Hi! I'm Nate (he/him). I created Work With Indies– a smol job board and inclusive community dedicated to helping people find and fill roles working for and with indie game developers. While we’re just getting started, we’ve already become a vital community resource and are making a real difference in people’s lives.

Our aspirations are not only to make it easier to find work in indie games but to help make indie games a better place to work.

Work With Indies is currently a self-funded and solo operation. This means that in addition to building the site and managing operations, I also lead all of our social media and community efforts. And to be honest, I don't think I am very good at it. This is where you come in.

‍

‍

I am seeking a talented, curious, and creative teammate that knows much more about social and community than I do, and is looking to make a positive impact on indie games while building upon their network and resume.

In a new role as the second member of our team, our first Social Media & Community Manager will have the opportunity to not only influence and shape our community engagement strategy but define and become the voice of the Work With Indies brand.

This is a high-achieving junior or mid-level position. As I am not the right person to mentor someone on how to be a successful social media and community manager, the ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of what it would take to successfully grow and engage our community of talented people and developers.

‍

‍Your Responsibilities

• Create content and execute plans to promote the jobs posted to Work With Indies through an authentic, cheerful, and supportive voice on Twitter and Discord.
• Engage with the indie games community on social and community platforms, amplifying insightful and encouraging resources, opportunities, and voices for job seekers/creators– particularly those for and from underrepresented groups.
• Source and support a group of volunteers to create a welcoming, inclusive, and educational space for those looking to learn and grow, as well as uplift and empower one another, in our Discord server.
• Smile. Have fun. Be kind to people.

‍

Your Working Backwards Results

Below are just a few of the results that I would expect you to deliver in your new role. Of course, these will be augmented with your own creative ideas and 🤞 a few of the more ambitious projects on our roadmap.

‍

You will define, implement, and execute the end-to-end social media and community strategy to:

• Increase Twitter followers from 3800 to X and monthly impressions from 500k to Y.
  
• Grow our Discord from 1250 to X members; successfully enroll into Server Discovery.
  
• Launch roles, bots, and automation to increase Discord engagement by X%, weekly visitors by Y%, and achieve Partner status within Z weeks of starting your role.
  
• Grow Announcement Channel reach by X% to Y total servers, including [these well-known servers uplifting and empowered marginalized developers], resulting in X site visitors per month (+Y%).
  
• Work directly with X indie developers, including [well-known studios similar to KO_OP, The Game Band, and Night School Studio], to coordinate and host dozens of talks, panels, and AMAs; share these expert insights with and for the benefit of our members looking to break into or level up their careers in games.
  
• Identify an opportunity to [solve a fun problem], create a proposal, then pitch and successfully launch [your idea] to [deliver a positive result].
  
• Help ∞ people start and grow their careers in indie games!

‍

Ideally, this is a positive experience for the both of us and either 1. turns into a long-term role at Work With Indies, or 2. provides you with the support, resume and network you need to grow into your next role, leaving me and our community members better off for having had the opportunity to get to know you.

Minimum Requirements

• You agree that Black Lives Matter.
• You are and/or wish to be a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion in games.
• You're familiar with Twitter and Discord and have an idea of what social media management and image creation tools we should be using (it would be lovely if that included Figma).
• You have a voice and want to use it. You have strong opinions (loosely held) and won't be afraid to tell me when I am wrong.
• You are looking for mentorship and open to guidance, but also thrive when given ownership and the opportunity to lead and drive your own results.
• You are genuinely excited for the opportunity to help our community members land their dream jobs.
• You're enthusiastic about creating and hosting community and social media events.
• You are curious, love to try new things, and learn from your mistakes.
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills + an attention for detail; You can easily identify grahamatical and punctuation error's.
• You keep your community spaces warm and inclusive through positive reinforcement, encouraging good behavior, and modeling desired interactions.

‍

Bonus Qualifications

• You may be able to demonstrate prior success with growing social media and community followings. Yes, work you did for student projects and game jams count.
• You might already have relationships with various indie game companies and their social media managers.
• You could be a writer of Hawaii Friday's fan fiction and/or believe The Commissioner is doing a Great Job.
• You don't have to like pineapple on pizza, but it is a plus.

‍

How We Work

You will work from wherever you want at a time and pace that works for you. I believe we do our best work when we are well-rested. You should feel free to tag me in any time you need an extended break.

We will communicate and collaborate over email, Slack, and Discord, as well as shared workspaces (i.e. Notion). We'll check-in over voice/video as often as you like, but a minimum of once per week.

As we will work asynchronously and speed will sometimes matter, it is important that you are self-sufficient and are able to make decisions and solve problems independently.

‍

Important Details

• The start date is ASAP
• This is a part-time contract estimated at <20 hours per week
• The length of the contract is 3 months with the hope to extend from there
• At $25 USD per hour, you will be the highest paid member of our team by about $25/hour 😂

We have what we believe is a fair and simple freelance contract that you can view here. Let me know if anything in there makes you 🤮– I'd be happy to take feedback and make improvements for you and others.

‍

A Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

I welcome and encourage applicants from a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience. I recognize that underrepresented groups are not given enough chances to gain experience in the game industry, which is why they are underrepresented. Work With Indies is dedicated to creating a more diverse and inclusive space within games, and we hope to be among those that lead by example with our own hiring practices.

I hope to create a workplace that reflects the talent and communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

I recognize and celebrate (and hope to inspire you to see) your unique experiences and perspective as your competitive advantage. And I bet that you can use them to teach me a thing or two or a hundred.

I can't wait to meet you!‍

‍

How to Apply

If I sound like someone that you would be excited to work with, you are inspired by our values, and you believe in our opportunity to have a meaningful impact on indie games and the people that make them, then please use this form to submit your application.

• Want to know what I look for in resumes? Read mine. Also, this.
• Cover letters are optional. If you’d like to write one, this is a great template.
• I’d love to learn more about you through your personal sites, portfolios, and links to prior work.

Don’t worry if you don’t meet 100% of our qualifications. My aim is to hire a candidate that can both make immediate contributions as well as learn and grow in their new role. I strive for continuous improvement and hope to provide you with the right opportunity, support, and mentorship to help you to do the same.

‍

Next Steps

1. Applications are open through February 8th. All applicants should expect a response by February 15th.

2. I will host an AMA in our Discord on February 3rd at 11AM PST to answer your questions about Work With Indies, the role, the application process, and working with me.

3. If you miss the AMA, don't worry. Successful candidates will receive a request for a 30 minute call where we will introduce the role in greater detail and I can answer your questions in a private, one-on-one environment.

4. If that conversation goes well, we will set up an additional one hour video interview.‍

‍

If you have ideas on how this job description could be improved, please feel free to drop into this Google Document and add your comments. I promise to review and consider each one.