Fractional Head of Social

Fractional Head of SocialThe Social Media Coach (SMC)Full-time | Remote | Fractional leadership across 3 client businesses
About The Social Media CoachThe Social Media Coach (SMC) partners with ambitious, high-growth businesses as their dedicated social media team, giving them access to senior strategy, creative expertise and execution without the overhead of building an entire in-house department.We work closely with founders and marketing teams to connect social media to wider business objectives across brand, audience growth, leads and revenue.Our model combines senior fractional leadership with hands-on execution. We don't just advise clients on what they should be doing — we help make it happen.
The Role
We're looking for an experienced Fractional Head of Social to take ownership of social media across three SMC client businesses. For each client, you'll effectively operate as their Head of Social Media, owning the strategy, leading the client relationship, directing the team and ensuring social is contributing to the wider objectives of the business. This is a senior role, but it is not a hands-off role.We're looking for a player-coach: someone who can confidently lead a strategy meeting with a founder or CMO and then jump into a content calendar, rewrite a hook, review a Reel, brief a creator or help get a campaign live. You'll know when to delegate and when to simply get your hands dirty and get something over the line. You will sit between SMC, the client and the execution team, providing the senior leadership and accountability required to make the social media function work.
What You'll Own
Strategy + Client Leadership
Own the social media strategy across three SMC client businessesAct as the senior social media lead and trusted advisor for each clientUnderstand each client's business, marketing and commercial objectivesTranslate those objectives into clear social media prioritiesDevelop channel strategies, content pillars and campaign directionLead regular client meetings and present strategies, recommendations and resultsProactively bring ideas, opportunities and recommendations to clientsChallenge thinking when necessary and provide confident strategic directionEnsure organic social works effectively alongside paid, influencer, email and wider marketing activity
Our client see you as their Head of Social, not an agency account manager.
Content + Creative Direction
You will have senior oversight of the content being produced across your three businesses.
You will:
Lead monthly content and creative directionOversee editorial and content calendarsDevelop social-first campaign and content conceptsGuide creative across copy, video and static contentBrief creators, social media managers, designers and editorsReview content and provide clear, actionable feedbackIdentify trends, emerging formats and reactive opportunitiesEnsure content is being created for a reason — not simply to fill a calendarMaintain a consistently high creative standard across all three accounts
You should have a strong instinct for what makes people stop, watch, engage, share and take action.
Team + Workflow Leadership
You will lead the people responsible for bringing the strategy to life.Depending on the account, this may include social media managers, content creators, community managers, designers, editors, copywriters and other specialists.
You will:
Set clear prioritiesBrief and direct the teamManage workflows, calendars and deadlinesReview work before it reaches the clientProvide strategic and creative feedbackEnsure everyone understands the strategy behind what they're creatingIdentify blockers or resource gaps earlyCoach and develop team membersCreate accountability across each accountKeep work moving
Your job isn't to become the bottleneck. It's to create the clarity and direction that allows great people to do great work.
Get Your Hands Dirty
Being senior at SMC does not mean sitting above the work.
You won't be responsible for executing everything yourself, but you need to be comfortable jumping in when required.
That might mean:
Rewriting a captionImproving a hookReviewing an editTightening a content calendarJumping on a trendWriting a creator briefDeveloping a campaign conceptFixing something that isn't good enoughHelping turn an idea into an actual piece of contentGetting something live when the team needs support
We want someone who knows when to delegate and when to just get it done.There is no that's not my job mentality here.
Performance + Commercial Impact
You will be accountable for understanding how social media is performing and what we need to do next.
You will:
Establish meaningful KPIs for each clientMonitor performance throughout the monthIdentify winning and underperforming contentSpot patterns and opportunitiesUse performance data to influence creative and strategic directionLead monthly reportingTranslate data into clear, actionable recommendationsTrack progress against agreed objectivesConnect social performance back to brand growth, leads and revenue wherever possibleWe're not interested in reporting numbers for the sake of reporting numbers.
We want to know: What did we learn, and what are we going to do differently because of it?
What We're Looking For
Significant experience leading social media strategyExperience at Head of Social, Social Lead, Senior Social Strategist or equivalent levelExperience managing multiple brands, clients or business units simultaneouslyStrong organic social expertise across Instagram, TikTok and LinkedInDeep understanding of social-first content and platform behaviourStrong creative judgement across copy, video and visual contentExperience developing campaigns, content strategies and channel plansConfidence working directly with founders, CMOs and senior marketing stakeholdersExperience leading social and creative teamsAbility to interpret analytics and turn insights into actionStrong commercial understanding beyond vanity metricsExcellent communication, presentation and client leadership skillsHighly organised and comfortable managing multiple prioritiesExperience working in high-growth, startup, agency, consultancy or fractional environmentsComfortable moving between strategic thinking and hands-on execution, sometimes within the same hour
You'll Thrive Here If...
You can look at a social account and quickly identify what's working, what's missing and what needs to change. You're strategic enough to lead the room but not too senior to do the work. You don't wait to be told what to do. You bring ideas to clients before they ask for them. You're commercially minded but creatively obsessed. You can give clear creative direction rather than simply saying make it better.You understand the difference between being busy on social media and building a social media function that actually works. You move quickly, care about the details and take ownership.And most importantly: You're not afraid to get your hands dirty.
What Success Looks Like
Your three clients see you as their Head of Social. You know what's happening across every account and nothing important is falling through the cracks. The teams working underneath you have clear direction and accountability. The quality of the content continually improves. Opportunities are identified and acted on quickly. Performance influences what we do next. Clients trust your judgement and bring you into important conversations. And social media is demonstrably contributing to the wider growth of each business. Three businesses. Three strategies. One senior social leader accountable for making it work.