Social Media Manager | LOOKFANTASTIC

Life at THG Beauty 

We know that beauty isn’t one-size-fits-all. Our portfolio of leading retailers and iconic beauty brands caters to everyone, everywhere, empowering customers all over the world to look and feel fantastic.

By combining our portfolio of owned brands inclusive of ESPA, Ameliorate and Christophe Robin, with a marketplace for over 1,300 third-party beauty brands through online retail sites LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, and Dermstore, THG Beauty's ambition is to be the global digital partner of choice across the beauty industry, supporting the channel shift to online.

THG Beauty’s breadth of relationships is unique to the beauty market; it engages with brands as a retailer, a brand owner, and a product developer and manufacturer, making it the industry’s digital strategic leader. 

Why be a Social Media Manager at THG Beauty? 

The Social Media Manager is responsible for leading LOOKFANTASTIC’s social media function, translating our publisher-led and editorial content strategy into a best-in-class social presence that builds brand affinity, awareness, engagement and commercial growth whilst driving community.

Leading the Social team, the Social Media Manager owns how content is planned, distributed and optimised across our social channels – from BAU and editorial storytelling to major brand campaigns, activations and retail media deliverables.

This role combines creative instinct with an insight- and data-led mindset. They understand what makes brilliant social content, but equally how to use platform, audience and commercial performance data to continually improve what we create and how we distribute it.

Working closely with the Content, Retail Media, Activations and Paid Social teams, the Social Media Manager ensures LOOKFANTASTIC shows up consistently and distinctively across social, while maximising the organic amplification of our brand, editorial and commercial priorities

As Social Media Manager, you’ll:  

Social Strategy & Channel Leadership

• Translate the overarching Social & Content strategy into a clear social media roadmap and channel plan.
• Own the day-to-day delivery of LOOKFANTASTIC’s organic social strategy across priority platforms.
• Establish clear channel roles, content formats and audience strategies to ensure each platform has a distinct purpose.
• Ensure social activity delivers against agreed brand, audience, engagement and commercial KPIs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of platform developments, audience behaviours, cultural trends and emerging social opportunities.
• Champion social best practice across the wider business and provide a clear social-first perspective on campaigns and initiatives.

Publisher-Led & Editorial Content

• Bring LOOKFANTASTIC’s publisher-led approach to life across social, ensuring our channels deliver content that is useful, entertaining, authoritative and culturally relevant.
• Work closely with the Content team to translate editorial stories, expertise and content franchises into compelling social-first executions.
• Ensure content strengthens LOOKFANTASTIC’s distinctive brand identity, tone of voice and authority within beauty.
• Balance planned content with reactive opportunities, cultural moments and emerging conversations.
• Continually evolve content formats and storytelling approaches based on audience behaviour and performance.

Content Planning & Distribution

• Own the social content calendar and distribution strategy across BAU, editorial, campaigns, brand moments, retail media and activations.
• Ensure content is distributed effectively across channels, with creative and copy tailored to the behaviours and requirements of each platform.
• Oversee the planning, scheduling and publishing of social content, ensuring consistently high standards of execution.
• Identify opportunities to extend the lifespan and reach of hero content through intelligent repurposing and distribution.
• Ensure social plans balance brand storytelling, audience needs and commercial priorities.

Campaigns & Cross-Functional Delivery

• Work closely with the Head of Social & Content and wider marketing teams to bring a social-first lens to key brand campaigns, launches and activations.
• Lead social planning and execution around major brand moments, ensuring activity is cohesive from pre-launch through to amplification and post-campaign.
• Partner with the Activations team to maximise social coverage and content opportunities around events and experiences.
• Collaborate with Paid Social to identify high-performing organic content and opportunities for amplification.
• Work closely with relevant brand, commercial and marketing stakeholders to ensure social supports wider business priorities.

