Senior Social Media Executive
Location: Chobham, Surrey. Office based. We work collaboratively as a team and believe being together in the office is important, but we offer sensible flexibility for appointments and occasional personal commitments.
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Reporting to: Head of Social
Salary: £31,000 to £34,000 per annum depending on experience
Please note: Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
About Motive
Motive is a marketing agency delivering strategic, creative and digital marketing solutions for ambitious brands across a wide range of sectors. We become an extension of our clients' teams, combining strategic thinking with exceptional delivery across branding, websites, digital marketing, social media, design, video and content.
Our culture is built around five values: Be clear. Own it. Raise each other. Stay curious. Bring energy. We believe in taking responsibility, supporting one another, continuously improving and creating an environment where people enjoy producing their best work together.
The role
As a Senior Social Media Executive, you will take significant ownership of the planning, creation, delivery and optimisation of social media activity across a portfolio of client accounts. You will still be hands-on with content and delivery, but will have greater responsibility for shaping activity, identifying opportunities, interpreting performance and making recommendations rather than simply delivering against an agreed plan.
You will be a confident day-to-day contact for clients, trusted to manage your accounts responsibly and bring ideas to the table. You will also support less experienced members of the team, sharing knowledge and helping maintain high standards, without necessarily having formal line management responsibility.
Key responsibilities
Campaign planning and content delivery
- Take ownership of social media planning and delivery across allocated client accounts.
- Translate wider client objectives and agreed strategies into effective social media plans and campaigns.
- Lead content ideation and develop creative, platform-appropriate ideas across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, YouTube and other relevant channels.
- Write and review high-quality social copy, adapting confidently between different brands, audiences and sectors.
- Brief designers, videographers and other specialists clearly, ensuring creative output is social-first and delivers against the objective.
- Manage scheduling and publishing across allocated accounts, ensuring activity is accurate, timely and appropriately approved.
- Maintain a strong understanding of platform best practice and proactively recommend changes where opportunities arise.
Strategy and optimisation
- Contribute to the development of client social media strategies alongside the Head of Social.
- Use audience, competitor and performance insight to inform recommendations rather than relying solely on established content plans.
- Identify opportunities to improve content, channels, formats and campaign activity.
- Understand the relationship between social activity and wider client marketing and commercial objectives.
- Bring new ideas, trends and platform developments to the team and assess where they are genuinely relevant for our clients.
Client relationships
- Act as a confident day-to-day social media contact for allocated clients.
- Lead discussions around content plans, performance and recommendations within client meetings.
- Manage approvals, feedback and routine client queries proactively and professionally.
- Build a strong understanding of each client's business, audience and wider marketing activity.
- Identify opportunities to add value or expand activity and raise these appropriately with the Head of Social or Account Manager.
- Handle issues calmly and use good judgement about when something needs to be escalated.
Reporting, insight and performance
- Own regular reporting for allocated accounts using native analytics and relevant reporting tools.
- Interpret data and turn it into clear, useful recommendations for clients and the wider team.
- Look beyond headline engagement figures to understand what is driving performance and what should change as a result.
- Monitor agreed KPIs and understand how social activity contributes to wider client objectives.
- Use performance insight to continuously improve content planning and delivery.
Community management and brand reputation
- Execute community management across allocated accounts, ensuring comments, messages and mentions are handled appropriately.
- Make sound decisions around sensitive or reputational issues and escalate where necessary.
- Identify audience sentiment, recurring themes and opportunities arising from community interaction.
- Ensure brand tone of voice is maintained consistently across public-facing interactions.
Content shoots and campaigns
- Plan and coordinate social-led content shoots, including concepts, shot lists and content requirements.
- Take an active role in capturing social-first photography and short-form video where appropriate.
- Work with the wider creative team to ensure content is planned efficiently and assets can be used effectively across channels.
- Support live social coverage at client events and campaigns where required.
Supporting the team
- Support Junior Social Media Executive and Social Media Executive with day-to-day questions and practical guidance.
- Review work where appropriate and provide clear, constructive feedback.
- Share platform knowledge, trends, examples and learning with the wider team.
- Work collaboratively with account management, design, video, development and other disciplines to deliver integrated campaigns.
- Take responsibility for your own development and identify areas where you need to strengthen your knowledge or skills.
What we're looking for
- Around three years' experience in social media or digital marketing, ideally within an agency or multi-client environment.
- Strong experience independently managing social media activity across multiple brands or accounts.
- Excellent copywriting skills and the ability to adapt tone of voice confidently between different clients.
- Good understanding of organic social strategy and how content contributes to wider marketing and commercial objectives.
- Experience using performance data to make meaningful recommendations and improve activity.
- Confidence presenting ideas, plans and results to clients.
- Experience planning and coordinating social-first content shoots.
- Strong working knowledge of platforms including Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube.
- Experience with social media management and reporting tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Meta Business Suite.
- Highly organised, commercially aware and able to manage competing deadlines without losing attention to detail.
- Good judgement and the confidence to make decisions, while knowing when something needs to be escalated.
- A collaborative approach and willingness to support less experienced colleagues.
- Genuine curiosity about social media, technology, AI, audience behaviour and the wider marketing landscape.
- A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle due to our location and occasional travel to client meetings, shoots and events.
What success looks like
- You take genuine ownership of your accounts and can be trusted to keep activity moving without close supervision.
- Clients see you as a knowledgeable and dependable member of their marketing team.
- You don't just report what happened, you explain why it matters and what we should do next.
- You consistently bring ideas and identify opportunities to improve client activity.
- Your work is accurate, organised, commercially aware and delivered on time.
- You support colleagues and contribute positively to the team's performance.
- You demonstrate Motive's values through the way you work, communicate and take responsibility.
- You are developing the strategic, commercial and leadership capability required to progress towards Social Media Manager.
Other benefits
- Annual discretionary bonus
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays
- Your birthday off when it falls on a working day
- Benefits package, including employer pension contributions and healthcare
- Professional development support and training budget
- Friendly, ambitious team with a strong agency culture and regular social activities
- Opportunities to grow into a more senior role as the team expands
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £31,000.00-£34,000.00 per year
Application question(s):
- This is an office-based agency role in Chobham because much of our work is collaborative and involves working closely with social, account management, design and video colleagues. What appeals to you about working in this type of environment?
- Are you currently based within a reasonable daily commuting distance of Chobham, Surrey, and able to attend our Chobham office Monday to Friday?
- Do you hold a valid UK driving licence and have reliable access to a vehicle for travelling to our Chobham office and occasional client locations?
- Do you currently have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship from Motive Agency?
- How many years of professional social media or digital marketing experience do you have?
- Which best describes your professional social media experience?
I have independently managed social media for multiple client accounts/brands
I have managed social media for one brand or organisation
I have supported others managing social media accounts
My experience is mainly through my own/personal social channels
Work Location: In person
