Digital Content and Social Media Marketing Executive

Overview

Please note, this opportunity is only available to Manchester Met 2025 graduates who will be based in the UK for the duration of this role. You must have graduated from an undergraduate course from Manchester Met in June 2025 to apply. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications from current or previous postgraduate students.

Background:
Shapeshift er Books is a new radical independent picture book publisher launching July 2026. Shapeshift er is founded by Dylan Calder, MA Publishing lecturer & Children's Publishing Development Lead at Manchester Met's Centre for Fiction. Our mission is to create beautiful, boundary-breaking stories that champion equality themes, children’s rights and climate action. Our books will be funded directly by readers through crowdfunding campaigns on our owned media.

They will not be available in bookshops, offline or online. The main purpose of this role is to build our digital presence and audience, by (i) developing our Tik Tok channel, (ii) producing a pilot issue of the digital  Shapeshifting  magazine for subscribers, and (iii) helping to develop a crowdfunding campaign for our first title, Zane Loves Monsters. It s a hands-on opportunity to shape the early identity of a new children s publisher, gaining broad experience across digital content creation, social strategy, and business-to-consumer enterprise.

• Social media (esp Tik Tok) strategy, content creation, execution & analytics
• Coordinate content, layout and distribution of first issue of digital newsletter magazine, Shapeshifting
• Support development of and content for crowdfunding  sales  campaign

• Take the lead on developing Tik Tok as a new channel, including setting up the account, shaping an early content strategy, and coordinating launch plan and produce a regular flow of Tik Tok content to build audience engagement
• Adapt and repurpose Tik Tok content for Instagram, helping extend reach across platforms
• Monitor Tik Tok and Instagram performance and contribute to basic reporting
• Coordinate editorial planner, support content commissioning and support image sourcing for Shapeshifting magazine
• Use Canva (or alternative) templates to lay out and finalise each issue ahead of publication
• Help manage the subscriber list, including processing sign-ups and keeping records up to date, and support the distribution of the first edition to subscribers
• Upload extracts and previews of magazine content to the website
• Contribute to development of crowdfunding campaign content (text, visuals, video) for first book title, Zane Loves Monster
• Help schedule campaign content across platform
• Research and identify potential suppliers for merchandise and print production

• Editorial planning, content commissioning, copywriting and editing
• Digital design, layout and publishing (using Canva or alternative)
• Subscriber and customer relationship management
• Social media strategy and channel growth (Tik Tok-led)
• Social campaign development, short-form video and other social content creation, cross-platform content adaptation
• Performance monitoring and basic analytics reporting
• Supplier research and procurement basics

• Opportunity to network with Hiring Managers to discuss their role
• Group task

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing accessible and inclusive recruitment. If you require or would benefit from support or reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in work, please contact us by e-mailing [email protected]. This information will only be used and shared with those who require it to implement any change(s) and only at the point this is required.

This role is only open to those who graduated from a Manchester Met undergraduate course in June 2025 and are not currently studying, nor have previously studied, on a postgraduate course. The ideal candidate will have the following:

• Exceptional written English, with attention to tone, grammar, clarity
• Excellent, hands-on knowledge of social media platforms, with particular strength in Tik Tok
• Confident, adept use of design platforms such as Canva (or alternatives: Adobe, Photoshop, InDesign)
• Skilled in filming and editing video using smartphones, or using other filmmaking methods or equipment
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple ongoing tasks

• Comfort with spreadsheets or simple databases, for subscriber records and basic reporting
• Website design or content management (we use Squarespace)
• A proactive, self-directed approach to research and problem-solving
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with external contacts
• An interest in or affinity with children s publishing, storytelling, or creative content