Out of Eden Walk 501(c)(3) is now hiring for one part-time position: Social Media Manager. Please find job descriptions, with application instructions, below. We look forward to hearing from you!

Social Media Manager

Independent Contractor | Remote | One-Year Contract, Renewable

Anticipated level of effort: Approximately 15–20 hours per week on average

About Out of Eden Walk

The Out of Eden Walk (OOEW) is a long-term experiment in slow journalism led by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek. Since 2013, Salopek has been retracing on foot the pathways of human migration out of Africa, using the journey to tell deeply reported stories about the people, places, environments, histories, and ideas encountered along the way.

As the Walk continues through North America in 2027, the Out of Eden Walk nonprofit is seeking an experienced Social Media Manager to expand the reach and impact of this extraordinary journalism project.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced digital storyteller who can translate the Walk’s distinctive practice of thoughtful, nuanced, long-form journalism into compelling social content—without sacrificing the depth, integrity, or humanity that makes the project unique.

Much of the Walk’s journalism is deliberately slow and resistant to the conventions of today’s attention economy. The right person will see that tension as a creative opportunity. They will bring strong editorial instincts, curiosity, experimentation, and sophisticated knowledge of how audiences discover and engage with stories today.

The contractor will lead social media strategy and execution across Out of Eden Walk’s established accounts on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud, while continually identifying new approaches to reaching and engaging audiences.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and execute an evolving social media strategy designed to increase OOEW’s audience, reach, engagement, and visibility, with clear goals and measurable indicators of progress.
Evaluate and manage OOEW’s presence across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud, adapting content and strategy to the distinct audiences and strengths of each platform.
Proactively identify stories, images, video, audio, archival material, milestones, and moments from the Walk that can become compelling social content, working closely with Paul Salopek and the broader OOEW team.
Write, edit, produce, schedule, and publish high-quality content while maintaining the project’s journalistic standards and sensitivity across cultures, communities, and subjects.
Create and edit platform-native video, particularly short-form and vertical video, using material from Paul, OOEW contributors, and the project’s extensive archive.
Develop creative approaches to translating long-form journalism into accessible social storytelling while preserving context and nuance.
Create simple social graphics and other visual assets as needed; more extensive graphic-design work is not a primary responsibility of the position.
Develop and maintain a strategic content calendar and efficient workflows for gathering, producing, approving, scheduling, and repurposing content.
Help cultivate and steward a distinctive, consistent voice and tone for OOEW’s social channels and actively engage with followers by responding thoughtfully to comments and messages, fostering conversation and a sense of community around the project.
Track and analyze performance across platforms and provide concise, useful reporting on audience growth, reach, engagement, referral traffic, and other agreed-upon metrics, using results to continually test and improve strategy.
Stay current on platform changes, emerging formats, audience behavior, and social-media tools, and recommend where OOEW should experiment, invest—or deliberately decline to follow a trend.
Produce and distribute OOEW’s community newsletter and editorial/dispatch notifications through Mailchimp, coordinating newsletter content with the project’s broader editorial and social calendar.
Coordinate closely with OOEW staff, contractors, contributors, and project partners, including National Geographic, as appropriate.
Support special initiatives—including fundraising campaigns, events, major editorial releases, and other communications priorities—on a case-by-case basis.
Identify opportunities for strategic cross-promotion and relationships with creators, journalists, organizations, and other partners who can introduce the Walk to new audiences.

Qualifications & Experience

We are particularly interested in candidates who bring both sophisticated social media expertise and strong journalistic sensibility.

The successful candidate will have:

5+ years of professional experience managing social media and digital content for high-visibility journalism, documentary, cultural, educational, nonprofit, international, or similarly mission-driven projects.
A demonstrated record of growing audiences and improving reach and meaningful engagement, with concrete examples and metrics illustrating the impact of their work.
Exceptional writing and editing skills and excellent editorial judgment.
Professional experience creating and editing social-first video, including short-form vertical video, and fluency with current video-editing and production tools.
Advanced familiarity with social-media management, scheduling, analytics, and reporting tools, as well as native platform analytics.
A sophisticated understanding of how storytelling, content formats, and audience behavior differ across major social platforms.
A strong and intuitive sense of voice and tone, with the ability to represent a distinctive editorial project authentically in direct interactions with its audience.
The ability to identify a compelling social story within complex or long-form source material rather than simply shortening or repackaging it.
Strong visual instincts and experience working with photography, video, graphics, and audio.
Sensitivity to the ethical responsibilities of journalism involving diverse cultures and communities and complex subjects including migration, Indigenous communities, environmental change, conflict, and social and political issues.
Strong organizational and relationship-management skills and the ability to work proactively and independently within a small, distributed team.
Curiosity, flexibility, sound judgment, attention to detail, and a willingness to experiment thoughtfully.

Experience with international journalism, nonprofit communications, fundraising campaigns, social listening, accessibility, SEO/social search, or audience development is a plus.

Contract Details

This is a remote, one-year independent-contractor engagement, with the possibility of renewal by mutual agreement.

The ideal candidate, regardless of location, will be reasonably responsive to communications during standard North American Eastern Time business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET), with the understanding that this does not require working those hours or maintaining a fixed schedule.

The scope of services is anticipated to require an average level of effort equivalent to approximately 15–20 hours per week over the course of the engagement, with the workload naturally fluctuating around major stories, events, campaigns, and other project priorities. The contractor will coordinate closely with OOEW on priorities, deadlines, and deliverables while retaining appropriate independence over the manner, means, location, and scheduling of the work.

The contractor will be expected to provide their own equipment and tools necessary to perform the work.

Compensation: Starting annual contract compensation is $40,000, negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to info@outofedenwalk.com. Including a portfolio of relevant work is optional but recommended.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.