Job Description

Assistant Vice President, Social Media
APEI

The Assistant Vice President Social Media is responsible for enterprise leadership of APEI’s organic social media and community strategy across the full brand portfolio. This role owns how our brands show up authentically, credibly, and consistently across social platforms—leveraging community-driven engagement to strengthen brand awareness, consideration, favorability, trust, and long-term advocacy.

This role sets the strategic vision for organic social and social communities, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, brand positioning, and the full student lifecycle—from awareness through enrollment, persistence, and alumni advocacy. The AVP serves as the senior subject-matter expert on organic social, community-led brand building, and reputation engagement, translating cultural moments, audience insights, and platform trends into scalable brand impact.

The Assistant Vice President leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing social communities team and works closely with executive leadership, paid media, creative, content, enrollment, faculty, and institutional leaders to ensure organic social meaningfully contributes to enterprise marketing and brand outcomes. This role balances visionary leadership with strong operational rigor, measurement discipline, and continuous innovation.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, forward-thinking leader who understands how to build authentic communities at scale, elevate brand voice, and use data and insight to drive influence—not just engagement.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the enterprise organic social and social communities strategy across the APEI portfolio, ensuring alignment with brand positioning, institutional objectives, and student lifecycle goals.
• Own and evolve the enterprise organic social and social communities strategy across the APEI portfolio, ensuring alignment with brand positioning, institutional objectives, and student lifecycle goals.
• Provide executive leadership for all brand social channels and communities, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and emerging platforms.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a multi-brand social communities team, providing clear vision, strategic direction, and growth opportunities while fostering a high-performing, inclusive culture.
• Establish and communicate strategic objectives, annual roadmaps, and success frameworks for organic social, including both quantitative performance metrics and qualitative brand impact.
• Partner closely with Paid Media, Creative, Content, Enrollment, Faculty, and Institutional Leadership to ensure organic social is fully integrated into campaign planning, brand storytelling, and reputation management.
• Serve as the executive authority on brand voice, authenticity, and community engagement, ensuring consistent, human-centered communication across brands and platforms.
• Drive continuous innovation through testing, learning, and optimization across platforms, formats, and community engagement models.
• Oversee social listening, sentiment analysis, and reputation management efforts, proactively identifying risks and opportunities.
• Evaluate, recommend, and implement social media management, analytics, and community tools that improve efficiency, insight, and impact.
• Translate performance data, audience insights, and cultural trends into actionable recommendations for senior leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• 8–10+ years of progressive marketing experience, with deep expertise leading organic social and community strategy for large, complex, or multi-brand organizations.
• Proven executive-level leadership experience, including managing managers and developing senior-level talent.
• Strong strategic and analytical mindset, with the ability to define KPIs, interpret qualitative and quantitative data, and connect social performance to brand health and business outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate fast-moving cultural, social, and reputational moments with sound judgment and brand stewardship.
• Exceptional cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience influencing stakeholders at all levels, including executive leadership.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present strategy, insights, and recommendations to C-suite audiences.
• Deep understanding of organic social metrics, platform dynamics, community management best practices, and emerging trends.
• Ability to identify and synthesize trends across data, culture, and audience behavior to inform strategic decisions.
• Adaptive, proactive leader who thrives in change and brings thoughtful, solutions-oriented leadership to complex challenges.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership, inclusion, collaboration, and APEI’s mission.

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

About Us:

Online, on campus and in the workplace, we provide higher education and training to our country’s heroes – military service members, veterans, nurses, government employees, and motivated professionals that want to make a difference. American Public Education, Inc. educates service-minded students, ranging from the military, public service, federal agencies, and nursing communities, through American Public University System (APUS), Hondros College of Nursing (HCON), and Rasmussen University.

It is the policy of American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) to afford equal opportunity to all qualified persons. We treat all qualified individuals equally as to their recruitment, hiring, assignments, advancements, compensation, and all other terms and conditions of employment. American Public Education, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, or sensory disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are a resident of a state with designated pay transparency requirements and this role is available remotely, you may be eligible to receive additional information about the compensation and benefits for this role, which we will provide upon request. Please send an email to recruiting@apei.com