How to write a community manager job description for UK roles

What to take away

Write duties before personality, so the advert describes a normal week rather than a list of traits.
Name the contract type, the location, the tools and a salary band in pounds.
Ask for evidence of judgement, not years of service alone.
Check moderation and data duties against the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Online Safety Act 2023.
Use one checklist for the advert, the contract and the interview questions.

What the duties cover

Many adverts open by asking for passion. That tells a candidate little. A community manager job description UK style works better when it starts with the work itself. Name the platforms you actually run, such as a forum, a Slack workspace or a Facebook Group.

Tool clauses land better when they name products rather than categories. A forum platform such as Discourse or XenForo, a chat workspace such as Slack and a Facebook Group each need a different moderation routine, so list the tools the team already runs and say which one takes most of the community manager's week.

Duties, Wording and Evidence

Duty

Moderation: Daily checks on posts
Member contact: Reply within one day
Content: Monthly calendar, 4-6 themes
Escalation: Pass issues to named lead
Reporting: Monthly growth and issues

Advert wording

Moderation: Written moderation log
Member contact: Welcome sequence, reply rate
Content: Two published posts, plan
Escalation: Written escalation note
Reporting: Dashboard screenshot or report

Evidence to request

Moderation
Member contact
Content
Escalation
Reporting

Duty	Advert wording	Evidence to request
Moderation	Run daily checks on posts, threads and direct messages	A written moderation log or policy example
Member contact	Answer new members within one working day	A sample welcome sequence and its reply rate
Content	Build a monthly calendar with four to six themes	Two published posts and the plan behind them
Escalation	Pass safeguarding or legal issues to a named lead	A written escalation note from a past role
Reporting	Send a monthly summary of growth, replies and issues	A dashboard screenshot or a written report

The last row matters for budget. Reporting is the duty that justifies the salary line when a finance lead asks what the role returns. These duties match the community manager roles and responsibilities UK employers tend to advertise, which keeps your advert comparable.

The community manager job advert template

Job title, location and working pattern, with the town or city named.
Contract typepermanent, fixed term, freelance day rate or zero hours.
Salary band in pounds, plus the review date and any on call payment.
Duties, ordered by the time they take each week.
Platforms and tools the team already runs, with versions where known.
Data protection and moderation duties, written as specific tasks.
How to apply, with a closing date and one named contact.

Keep each clause to two sentences. Long clauses hide the terms a candidate needs to compare against other adverts.

Advert Template Clauses

Job title, location, working pattern
Contract type and hours
Salary band, review date, on call
Duties ordered by weekly time
Platforms and tools with versions
Data protection and moderation tasks
How to apply, closing date, contact

The evidence checklist

Use this community job description checklist in the person specification. It turns vague claims into things an applicant can show.

Evidence Checklist for Applicants

Two community guidelines written or rewritten
One moderation decision with reason and outcome
A reporting habitmonthly summary or dashboard
Named platforms administered, not just posted on
One example working with support, legal or safeguarding

Two examples of community guidelines they wrote or rewrote.
One moderation decision explained, including the reason and the outcome.
A reporting habit, such as a monthly summary or dashboard.
Named platforms they administered, not just posted on.
One example of working with a support, legal or safeguarding team.

Example: a moderation duty clause

Run daily moderation across the forum and two social channels. Log decisions in the shared sheet, and pass safeguarding concerns to the Head of Support within one hour.

That clause names the channels, the record and the escalation. It also sets a time limit, which makes performance review possible.

Moderation duties sit alongside legal duties. The Data Protection Act 2018 supplements the UK GDPR and shapes how member records and reports are kept, and the Information Commissioner's Office is the authority that enforces it. Platforms that carry user content also face duties under the Online Safety Act 2023, which Ofcom regulates.

Employment law that shapes the advert

Recruitment law in the UK governs the wording of the advert, not only the contract that follows it.

The Equality Act 2010 bars adverts that discriminate by a protected characteristic, so cut age-coded phrases such as 'recent graduate' or 'digital native' and tie every requirement to a duty.
Right to work checksevery candidate must be checked before their first day, under Home Office guidance that sets out which original documents or online share code you can accept.
Off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, decide whether a freelance day rate is taxed as employment. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool is the usual first test, and the client's size decides who carries the determination.
The Working Time Regulations 1998 and ACAS guidance cover rest breaks, the 48-hour average week and how evening and weekend cover is recorded.

Pay, hours and the market

State a band. Words like competitive push candidates to guess and often cost you good applicants. Give the band, the review date and whether the figure is pro rata.

For context on pay and hours, the ONS publishes employment and employee types data covering UK working patterns, and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reports pay by occupation and region. Use both to check whether your band fits a full time or part time contract.

Set the number of hours in the advert. Community work often spills into evenings, so say whether weekend cover is paid, swapped or expected.

Once the advert is live, use this hiring a community manager checklist for the interview stage and the 90 day check.

Skills worth advertising now

Advertise skills a candidate can prove: moderation judgement, plain writing, data handling and calm escalation. Add one skill your organisation will need in the next year.

To see which skills are worth testing, five community trends sets out practical trials and the signals that should change your plan.

Platform choice also shapes the duties. Before you name a tool in the advert, weigh the options the team is considering: a forum, a Slack workspace or a Facebook Group differ on data protection, accessibility and exit terms, and those differences belong in the tools clause.

Common questions

What salary should I advertise for a community manager in the UK?

Give a band rather than a single figure, and say if it is pro rata. Benchmark the band against the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, which reports pay by occupation and region, then check it against your own budget before you publish.

Should the role be permanent or freelance?

It depends on whether the work is steady. Freelance suits a launch or a short campaign, while permanent suits daily moderation and member contact. If you go freelance, test the day rate against the off-payroll working rules before the advert goes live.

How long should the advert be?

Aim for one page. Duties, contract terms, salary band, tools, data duties and how to apply are enough for most roles.

Do I need to mention data protection duties in the advert?

Yes. Naming them helps candidates judge the role and shows the organisation treats member data seriously.