Director, Social Media
$193k - $265k USD
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg to harness the power of technology to pursue some of society’s most ambitious goals — from curing or preventing all disease to transforming how students learn.
At CZI, you’ll join a deeply collaborative, mission-driven community where your work helps drive breakthroughs across our flagship nonprofit organizations, Biohub and Learning Commons. Whether enabling scientific breakthroughs via open science and AI-powered biology or strengthening the tools teachers and students rely on every day, your contributions help turn bold ideas into real-world impact.
Our teams operate at the intersection of innovation and scale, building the infrastructure, partnerships, and capabilities that allow scientists, educators, and innovators to tackle some of the most complex challenges of our time — and to do so with urgency, integrity, and optimism.
The Team
The Operations team is a key partner in enabling Biohub’s pioneering work to combine frontier AI with frontier biology to solve disease and Learning Commons’ mission to build AI infrastructure that aligns how students learn with the tools that shape their learning experiences.
Operations includes our Central Tech, Finance, Marketing & Communications, People, and Real Estate / Workplace / Events / Facilities / Security (REWFS) teams. Together, these teams create the systems, programs, and experiences that empower our partners and colleagues across Biohub and Learning Commons to drive impact.
This work requires strategic and operational rigor, creativity, and deep collaboration. Whether designing world-class employee experiences, safeguarding data and infrastructure, or shaping how we communicate our impact, Operations plays a critical role in helping deliver meaningful change at scale.
The Opportunity
The Director, Social Media will shape how our mission shows up in the world. This is a leadership role for a strategic, creative storyteller who can translate complex, technical work into clear, compelling content that resonates with our audiences—from scientists and AI researchers to educators as well as the broader public.
You will set the vision for CZI’s social presence, lead a high‑performing team, and partner closely across communications, marketing, Biohub, and Learning Commons to bring our work to life. This role reports to the VP, Marketing & Operations and is part of the Marketing & Communications organization.
What You'll Do
- Set and lead a clear, cohesive social media strategy aligned with Biohub’s and Learning Commons’ priorities and audiences.
- Oversee the creation of high‑quality, social‑first content—especially video—that makes complex ideas accessible, accurate, and engaging.
- Shape narratives around scientific and technical work, ensuring clarity without oversimplification.
- Support our founders, executives and internal thought leaders in building an authentic, effective social presence.
- Guide community engagement and risk management, fostering constructive conversation and protecting organizational credibility.
- Partner with internal teams and external agencies to deliver integrated campaigns across social, email, web, events, and other channels.
- Build and maintain relationships with relevant creators, influencers, and partners to extend reach and impact.
- Use data and insights to evaluate performance, refine strategy, and demonstrate impact.
- Stay ahead of platform shifts and emerging formats, testing new approaches with intention.
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of social media professionals.
- Travel occasionally for events, meetings, or on‑location content production.
What You'll Bring
- 10+ years of experience in social media or digital storytelling, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
- Demonstrated success turning complex or technical topics into engaging content for multiple audiences.
- Experience leading influencer/content creator strategy and execution
- Deep understanding of major social platforms, audience behavior, and evolving best practices.
- Exceptional editorial judgment and storytelling skills across formats, with strong experience in video.
- Experience working with cross‑functional partners and managing external agencies.
- Comfort using data to guide decisions and measure impact.
- A people‑centered leadership style and experience building strong, collaborative teams.
- Experience with science, research, education, or similarly complex subject matter is strongly preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
Compensation
The Redwood City, CA base pay range for a new hire in this role is $193,000-$265,000. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.
Better Together
As we grow, we’re excited to strengthen in-person connections and cultivate a collaborative, team-oriented environment. This role is a hybrid position requiring you to be onsite for at least 60% of the working month, approximately 3 days a week, with specific in-office days determined by the team’s manager. The exact schedule will be at the hiring manager's discretion and communicated during the interview process.
Benefits for the Whole You
We’re thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make all we do possible.
- Provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
- Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
- Funding for select family-forming benefits.
- Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving
If you’re interested in a role but your previous experience doesn’t perfectly align with each qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply as you may be the perfect fit for this or another role.
#LI-Hybrid
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