[LBC #138] CMAD 2026, Community Week, New Tools & Fresh Reads

Hi friends!

Welcome to another week of building, learning, and connecting:

🎉 CMAD 2026 is officially on! Community Manager Appreciation Day is coming back as a global, community-led celebration. Head to the website to find a gathering near you (or get inspired to host one!).

🧰 Have you built your profile yet? Our Portfolio Builder and Community Profiles are here to help you showcase your work, get discovered, and stand out as a community professional.

🎤 Community Week 2026 is taking shape. Early Bird tickets are live for London, New York, and Lisbon — grab yours and join us for a week of learning, connection, and shared practice.

🗓️ Kicking off the year together: our first online events of 2026 are coming up soon. Check the calendar and save your seat.

📚 This week’s resources explore strategy, operations, analytics, AI, and community design, with reads from Higher Logic, Circle, Discourse, and CMX.

📘 Featured playbook: Community Meets CX with Christina Garnett — a practical guide to designing communities that strengthen trust, advocacy, and the entire customer journey.

💌 Fresh perspectives from community pros, featuring Rosie Sherry, Martha Essien, Jillian Bejtlich, and more.

💼 On the hunt for your next role — or your next hire? The Job Board has new opportunities across the US, Europe, Asia, and remote-friendly teams. Check it out!

Scroll on for stories, tools, and opportunities to start the year connected and inspired.

With love,
Francisco, Paôla & the Led by Community Team of Volunteers

Search and AI have changed how customers find answers and how Community teams show impact. This playbook breaks down how top teams prove value without chasing clicks or vanity metrics. Includes practical frameworks, a 30–60–90 day reset, and a smarter operating model.

Our friends at Membership World are running the Membership World Roadshow UK 2026 — a one-day, city-by-city experience for association, charity, and membership leaders. Taking place in Birmingham, Manchester, London, and Glasgow, each stop blends thought leadership, peer exchange, and hands-on workshops focused on member engagement, retention, digital transformation, and sustainable growth, with honest conversations and actionable takeaways you can use right away.

• From Circle: The 16 best platforms for content creators in 2026. Read

• From Discourse: AI Can Code (But It Doesn’t Care About Quality). Read

• From CMX: Building Community with Purpose: Anjum Arsheen's Journey in Dubai and MENA. Read

• How exclusive should your community be? by Carrie Melissa Jones. Read

We love to feature Community Professionals sharing their wisdom with the community. This week we have a few:

• Variety is the spice of life! by Rosie Sherry. Read

• Stop Renting Attention by Bill Johnston. Read

• Non-Negotiables for Community Professionals in 2026 by Martha Essien. Read

• What Kitchens Taught Me About Community-first Leadership by Chris Catania. Read

• Welcome to The Community Nerd by Jillian Bejtlich. Read

Are we missing a newsletter? Let us know!

And more worth reading below:

• From Rosieland: Community is not magical. Read

• From Gravyty: End-of-year reflections: A moment to reflect and reconnect with your alumni community. Read

• Which topics should go to the help center and which should be community-curated in FAQs? Read

• If I Were Starting My Community Management Career in 2026, I’d Focus on This First by Nikita Heyland. Read

This week, we have a few new podcast episodes available:

• From Community Pulse Podcast: 2025 End of Year Wrap-Up. Listen

We have 120+ jobs available in our Job Board, but we are featuring a few below:

US & Remote

💼 Community Engagement Manager- US(Hybrid) at Base44. Apply

💼 Senior Manager, Customer Marketing- US(Remote) at G2. Apply

💼 Startup Partnerships & Community- US(Remote) at Sprinto. Apply

💼Senior Community Manager- US(In-Office) at WalkMe. Apply

💼Co-Founder, Head of Communityr- US(Hybrid) at flowstate. Apply

💼 Community Manager- US(Hybrid) at Atomic. Apply

💼 LA Community Lead- US (In-Office) at Pickle. Apply

💼 Community Marketing Manager- US(Hybrid) at Figma. Apply

💼 GTM, Community & Social Associate- US(Remote) at Gen. Apply

💼 Community Manager- US(Remote) at Cornett. Apply

💼 LLM Optimization Lead- US(Remote) at MongoDB. Apply

💼 Senior Manager, Content Marketing & Community- US(Remote) at PolyAI. Apply

💼 Creator Global Community Manager, Global eCommerce- US(Remote) at Lenovo. Apply

