Social Media Officer

We re looking for an interim Social Media Officer to lead on engagement with our online communities. This is an exciting 12 month opportunity to shape the social media presence for Samaritans across a range of channels and join a high performing team.

In this role you ll monitor and respond to a wide range of enquiries over our social media platforms. You will be responding to those who have used our services or are struggling with their mental health, so the ability to communicate with sensitivity and empathy is key.

You'll help colleagues across the organisation feel confident in how they use social media and play a vital role in ensuring our content and conversations reflect our brand and tone of voice. You will develop and maintain social media guidelines and standard response templates, as well as providing training and support when needed.

You ll also take the lead with our moderation agency to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our audiences, through quality checking and continuous improvement.

If you re an experienced Social Media Officer, who is passionate about meaningful online engagement, then we d love to hear from you.

Contract terms:

£31,000 - £33,000 Salary per annum, plus benefits and £1000 on call allowance

12 month fixed term contract (maternity cover)

Full time (35 hours)

We are passionate about flexible working, talk to us about your preferences

Linked to our Ewell (Surrey) office

In-person working: Meeting in person and working collaboratively are things we value. We work in person around 2 days or more per month

What you'll do:

• Monitor Samaritan s social media channels, ensuring content is appropriate for audiences
• Develop, maintain and update standard response templates and moderation guidelines
• Provide timely, appropriate responses to a wide range of people engaging with Samaritans over social media
• Develop social Q&As for key campaigns, policy positions and news events in collaboration with other teams
• Provide advice, support, and training to branches and volunteers managing their own communities via social media
• Work closely with our moderation agency, ensuring adequate out of hours coverage and quality check responses
• Analyse audience engagement and feedback to identify trends and areas for improvement

What you ll bring:

• Experience of working on social media for a cause, campaign or high-profile brand, or in communications or marketing
• Great digital copywriting skills
• Strong understanding of digital marketing channels and techniques
• Experience in responding to a varied range of enquiries via social media
• Creative approach to creating and publishing digital content
• Ability to communicate sensitively, particularly around issues involving mental health and suicide
• Awareness of campaigns, news and trends within the charity sector and social media
• Ability to build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Familiarity with Sprout Social (desirable)
• Experience working with volunteers or within the charity sector (desirable)

See full Job Description and Person Specification

Why Samaritans?

At Samaritans, you ll be part of a people-first organisation deeply committed to inclusion, compassion and learning. You ll contribute to a team where your voice matters, your expertise makes a difference, and your work helps save lives.

We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience and encourage those from underrepresented communities to apply.We are committed to creating an environment where all our people feel seen, heard and supported.

You ll join a values-led organisation with a powerful mission and a collaborative culture. We offer flexible hybrid working, excellent benefits, and the chance to make a tangible difference in suicide prevention across the UK and Ireland.

For further information about Samaritans, including our charity structure, values, employee benefits, and application process, please read our recruitment brochure available here. You can also visit our careers website to access this.

We recognise the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. Samaritans is wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are. To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from disabled, racialised minority and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented at Samaritans.

Apply now

If this sounds like the opportunity for you, please apply. You will be asked to some answer short application questions and to upload your CV.

Applications close: 09:00am on Monday 13th April 2026

Interviews: w/c 20th April

At Samaritans, human connection is at the heart of everything we do.

We do not use AI at any stage during the selection process. Your application will always be carefully reviewed by the recruiting manager or a member of the Talent Attraction Team.

We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to generate your application or interview answers. We want to hear your own ideas, insights, and writing style so your unique strengths can shine through.