Social Media Manager (Sports / Entertainment)

About IMG:

IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management.

It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.

Role Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Social Media Manager to lead the planning, execution and optimisation of social media programmes for some of the world's leading sports organisations. Working from our Tokyo office, you will manage social channels across an entire sporting calendar, delivering locally relevant content that grows audiences, drives engagement and achieves client objectives.

You will oversee a network of freelancers, collaborate with internal creative and production teams, and act as a trusted day-to-day advisor to clients. You will also be working with IMG Tokyo office colleagues across media and events teams, and an important part of the role is sharing information and exploring collaboration opportunities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the day-to-day management of social media channels, ensuring all content is accurate, engaging, on-brand and tailored to Japanese fans.
• Develop seasonal editorial calendars aligned with fixtures, tournaments, transfer windows, commercial campaigns and key cultural moments.
• Monitor channel performance against agreed KPIs, analyse results using platform analytics, and provide regular reporting with clear recommendations for optimisation.
• Identify emerging platform features, digital trends and sport conversations, translating them into proactive creative concepts and content opportunities.
• Manage and coordinate freelance community managers, designers and creators by setting clear briefs, maintaining quality standards and ensuring timely delivery.
• Build strong relationships with clients through regular meetings, clear communication and confident presentations of strategies, ideas and performance insights.
• Work closely with internal creative, production and account teams to ensure campaigns are delivered to the highest standard and on schedule.
• Support live matchday coverage and reactive content during key sport moments when required.

Requirements:

• Native Japanese speaker with professional-level written and spoken English.
• At least 5 years' experience in social media, digital marketing or content marketing, ideally within sport, entertainment or an agency environment.
• Strong passion for sport with a good understanding of global football and other major global sports, understanding Japanese supporting culture and fan behaviour.
• Demonstrable experience managing Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and other emerging social platforms.
• Excellent copywriting, editorial planning and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience interpreting performance data and turning insights into action.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative and client-facing environment.
• Willingness to work flexibly around major football fixtures, tournaments and occasional evenings or weekends.