Social Media Officer – BBC Media Action

Job Description

BBC Media Action is the international development charity of the BBC.  BBC Media Action is registered as an international non-governmental organisation in Zambia.

BBC Media Action uses media and communications to reduce poverty and promote human rights. To achieve this, BBC Media Action partners with civil society, local media and governments to:

• Produce creative programmes in multi-media formats which inform and engage audiences around key development issues.
• Strengthen the media sector by building professional capacity and infrastructure.

We work in partnership to provide access to useful, timely, reliable information. We help people make sense of events, engage in dialogue, and take action to improve their lives. Our work in Zambia, to effect change, falls into two main thematic areas: governance and health.

We are looking to recruit a full time Social Media Officer to build our on our digital work both in-house and with partners.

The position will be based in Lusaka but will travel frequently within Zambia. They will be part of BBC Media Action’s global team, with opportunities to share knowledge and develop skills.

 Overall Purpose of the Job

The Social Media Officer will play a lead role in developing, implementing, and managing the organization’s social media strategy. This includes creating content, testing innovative formats, support and working with media partners and practitioners, monitoring performance, and ensuring alignment with the overall communication objectives and projects’ goals.

• Creating and managing high-quality, engaging content that aligns with the organisation’s brand identity, supports projects’ goals and reaches youths and other key target audiences effectively.
• Staying updated with industry trends and platform algorithm changes will be essential to optimize engagement and performance.
• Engaging with the online community is another crucial aspect of this role. The officer will monitor and respond to comments, messages, and mentions in a professional and timely manner to foster meaningful interactions.
• Working with and supporting media partners and practitioners across projects is an essential part of the job. This includes training and mentoring, commissioning and supporting producers, community journalists, influencers and partners to produce high quality, innovative and creative content for increased audience reach and engagement.
• Tracking and analysing social media performance will form an integral part of the responsibilities. Using analytics tools, the officer will generate monthly reports with insights and recommendations for improvement.
• Ensuring close planning, implementation and collaboration with all project teams and our research and learning teams to ensure activities are implemented coherently and over-all project activities are met.
• Helping to design and implement our mis & disinformation response and our digital media literacy campaign.
• Helping and on occasion leading on designing, developing, producing, posting and managing informational and awareness raising campaigns on specific topics and themes (e.g. how to vote, how to register etc.)

Essential Knowledge, skills, and experience for Social Media Officer

• A degree in marketing, communication, journalism or a related field is an advantage.
• A proven track record of managing successful social media accounts or campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to produce creative and diverse content for social media (for a youth target group).

• Experience in designing and delivering training modules and/or mentoring is an advantage.
• Ability to conduct work with minimal supervision and good time management skills, with a track record of delivering results to deadline and to a high standard of quality.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in English.

• Strong knowledge of social media platforms, trends, and analytics tools.
• Ability to break down complex governance terms and policies.
• Experience in scripting social media content.
• Ability to support partner radio stations in social media and editorial production.
• Excellent writing, editing, and graphic design skills.
• Familiarity with social media content production tools (e.g. Canva, Cap cut, photoshop).

Interested candidates should send a short motivational letter and an updated CV in one document which clearly states the applicant’s name and the position which is being applied for in the subject line to recruitment@zm.bbcmediaaction.org by Wednesday the 18^th of June 2025 at 17:00 hours.  Only email applications will be accepted.  Interviews scheduled shortly thereafter.  Anticipated start date is 1^st August 2025.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.