Senior Manager, Social Media

About Us:

Life Alive Organic Cafe is the place for positive eating, where enjoying organic, crave-worthy food fuels a life filled with energy, optimism and simply feeling good. Through each joyful interaction and scratch-prepared dish served in our unique, quick service cafes, we work toward bringing to life our higher purpose to energize the vitality of all living beings and our planet.

The Role

The Social Media Senior Manager serves as a senior strategic leader of Life Alive’s online presence. You will be responsible for developing and leading comprehensive digital user journeys that amplify our brand story, drive guest acquisition, and deepen community loyalty. This role requires a blend of high-level creative vision and rigorous analytical discipline to ensure every digital touchpoint reflects our purpose and fuels our growth. This role will own the communication strategy and partner closely with the VP of Marketing, your Social Media Manager counterpart, Marketing Manager, Culinary Team and our café leaders to ensure Life Alive’s digital and social communications and online community engagement are an accurate representation of our voice, brand, and cafe experience. The Social Media Senior Manager will report to the VP of Marketing.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as an architect of Life Alive’s aesthetic and voice across all social media channels—including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn— authentically scale our core values and higher purpose.

• Own and continuously evolve a multi-channel social media strategy and roadmap that aligns with the master marketing calendar to drive measurable brand awareness, guest acquisition, follower growth, and community loyalty.

• Position Life Alive as a preeminent wellness authority by directing high-value content strategies, including ingredient storytelling, sourcing transparency, and nutrition-based editorial.

• Act as the internal pulse on cultural shifts, emerging platforms, and industry trends to keep the brand at the forefront of the food, wellness, and lifestyle sectors.

• Lead the end-to-end creative direction and execution of photography and videography—including shooting and editing both on camera and iPhone, writing post copy and video scripts with engaging brand storytelling, recording audio, editing reels, ensuring authentic brand storytelling that resonates across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and emerging platforms.

• Serve as an on-camera presence for Life Alive, appearing in reels and video content that brings our brand story, food, and culture to life in an authentic and engaging way.

• Build, manage and scale a high-impact influencer and community partnership program, including ownership, talent identification, contract negotiation, strong communication briefs, and performance credibility in order to earn category credibility and expand the brand’s reach.

• Transform raw metrics (reach, engagement, conversion) into high-level performance insights and executive recaps, using data to pivot strategies and optimize marketing spend.

• Conduct rigorous competitor benchmarking and market analysis to identify whitespace opportunities for the brand.

• Own Life Alive’s community and engagement strategy across all platforms—managing inbound DMs, comments, and questions with care, while proactively engaging with guests, brand partners, and high-profile accounts through strategic outbound commenting and dialogue that builds brand visibility and community.

• Oversee the direct messages and comments on each platform, ensuring the brand’s engagement strategy fosters meaningful dialogue and reinforces our reputation for hospitality.

• Partner as a senior strategic peer with the VP of Marketing, Culinary Innovation, and Operations to launch new cafes, seasonal menus and marketing campaigns with social media support.

• Foster a culture of creative excellence and continuous improvement, constantly elevating the team's technical capabilities and conceptual thinking.

Our Social Media Manager is someone who is:

• Fanatical about food that is delicious and good for you, and the ways in which healthy eating can positively impact ourselves, our communities, and the planet

• Deeply empathetic to our guests, with strong brand sensitivity

• Passionate about food photography, developing purpose-driven brands, and creating social content & storytelling that feels inclusive and accessible

• Comfortable and confident on camera

• A wellness enthusiast, curious about the deep connection between how we eat, move and think with how we feel

• Someone that embraces entrepreneurial culture, can learn and adapt quickly, and has a can-do spirit

• Highly organized, with outstanding attention to detail from start to finish

• An excellent communicator, with ability to present concepts in a concise and persuasive manner

• A great collaborator who offers and responds well to feedback

Qualifications:

• 5-10+ years’ experience in digital content and social media, including experience for a consumer brand (ideally restaurants, food, or a direct-to-consumer wellness or lifestyle brand), including agency-side experience.

• Demonstrated experience managing or mentoring junior social media staff and leading freelancers, contractors and agencies.

• Bachelor’s Degree is Marketing, Advertising, Journalism, Creative Writing, Social Media Management or Equivalent

• A comprehensive understanding of social media platforms, affiliate programs, editing applications, and other best practices

• Familiarity with the Google suite, Google Analytics, and Meta Analytics and Ads Manager

• Proven ability to develop and present social media strategy to senior leadership, including performance reporting and budget recommendations.

• Experience developing effective communications and ideas in written, photo, and video formats, including scripting and on-camera performance

• Strong photography editing and video editing skills, including reels and short-form content

• Some photography training or the equivalent in hands-on experience

• Video editing experience

• Creative copywriting skills and excellent communication & grammar skills

• An eye for typography, composition, and design

• Proven track record of growing organic followers and engagement across prominent platforms

• Ability to network with relevant influencers to develop collaborative partnerships and negotiate creator agreements.

• An understanding of brand development, advertising and multi-channel campaign execution.

• A strong network of photographers, stylists and other talent is a must.

• Experience with Lightroom, AfterEffects, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign a plus, but not required

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and maintain grace under pressure.

Perks & Benefits:

• 10% Annual Bonus Eligibility

• Plentiful Food Discounts & Yoga Perks

• Flexible work schedule with the ability to split time working from home and in our cafés

• 401k and IRA, Life Alive matches 401k contributions at 100%, up to 3%

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage

• Life Insurance, MetLaw, TeleDoc, Short Term & Long Term Disability, Mental Health Support via My Strength

• Parking and Transportation Reimbursement

• $150 stipend for home office setup

• Paid time off:

• • 10 days paid vacation

  • 40 hours paid sick leave

  • 8 hours of community service pay

  • 8 paid holidays

Please note that Life Alive is an E-Verify employer (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf). Please review the Right to Work (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf) Poster from Department of Justice's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

Life Alive is an equal-opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. We look forward to welcoming a dynamic leader who will contribute to our mission of energizing the vitality of all living beings and our planet through plant-based cuisine and sustainable practices. We strive to foster a community where all feel welcome, safe, and valued. We embrace all differences of age, sexual orientation, gender and its expression, race, culture and ethnicity, national origin, mental and physical health and ability, religious background, marital status, family structure, citizenship, education, and military or veterans’ status. Life Alive invites you to bring your whole self to work.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.