Sr. Brand Manager, Earned Media and Brand Social

The Sr. Brand Manager, Earned Media, Brand Social & Culture is at the center of how KFC shows up in culture—leading with social, shaping conversation, and driving earned impact that keeps the brand impossible to ignore. This role is responsible for bringing a social-first, culture-led mindset to everything we do—turning moments into movements and campaigns into talk-worthy brand behavior.

Reporting to the Director of Integrated Marketing Communications, this role partners closely with IMC leadership, cross-functional teams, and agency partners to ensure social, earned media, and influencer thinking don’t follow campaigns—they lead them. This is a role for someone who understands how culture moves, how social drives it, and how brands earn their place in it.

Key Responsibilities

Social-First, Culture-Led Leadership (Priority)

• Lead how KFC shows up in culture—bringing forward bold, timely, and unexpected ideas that earn attention and spark conversation
• Partner with the Director of IMC to ensure social and earned thinking set the direction for campaigns from day one—not as an add-on
• Spot trends before they peak and turn them into brand-defining moments with speed and precision
• Push for work that is culturally sharp, socially native, and impossible to scroll past
• Champion a multicultural, community-driven lens—ensuring the brand shows up authentically where culture is created
  
  
  

Earned, Social & Influencer Integration

• Drive earned-first thinking across campaigns, ensuring PR, social, and influencer work together to amplify impact
• Partner with agencies to create work that earns media, drives buzz, and shows up in the feeds and conversations that matter
• Help shape a social presence that is reactive, relevant, and relentlessly engaging
• Build and activate a creator ecosystem that keeps KFC plugged into culture and expanding its reach Integration & Influence
• Be the voice of culture and social at the table—ensuring ideas are built for how people actually engage today
• Partner across IMC, Media, and Creative to keep work connected, fast-moving, and culturally in-tune
• Influence without authority—bringing teams and agencies along to deliver sharper, more effective work
  
  
  

Operations & Impact

• Support execution of social, earned, and influencer workstreams with a focus on speed, quality, and impact
• Help manage budgets tied to social, PR, influencer, and experiential activations
• Track what’s working (and what’s not) through social listening and performance, and quickly turn insights into action
• Continuously optimize how the brand shows up based on real-time feedback from culture
  
  
  

Reputation & Communications Support

• Support PR and communications efforts during key moments—ensuring the brand shows up with the right voice, at the right time
• Help navigate fast-moving or sensitive situations with a steady, culturally aware lens
  
  
  

Required Qualifications

7-10 years of experience in social, PR, influencer, or culture-led marketing roles

Proven ability to create or contribute to work that shows up in culture and drives conversation

Deep understanding of social platforms, internet culture, and how trends move

Experience working with creators, influencers, and earned media strategies

Strong instinct for what will resonate—and what won’t—with today’s audiences

Ability to move fast, stay scrappy, and operate in real time without losing strategic focus

Strong collaborator who can influence teams and agencies to push work further

What's In It For You

• Help shape how an iconic brand shows up in culture today—and where it goes next
• Join a high-performing team that moves fast, thinks boldly, and creates work people actually talk about
• Be at the center of culture-driving ideas that show up in feeds, headlines, and everyday conversation
• Partner with senior leaders and top-tier agency talent, with real influence on the work—not just execution
• Grow your voice, your impact, and your career as you help redefine what social-first marketing looks like at scale
  
  
  

Salary Range: $142,500 to $150,840 annually bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.