Lead Social & Content Specialist

The Opportunity

This is a defining role for an ambitious, strategic creative ready to elevate and amplify NEXT’s employer brand across digital channels. As the Social Content Lead, you won’t just be scheduling posts - you will be the guardian and primary voice of our brand across our social ecosystem, championing the @lifeatnext narrative to attract top-tier talent across the entire business.

Reporting directly to the Recruitment Services Manager, your mission is to lead and execute high-impact, company-wide social media strategies that showcase our workplace culture and drive talent acquisition across Head Office, Product, Warehouse, Retail, and Call Centres. Blending creative ideation with paid media performance, you will ensure NEXT remains a modern, authentic destination employer of choice for every part of our operation.

What You’ll Take On

As a Lead, you are the driver of our external narrative. Holding a truly cross-business remit, you will own the execution, set creative standards, and guide multi-disciplinary teams across three core pillars:

1. Strategic Social Media Leadership & Campaign Execution

• Develop and deliver forward-thinking short- and long-term content strategies across all social platforms - with a focused emphasis on high-growth channels such as TikTok and Instagram - tailored to attract diverse talent across Head Office, Product, Warehouse, Retail, and Call Centres.
• Lead and execute innovative organic and paid social campaigns from ideation to delivery, working alongside agency partners and matrix teams to bring custom creative activations to life for every area of the business.
• Oversee and manage paid social budgets and campaigns in partnership with the Recruitment Services Manager, driving targeted recruitment across all operational functions and building broader employer brand awareness.

2. Content Architecture & Visual Storytelling

• Lead the creation of high-quality multimedia assets, leveraging Adobe Creative tools to translate the unique cultures, roles, and career journeys within Head Office, Product, Warehouse, Retail, and Call Centres into engaging digital stories.
• Direct the @lifeatnext always-on content calendar in collaboration with the Social Media Specialists, ensuring balanced representation across all business areas while continuously testing new formats to cut through in the talent social space.
• Direct creative executions across in-house teams and external agency partners, ensuring all content maintains strict employer brand alignment and visual polish.

3. Stakeholder Partnership & Performance Analytics

• Track, evaluate, and present platform performance using tools like Sprout Social and Google Analytics, translating metrics into actionable strategic improvements and refined KPIs across different talent segments.
• Serve as an internal consultant to operational leaders across Retail, Warehousing, Call Centres, Product, and Head Office, as well as HR, Communications, and Director-level leadership - empowering and educating stakeholders to leverage social media for talent attraction.
• Foster a collaborative, data-driven learning culture within the social media team where retrospective campaign learnings directly fuel future strategies.

What You’ll Bring

We are looking for a proactive, trend-obsessed social specialist who balances high-level digital strategy with hands-on creative execution.

• Extensive background leading social media strategies, community engagement, content ideation, and end-to-end campaign execution in a fast-paced, multi-site or omnichannel environment.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite for quick-turn visual assets, with strong working knowledge of scheduling and social listening tools (e.g., Sprout Social, Later). Video editing skills (Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro) are highly advantageous.
• Hands-on experience setting up, running, and optimising paid social campaigns to achieve measurable engagement and acquisition goals across varied audience demographics.
• Outstanding written communication and copywriting skills with meticulous proofreading standards, capable of flexing between casual platform-native banter and corporate brand messaging, as well as tailoring tone for operational, creative, and corporate audiences.
• Experienced in analysing engagement data, performance marketing, identifying emerging trends, and leveraging SEO/Google Analytics to maximise reach, conversion, and showcasing business value.
• Confident presentation skills with a demonstrated ability to manage upwards, partner across matrix organisations, and influence cross-functional teams from store and warehouse floors to boardroom level.
• Proactive experience leveraging AI tools to enhance content ideation, workflow efficiency, copy refinement, and creative production.