What are the responsibilities and job description for the Vertical Content & Growth Manager position at The HEAT Group?
The HEAT Group is seeking a Vertical Content & Growth Manager to lead how the Miami HEAT expands its social reach beyond our current following, turning new audiences into fans and fans into lasting supporters of the brand. This is a senior creative role built around top-of-funnel growth through short-form vertical video. This person thinks Instagram-first, setting the brand's core vertical strategy and creative bar on our primary platform, while also leading the Vertical Content Creator (TikTok-first) in bringing that strategy to life across every vertical channel. They are equal parts maker and strategist, fluent enough in production to set the creative bar and rigorous enough with data, partnering closely with the Content Strategy Coordinator, to know why content does or doesn't break beyond our follower base. This is not just a publishing role, it is a growth and creative leadership role.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: The following are examples of the various functions required. The job requirements are not limited to the items on this list.
- Own the brand's top-of-funnel vertical strategy (Reels, TikTok and Shorts) designed to reach and grow non-follower audiences.
- Lead the Vertical Content Creator (TikTok-first), providing creative direction and setting vertical strategy across Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, with Instagram as this role's primary expertise.
- Maintain primary working knowledge of and post to all other HEAT social platforms, including Twitter/X, Facebook, Threads, and Snapchat, ensuring consistent presence and brand voice beyond vertical-first channels.
- Conceive and launch original content franchises — repeatable, ownable formats with their own identity — built to perform independent of team performance to resonate with audiences who don't yet follow the team's day-to-day game story.
- Build a profile-conversion strategy — ensure content that reaches non-followers converts profile visits into follows and develop content paths that move new audiences toward becoming lasting supporters of the brand through retargeting and collaboration with Growth Marketing team to re-engage.
- Partner closely with the Content Strategy Coordinator and Director of Social & Digital Strategy to build and maintain performance dashboards, translating raw numbers like views and reach into the deeper signals that show what's actually scaling and be able to explain why.
- Run a disciplined testing practice using non-follower testing tools (e.g., Trial Reels) to validate content with new audiences before it ships broadly.
- Own the department's content tagging standard and taxonomy, in partnership with the Content Strategy Coordinator, ensuring every piece of content across every account is trackable and attributable.
- Ideate collaboratively with the Vertical Content Creator and personally shoot, edit and post premium vertical content that sets the creative standard the Vertical Content Creator builds toward.
- Serve as the organization's internal authority on emerging platform behavior; level up the wider team's and the Director's platform fluency.
- Oversee part-time game staff who provide vertical highlights and game content, establishing best practices and supporting their development.
- Collaborate with the Sr. Social Operations Manager so growth priorities are reflected in game-day and corporate content. In addition to translating the needs they surface into content this role and the Vertical Content Creator can execute against.
- On game days, primarily direct the search for and capture of the moments beyond the game action itself — the in-between, non-follower-friendly storytelling that the Vertical Content Creator executes — while also guiding how real-time highlight content is captured, used and placed across platforms.
- Expected to work games and events in a home-based capacity, providing real-time direction on content placement and platform strategy.
Desired Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 3–5 years in social media, with a proven track record of growing accounts and reaching non-follower audiences through short-form vertical video.
- Expert-level command of Instagram (Reels, feed, profile conversion) and deep fluency across TikTok and emerging vertical platforms, algorithms, trends, and what drives shares and saves.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret analytics.
- Hands-on creation skills, shooting and editing vertical video (CapCut, Premiere, or equivalent).
- Leadership experience or clear readiness to lead and develop creative talent.
- Availability for nights, weekends, and holidays around the game and event schedule, including home-based game night duty.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender/gender identity, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, national origin, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. EOE & DFWP