of practice, governance frameworks and policies, as well as toolkits and guides to ensure a ‘one council’ approach to social media, newsletters and other channel-based communications delivery.

Qualifications and Requirements:

· Extensive experience knowledge of the use of a wide variety of social media channels and the development of strategies to ensure they are successful

· Extensive experience of managing social media communities and growing them

· Extensive experience and knowledge of how to drive a multichannel ecosystem using a range of drivers and tools including data analytics and social media scheduling tools

· Experience of creating video and infographics for digital platforms and their successful distribution

· Experience of devising and delivering paid-for activities including social media advertising campaigns and paid search (ppc)

· Experience in planning and delivery of integrated communications strategies and activities

· Experience and knowledge of developing communications governance and quality assurance mechanisms, delivering social media effectiveness audits and setting up shared communities of practice

· Experience of providing direct advice and briefing to senior managers and/or elected members on a range of communications matters including reputation issues

· Experience in identifying target audiences and devising digital campaigns that engage, inform and motivate

· Experience in optimising landing pages and user funnels desirable

· Solid knowledge of website analytics tools

· Experience in setting up and optimizing Google Adwords campaigns

· Experience of working across a wide range of communications projects such as campaigns, marketing, stakeholder engagement and events

· Experience of working in a highly pressured environment and delivering results to tight deadlines

· Proven ability to find solutions to communications and engagement challenges and problems and take necessary action

· An understanding of local government, the services provided by local councils, and the responsibilities a council has to its residents

· Excellent writing skills with a clear, concise and lively prose style, and the ability to write for a range of different audiences

· Excellent oral communications skills and the ability to maintain effective relationships at every level of an organisation

· Ability to translate complex information into a clear and approachable format for a wide range of audiences

· Good attention to detail, strong organisational skills and the ability to operate to tight deadlines in highly pressured environments

Terms and conditions:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;

• Satisfactory declaration of interest;

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Nick Dovey, PR & Digital Manager, at nick.dovey@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.

Fraud Awareness Notice
The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).

We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.

If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.

If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to:
fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk