Social Media Communication Specialist

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $15 – $17 starting, depending on experience

Reports to: Senior Manager – Community Engagement 

Work Location: Onsite

Company Overview

Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC) is a dynamic and progressive humane society in contract with Hamilton County to deliver exceptional animal services to our community. We enforce animal laws and prioritize public safety while striving to be a community resource providing education and support to the people and animals of Hamilton County. We value our team of compassionate, open-minded and resilient staff and volunteers who make it possible to care for 8,000 animals each year. We believe that lifesaving is a community ethic and implement a collaborative, holistic approach to animal sheltering and Dog Warden services.

Position Summary

Cincinnati Animal CARE is seeking a dynamic and driven Social Media Communications Specialist who is passionate about animal welfare and storytelling. This person is not only fluent in the language of likes, shares, and reels, but is also deeply connected to the human-animal bond and the impact of community engagement. They’ll be the voice behind the screen, turning everyday moments into powerful narratives that drive awareness, engagement, and action.

The Social Media Communications Specialist is responsible for collaborating, supporting, and communicating the public-facing messaging of the organization through social media platforms. This additionally includes but is ot limited to public relations, traditional and new media, event planning, and execution, and facilitating communications across departments.

Ideal Candidate Traits:

  • Social Media Savvy: Always ahead of the curve when it comes to trends, tools, and platform features. They love experimenting with new content types and understand the nuance of each platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, X, etc.).
  • Creative Storyteller: Can transform even the smallest moment into a compelling story—whether it’s a heartwarming adoption, a medical turnaround, a donation, or the dedication of our volunteers, fosters, and staff.
  • Community Focused: A people-person who thrives on building community connections, both online and in real life. Thrives interacting with volunteers, staff, and community members to gather content and build relationships. 
  • Organized & Fast-Paced: Skilled at juggling multiple priorities, managing a packed content calendar, and working quickly without sacrificing quality.
  • Mission-Driven and Goal Oriented: Deeply passionate about animals and the people who care for them. They see every post as a way to drive adoptions, increase support, and elevate the work of Cincinnati Animal CARE.
  • Strategic & Self-Motivated: Understands what content moves the needle and knows how to prioritize high-impact stories, while also generating and pitching fresh ideas to keep our feeds engaging and inspiring.

Core Responsibilities:

  • Develop, schedule, and publish engaging content across CAC’s social media platforms.
  • Create story-driven content highlighting medical recoveries, long-stay animals, staff efforts, foster families, and volunteers–any many other areas!
  • Monitor social trends and adapt CAC’s content to stay relevant and compelling.
  • Attend events, adoptions, and key shelter moments to capture real-time content.
  • Collaborate with internal teams to promote programs, needs, and successes.
  • Track engagement and content performance to inform strategy and future content.
  • Balance quick-turnaround posts with long-term planning and storytelling arcs.
  • Capture high-quality and compelling photography and video work 
  • Nurturing our online community by engaging our audience, monitoring comments, and promptly responding to messages

Additional Responsibilities: 

  • Graphic design as needed 
  • Production/editing of social media videos 
  • Writing and editing emails 
  • Organize meetings, including scheduling and sending reminders 
  • Manage multiple projects simultaneously, as assigned 
  • Maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive information 
  • Work well with a wide variety of personalities and management styles 
  • Monitor and manage adopter and volunteer facebook pages and photo albums 
  • Monitor and manage internal photo albums 
  • Ensure all dogs have up to date photos, bios and accurate information for website 
  • Attend regular staff meetings as scheduled 
  • Think outside the box and utilize the ideas of other shelter professionals when faced with a difficult animals and how we communicate about them
  • Understand and believe in the CAC adoption philosophy 
  • Stay current on shelter best practices 
  • Follow and promote stringent safety protocols and guidelines 
  • Must be able and willing to work with unpredictable, difficult, and sometimes dangerous animals 
  • Must take a collaborative approach and know when to ask for help 
  • Must approach each animal as an individual and set aside bias, conscious or unconscious 
  • Be present and timely for the duration of each work day 
  • Demonstrate high levels of organization, communication, and initiative 
  • Be empathetic and compassionate when interacting with the animals, staff and public 
  • Foster a work environment that motivates our team and inspires exceptional work 
  • Make a commitment to working cooperatively with volunteers and develop positive relationships 
  • Work collaboratively with shelter staff 
  • Adhere to the Cincinnati Animal CARE Culture Agreement which includes behaving in a manner that promotes a fun, positive work environment
  • Demonstrate a commitment to transparency
  • Work alongside and collaborate with our dedicated volunteer staff to ensure daily responsibilities and ongoing projects are optimal and high functioning.

Success in this Role Looks Like:

  • A deep understanding of social media best practices; using that understanding to continually improve and grow CAC’s social channels.
  • Adhering to CAC’s Social Media Playbook.
  • Consistent, high-quality content that drives engagement and shares CAC’s mission.
  • Increased visibility for hard-to-place or long-stay animals.
  • Strengthened online community and follower growth with accurate record keeping 
  • A content calendar that reflects the diversity, emotion, and impact of the work CAC does every day.

General Requirements:

  • High school diploma required, some college required 
  • Understanding of Google Drive 
  • Possess strong communication skills, verbally and written. Ability to write routine reports, newsletters and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively to groups of customers, volunteers or employees. 
  • Professional, enthusiastic, and positive demeanor. 
  • Strong organizational and time management skills. 
  • Ability to provide constructive and positive feedback to staff and volunteers, as well as receiving feedback. 
  • Possession of a valid driver’s license and safe driving record acceptable to the CAC insurance carrier. 

Working Conditions:

  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, or operate objects, controls, or tools listed above; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell.
  • The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works in outside weather conditions. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts; in high, precarious places; and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions.
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.
  • Exposure and handling unvetted animals and their waste is frequent.

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