NHL Europe (Instagram) Social Media Manager

Company Description

IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency that drives revenue growth and fan engagement for more than 250 sports and entertainment rightsholders.

The company specializes in media rights management, multi-channel content production, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and event management.

IMG works across major leagues and properties worldwide, helping partners expand their reach and maximize the value of their IP.

Team members collaborate in an international environment and benefit from working at the intersection of sports, media, and technology.

Role Overview and Purpose

Day-to-day community management of the NHL Europe channels (primarily Instagram).

The aim will be to drive growth, engagement, and excitement from a young European-based (18-30) demographic, speaking in English - plus some geo-targeted local language posting.

There will be a focused effort on maximising awareness, interest and excitement around local players, as well as working with broadcasters to drive greater audiences for the product.

The upcoming 2026/27 season Global Series games in Helsinki and Düsseldorf are also key priorities.

Key responsibilities

• Ideate, create, and publish content for the NHL Europe accounts on a daily basis through the 2026/27 season (Instagram)
• You’ll be part of the IMG NHL social team (seven other markets) and work with the NHL Social Media Team to ensure all social platforms are entertaining and engaging every day of the year
• The social channels you run will also promote key NHL initiatives and events with high quality content
• Be prepared to report on the games in a mixture of as they happen, and first thing in the morning (07:00 - 09:00 local time) so the fans get the latest news, highlights, and more, when they wake up (and to cover some key games, for example, the Stanley Cup Final)
• Creating an engaged community, talking to fans every day, and being the main point of contact for all localised queries that come in via social media – referring up where necessary
• Develop a strong network of local influencers and creators who can be relied upon to reach new hockey fans across Europe and can be considered as part of the NHL’s wider marketing strategy
• Execute weekly social media content calendar, supported by IMG
• Contribute new ideas in weekly content calls with internal NHL IMG team
• Closely monitor all social media activity relating to the league, its adjacent leagues, the sport, its teams, its players and staff
• Help promote the league’s activities, content and commercial messaging
• Be prepared to work flexible hours to ensure suitable coverage of the NHL’s regular season and postseason

Key relationships

• Internal – IMG NHL Social Team (Lead, Social Planners and Producers), NHL International Social Media Lead and the other local market Social Managers (Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Espanol, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, TikTok)
• External – European hockey fans, regional hockey fan clubs and teams, and European influencers

Essential Skills

• A minimum of three years’ experience managing sizeable social media channels and audiences - with a specific focus on managing Instagram accounts
• A strong understanding the European sports market in general, but more specifically NHL players, fans, associations and culture
• Strong coordination skills, able to demonstrate experience managing and handling large scale content plans and schedules
• Strong knowledge of NHL and hockey
• Fluent in English (spoken and written), with perfect spelling, grammar, and syntax
• Comfortable adopting a brand's tone of voice across social media platforms
• Aware of requirements of a major brand on social, and suitable approaches to platform restrictions
• Flexible, reactive and sound editorial judgement
• Social/digital first brain rather than journalistic point of view
• A finger on the pulse in terms of social media trends, market understanding and the potential application of this information for the NHL
• Ability to locate, engage with, and manage key online influencers in Europe and the UK.
• A passion for hockey and the NHL
• Proficient in content creation - through in-app editing or Adobe suite.
• Understanding and experience of phone-based or desktop video editing software – e.g. Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut, Avid, Edits/Capcut
• Understanding and experience of photo manipulation software – e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

Preferable Skills

• Experience of live sporting event coverage – inc. video tools such as WSC is preferable
• Good understanding of analytics tools and data – what the data means, how to react to it, and how to reach key KPIs
• Ability to speak a language outside of our core markets (e.g. Danish, Latvian, Slovakian).
• Strong knowledge of NHL and hockey through a European lens

Desired Results

Delivery of social media output which enhances the league’s position of being market-leading in terms of a digital sports experience.

New fan growth, engagement and video views for @NHLEurope on Instagram

Continue to build the NHL’s reputation in Finland and the surrounding areas as a League who embraces this community, leads with creativity and innovation, and is welcoming to all.

A network of engaged influencers (big and small) who actively promote the NHL in a positive light on a regular basis.

Deliver significant support for the League’s broadcast partner in the market.

Professional, accurate and entertaining NHL social media channels.

Further information

We estimate the role would be 1-2 hours every morning to engage fans as they go to work/college etc, 1-2 hours throughout the day as news and other events take place.

Live social media coverage of key games, e.g., NHL Global Series games, NHL Saturday/Sunday, and selective Stanley Cup Playoffs Playoffs and Final games.

Interviews to take place via Microsoft Teams.

Invoices paid on a monthly basis for set amount.

Successful candidate would be expected to use their own computer, but IMG would provide professional level subscriptions to tools like Box, Emplifi and Slack.

Interested?: If interested, please apply by July 31st 2026.