Main Responsibilities of a Social Media Creative Manager at ESPN
Mitchell's career trajectory shifted from a hands-on "individual contributor" creating content using Photoshop and After Effects to a Creative Manager overseeing a team of six designers and collaborating across ESPN and Disney. The role now centers on "laying out the priorities," managing relationships with various stakeholders, and leveraging ESPN's reach to promote Disney initiatives, showcasing a successful transition to people management and cross-company collaboration.
People Management, Project Prioritization, Cross-departmental Collaboration, Creative Design, Social Media Strategy
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Mitchell Clements
Creative Manager, Social Media
ESPN
University of California, Santa Barbara (2013)
UCLA Anderson School of Management (2026)
Political Science, American Studies
Arts, Entertainment & Media, Sports & Fitness
Creative
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. People management is a key skill in this role, transitioning from individual content creation to managing a team of designers.
2. The Creative Manager needs to prioritize tasks and projects based on ESPN's content calendar and major events, like college football games or the NBA.
3. Collaboration across different departments within ESPN and even with other Disney companies is crucial for success in this position.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
My main job now is people management. I initially got into this role because I was someone who could individually create custom things with Photoshop, Premiere, or After Effects. I was hands-on in creating content that people would share.
I transitioned into this role two years ago, moving from an individual contributor to a people manager. It requires a completely different skillset than what got me here in the first place. My current challenges involve ensuring we cover all creative needs across ESPN's social media presence.
This includes preparing for events like college football's Game Day. A few weeks ago, we focused on the Texas-Alabama game, a major company priority, ensuring our creative output was strong for that event and the College Game Day show earlier that day. The NBA season tips off in a couple of weeks, and I need to make sure that the six designers on my team can fulfill all asset requests from the wider ESPN social team.
We have a smaller design group, but over 70 specialists on the larger team. We receive a lot of ideas, so my priority is to lay out what needs to be done and ensure the most important tasks are delivered on time. I also work across different ESPN departments, including paid social media, paid media in general, programming, and espn.com partners.
While not part of my title, being based in LA has led me to assume the role of Synergy Lead for the ESPN Social Team. This involves interacting with many of our Disney partners. For example, I've worked to ensure ESPN Social leverages its large following to promote broader company priorities.
This can include promoting new Marvel movies or Disney Plus. I try to find ways to organically integrate these promotions into ESPN feeds when it makes sense. Ultimately, my biggest priorities are managing a group of talented designers and maintaining relationships with various stakeholders across ESPN and the wider Walt Disney Company.