Company description

Cookbook Week is a literary food festival in San Francisco that treats cookbooks as what they really are: books that are more than recipes and tell us about identity, history, family, migration, and place. Each spring, we bring authors, chefs, editors, restaurateurs, and readers together for a week of programming across the city.

The week includes Headnotes Live, our flagship theatrical variety show at the Presidio Theatre. We also run Collaborative Dinners, which pair authors and chefs at some of San Francisco's best restaurants, and are growing industry-centered programming for people who make cookbooks for a living. Around those anchors are panels, pop-ups, bookshop events, and free programming across the city.

Job description

• This is a freelance contract project
• Remote, but with preference for those based in or near San Francisco

The Role
We're looking for a freelance social media contractor to take a busy, many-venue event calendar and turn it into content people want to show up for. You'll work closely with the small and nimble Cookbook Week team to:

• Build awareness and excitement in the months before the festival
• Be our eyes and ears on the ground during the week
• Keep the momentum going once the last dinner is over

Our audience is curious and well-read. It includes people who read cookbooks in bed, follow their favorite authors from book to book, and plan trips around restaurants. It also includes industry folks who want to be in the room where the conversation is happening. We started as a pilot in Napa Valley and moved to San Francisco in 2026. We’re growing for 2027 and excited for expanded programming and leading talent.

Our voice is literary but not precious, and celebratory but substantive. We want social content that sounds the same way.

Scope of Work

Before the festival

• Build and maintain a content calendar tied to lineup announcements, ticket releases, sponsor moments, and program launches
• Write and design feed posts, carousels, and Stories that make each event clear and appealing
• Produce Reels (and possibly TikToks) on content such as author teasers, restaurant previews, behind-the-scenes looks at planning, and short explainers ("What is Headnotes Live?")
• Coordinate with talent, restaurants, and partners on collabs, tags, and shared content
• Support ticket-driving pushes, including Story sequences and DM-driven sales flows

During the festival

• Capture photo and video on-site during Cookbook Week alongside additional photographers and videographers
• Run real-time Stories coverage that makes followers feel they're there and want to be next time
• Turn short-form clips around quickly
• Manage the community: replies, reshares, DMs, and tags from attendees and partners
• Make sure sponsors and partners are visible in coverage in ways that feel natural

After the festival

• Publish recap content: highlight Reels, best-of carousels, and thank-yous to talent and partners
• Organize the footage and photos you captured so the team can reuse them
• Deliver a clear, honest recap report covering what worked, what didn't, reach and engagement numbers, standout posts, and suggestions for next year

Core Deliverables

• Content calendar (pre-festival through post-festival)
• Feed posts and carousels
• Instagram Stories, planned and live
• Instagram Reels (and possibly TikToks)
• On-site photo and video capture
• Community management across Instagram (and possibly TikTok)
• Organized asset library after the festival
• Recap and performance report

What You Bring

• Hands-on social media work, with a portfolio showing Instagram or TikTok content you made yourself
• Fluency in content strategy and short-form video
• A strong eye for design and a sense of style that aligns with our brand
• Sharp, human copywriting
• A strong sense of organization
• Ease working with talent and partners: You're professional and warm
• The ability to work quickly on-site without losing quality
• Comfort with scheduling tools, basic analytics, and editing apps (CapCut, Premiere, or similar)

Nice to Have

• Experience in food media, publishing, restaurants, or hospitality
• Live event or festival coverage experience
• Familiarity with San Francisco and the Bay Area food scene
• A genuine interest in cookbooks and the people who make them
• Experience with Instagram DM automation (we use ManyChat currently)
• Photography skills beyond phone capture
• Existing relationships with Bay Area chefs, restaurants, or food creators

Availability

This is a freelance contract. We expect the workload to change over the engagement:

• Pre-festival (now through early May, 2027): a few hours per week, remote-friendly, with regular check-ins with the team
• Festival week (May 3-8, 2027): on-site in San Francisco, with evening and weekend events (exact schedule and on-site needs and hours to be determined)
• Post-festival (May 9-20): a short wrap-up period for recap content and reporting

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

If you are not registered, you'll be prompted to do so. Don't worry, it's free!

Deadline

no deadline