Associate Social Media Editor (UK)
Marketing & Communications
London, UK
Posted on Aug 19, 2026
About Us
Powered by one of the largest global newsrooms in sports media, The Athletic brings sports fans the most comprehensive stories about the teams, sports and athletes they love. The Athletic’s newsroom of 450+ full-time staff delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across more than 47 North American markets and all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, as well as many Championship clubs.
About the Role
The Athletic is looking for an audience-focused Social Media Associate with a keen interest in sports journalism to help grow our reach across emerging and established platforms. In this role, you'll identify opportunities to connect our journalism with sports fans, package editorial content for off-platform audiences and drive referral traffic back to The Athletic. You'll have a curiosity and willingness to understand how platforms work, shift and what new trends exist in the social media audience space. The ideal candidate has a passion for media and football in particular, strong editorial instincts and a penchant for experimenting with new ways to grow audiences. This hybrid role will be based in London.
Responsibilities
- Drive growth and referral traffic by identifying opportunities across emerging and established platforms, including X, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, WhatsApp and new distribution channels.
- Produce platform-specific content that drives engagement, conversation and clicks back to The Athletic.
- Create and optimize reporter videos and other video content, crafting platform-specific copy to maximize reach and engagement.
- Support live coverage of breaking news, major sporting events and tentpole moments across social and emerging platforms.
- Monitor platform trends, audience behavior and algorithm changes, testing new formats and distribution strategies to maximize reach and traffic.
- Analyze performance data to identify what's working, share insights with the newsroom and continually refine distribution strategies.
- Collaborate with reporters, editors and audience teams to identify stories with the greatest off-platform potential and execute distribution plans.
- Help build engaged fan communities and identify new opportunities to grow The Athletic's audience beyond traditional social platforms.
- Launch breaking news emails from stories trending in the football, general sports space.
Requirements
- 1 to 3 years of experience in social media, sports media or publishing
- A true passion for sports journalism and willingness to get stuck in when a huge story breaks/event happens
- Demonstrated platform fluency on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and WhatsApp in business/professional applications and experience managing large social channels
- Video editing experience
- Experience with graphic creation
- Strong writing skills with a keen eye for detail and grammar
- Demonstrable interest and knowledge of Premier League, European, international and women’s football, as well as a working knowledge of major US sports
- Flexibility to work different shifts (early, late, weekends) around the sporting calendar, particularly European football
- Knowledge of social media best practices & resources.
- A positive attitude and a willingness to learn and develop
The Athletic offers unique perks and benefits to all full-time employees based on their country of residence. Our UK benefits packages offer benefits and perks, competitive to the local market.
The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
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