About Us
Loungers is a substantial and growing operator in the UK hospitality sector, operating over 300+ sites in England and Wales across three distinct but complementary brands, Lounges, Cosy Club, and Brightside. Founded in 2002 by three friends who wanted to create a neighbourhood café-bar that they would want to go to, the Group is now the only growing all-day operator of scale in the UK and has consistently outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years. Despite being the fastest growing café/restaurant group in the Country, Loungers has retained its entrepreneurial spirit and quirky 'Loungey' local community atmosphere.
Purpose of Role
We're looking for a Social Media Manager who lives and breathes social. This role is both strategic and hands-on - defining our social approach across platforms, content pillars, and influencer activity, while also creating, editing, publishing, and engaging day-to-day.
The Social Media Manager will own our branded social handles across Loungers, Cosy Club and Brightside, while also coaching and influencing sites to create high-quality local content. It's a role that spans strategy, content, community management, and influencer marketing, tying closely with PR and with one eye on how organic social fuels paid.
Key Responsibilities
Social Strategy
* Define the role of social within the broader marketing mix, including how we drive awareness, consideration, and conversion.
* Decide which platforms to prioritise and set content pillars that bring our brands to life.
* Benchmark against hospitality competitors and best-in-class social brands, setting clear KPIs.
Content & Publishing
* Lead the content calendar: plan, schedule, and deliver activity across all brands.
* Create, edit, and publish content (copy, video, design tweaks).
* Work with the in-house Studio for larger creative needs.
* Be responsive and flexible - adapting content plans as opportunities and trends arise.
Community Management
* Own daily community engagement across branded handles (comments, DMs).
* Train and coach site teams to create on-brand, engaging local content.
* Provide sites with toolkits and templates (via Canva/Bynder/CapCut) to ensure consistency and quality.
Influencer & Creator Marketing
* Use content creator marketplaces to brief, recruit, and manage influencers/creators.
* Ensure influencer activity ladders up to campaign goals and brand positioning.
* Explore opportunities to amplify UGC through paid (spark ads, boosts).
Measurement & Effectiveness
* Define KPIs for social (reach, engagement, follower growth, content performance, site participation).
* Use benchmarks to measure effectiveness and report back to the business.
* Ensure social activity ties to wider marketing objectives and brand health.
CRM
* Own the CRM calendar
* Build content that ties in with campaigns and moments
* Segment the Airship audiences to tailor communications
* Measure effectiveness and optimise
Integration with Marketing Team
* Partner with the PR Manager to align on Owned + Earned storytelling.
* Collaborate with Paid Media Manager on amplifying organic content into paid.
* Work with Brand Managers to deliver campaign content, and with Community Lead to showcase local initiatives.
Skills & Experience
* 4+ years in social media roles, ideally in hospitality, lifestyle, or consumer brands.
* Strong track record of content creation and editing (short-form video, copy, basic design).
* Confident in community management and customer engagement.
* Experience managing influencers/creators - from briefing to reporting.
* Understanding of social KPIs and benchmarks, with ability to link activity to awareness, consideration, and conversion goals.
* Passionate about social, trends, and brands - able to spot opportunities quickly and creatively.
* Organised and structured, able to own the calendar, but adaptable to the living, breathing nature of social.
* Comfortable balancing big-picture strategy with hands-on execution.
* Excellent communicator and coach, able to influence site teams and maintain consistency across 300+ venues.
Success in this Role Looks Like
* Our branded social handles grow in reach, engagement, and relevance, with content that feels distinctive and on-brand.
* Sites are supported, trained, and confident in creating high-quality local content.
* Influencer partnerships drive awareness and earned reach, with UGC integrated into campaigns.
* Social activity contributes clearly to wider marketing goals - not just vanity metrics.
* Owned and earned activity works seamlessly with PR, and feeds naturally into paid when required.
* Social becomes a core storytelling channel for Loungers, Cosy Club, and Brightside - both consistent and agile.
What's in it for you?
* 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
* A culture that appreciates ideas and celebrates individuality
* Founder-led business - we might have c300 sites, but we still maintain an entrepreneurial spirit through everything we do
* 50% off food at all Lounges, Cosy Clubs and Brightsides
* Up to 10% bonus
* Pension contribution
* 24/7 mental health support
* Amazing events including LoungeFest - our annual company festival - Christmas parties and more
* We want to work with nice people so if you want to work hard, have fun and be part of the Loungers ride, we'd love to have you.