Retail Media & Commercial Delivery

• Own the delivery of social requirements within retail media partnerships and commercial campaigns.
• Work closely with the Retail Media team to understand briefs, deliverables, timings and success measures.
• Ensure retail media content feels native to LOOKFANTASTIC’s channels and audience while delivering against partner requirements.
• Balance commercial commitments with audience experience and the integrity of the wider social content strategy.
• Report on the social performance of retail media activity and use learnings to improve future campaigns.

Performance, Insight & Reporting

• Own organic social performance and reporting across channels.
• Establish clear KPIs and reporting frameworks aligned to brand and commercial objectives.
• Analyse channel, content, audience and campaign performance to understand what is driving growth and engagement.
• Translate social data into actionable recommendations for the Social team and wider stakeholders.
• Confidently report social performance to senior stakeholders, clearly articulating both organic and commercial impact.
• Use insights, social listening and platform data to inform future content, distribution and channel decisions.
• Work with Paid Social and commercial teams to understand the relationship between organic social activity and wider business performance.

Team Leadership

• Lead, motivate and develop the Social team, creating a high-performing and collaborative environment.
• Translate strategy into clear priorities, objectives and deliverables for the team.
• Oversee content planning and execution, providing direction and constructive feedback.
• Ensure the team understands both the creative ambition and performance expectations behind social activity.
• Support individual development and progression while building strong social, creative and analytical capabilities across the team.
• Manage social budgets and resources effectively.

Community & Brand Advocacy

• Ensure community interaction is embedded within LOOKFANTASTIC’s social approach rather than treated solely as channel management.
• Oversee community management standards, ensuring the brand interacts with audiences in an authentic, relevant and recognisable way.
• Identify emerging audience conversations, behaviours and insights that can inform content and wider brand activity.
• Partner with relevant teams to identify opportunities to bring the LOOKFANTASTIC community together online and IRL.

What skills and experience do I need for this role? 

Essential

• Significant experience managing social media for a consumer-facing brand, publisher, retailer or agency.
• Strong understanding of major social platforms, particularly Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and emerging channels.
• Proven experience developing and delivering social strategies against measurable KPIs.
• Strong editorial and creative judgement with a clear understanding of what makes content perform on social.
• Experience managing content calendars and complex cross-channel campaign delivery.
• Strong analytical capability and confidence using social data to inform decisions.
• Experience reporting organic and commercial social performance to senior stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of social analytics, reporting and social listening tools.
• Experience managing and developing a social media team.
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong understanding of how organic, paid and commercial social activity work together.
• Commercially minded, with the ability to balance audience, brand and revenue objectives.

Desirable

• Experience within beauty, fashion, lifestyle, retail or ecommerce.
• Experience working with retail media or commercial brand partnerships.
• Experience working within a publisher-led or editorial content model.
• Understanding of creator and influencer marketing.
• Experience supporting live events, activations and social-first content production.

What’s in it for me? 

Career Development 

• Access bespoke development programmes that have been designed and developed by our in-house L&D team. 

• Continued development through our upskilling programme that is delivered in partnership with an industry-leading training provider. 

Enhanced Leave 

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays. 

• Don’t want to work on your birthday? We don’t either! Enjoy your day off on us! 

• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay, depending on length of service.  

• Up to 10 days compassionate leave. 

• Buy back up to 3 days each year. 

• Unlock 2 days volunteer leave after 12-months. 

Wellbeing Support 

• Access face-to-face and virtual appointments with our in-house GP.
   
• Access our 247 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is provided by Bupa.  

• State-of-the-art on-site gym. 

• Access to our on-site physio. 

Other Perks 

• Save up to 12% on the cost of personal tech through our salary sacrifice scheme. 

• Subsidised bus pass from Manchester City Centre to our ICON office.  

• Up to 50% staff discount on THG brands. 
  
  
• On-site staff shop.
   
• Know someone who would be perfect for THG? Refer them and get up to £1000 when they pass their probation. 

• Anniversary gifts when you hit 5 and 10 years of service.