💼 Customer Marketing Manager- US(Remote) at OpenInfra Foundation. Apply

💼 Associate Manager, Community- US(Hybrid) at Linktree. Apply

💼 Customer Marketing & Community Manager- US(Remote) at Harness. Apply

💼 Growth Associate - Community- US(Hybrid) at Encord. Apply

💼 Events & Community Manager- US(Remote) at GoodTime. Apply

💼 Community Marketing Intern- US(In-Office) at Illumio. Apply

Canada & Remote

💼 Community Contract– Canada(Remote) at Superhuman Mail. Apply

💼 Brand and Community Lead– Canada(Remote) at Rewind. Apply

💼 Manager, Customer Community– Canada(Remote) at ServiceTitan. Apply

💼 Senior Manager, Go-to-Market Community– Canada(Hybrid) at ARC’TERYX. Apply

Europe & UK & Remote

💼 Crypto Community Manager- Hungary (Hybrid) at Apraemio. Apply

💼 Community Engagement Manager- UK(In-Office) at The Jockey Club. Apply

💼 Community Support Specialist- UK(Remote) at Figma. Apply

💼 Customer Marketing and Community Manager- UK(Remote) at TryHackMe. Apply

💼 Field Marketing & Events- UK (In-Office) at LangChain. Apply

💼 Field Marketing & Community Manager- Germany (Hybrid) at Remberg. Apply

💼 Creator Partnerships Manager- UK (Hybrid) at Dizplai. Apply

💼 Specialist, Customer Care - Community- Austria (Hybrid) at Bitpanda. Apply

💼 Social & Community Manager - Denmark (Hybrid) at Raw Power Mobile. Apply

💼 Growth and Community Manager- Portugal (Hybrid) at Tutai. Apply

💼 Community / Event Manager- Germany (Hybrid) at Berlin Bytes. Apply

💼 Ecosystem & Community Marketing Manager- Malta (Remote) at Simply Staking. Apply

💼 Brand & Community Manager - UK (In-Office) at Stealth Startup. Apply

💼 Workplace Culture & Community Lead- UK (In-Office) at Lloyds Banking Group. Apply

💼 Community Development Manager- UK (Remote) at Camplify Holdings Limited. Apply

💼 Director, Customer Advocacy- EMEA (Remote) at GitLab. Apply

💼 AI Coding Community Manager- UK (In-Office) at Version 1. Apply

Australia & Asia & Remote

💼  Brand & Community Marketer- India (In-Office) at SigNoz. Apply

💼 On-Campus Ambassador- India (Remote) at Reddit. Apply

💼 Social Copywriter & Community Manager -Singapore (Hybrid) at Maker Lab. Apply

💼 Social Impact & Community Support - India (In-Office) at Marpu Foundation. Apply

💼 Community Projects - India (In-Office) at NavGurukul. Apply

💼 Manager Community Mobilization- India (In-Office) at SMEC. Apply

💼 Social Media and Community Lead - India (Remote) at TalentGum. Apply

💼 Community Relations - India (In-Office) at AMD. Apply

Jobs in other locations

💼 Community Manager- Global(Remote) at BitterBrains. Apply

💼 Community of Practice Manager- US(Remote) at World Vision. Apply

📅 The Global Events Calendar

🗓️ Feb 11th, Turning Members into Storytellers: Unlocking the Power of Peer-Led Content with Beth Saunders. Save your spot

🗓️ Feb 25th, Build a Thriving Membership Community in 2026 with Tom Ross. Save your spot

🗓️ Mar 11th, Scaling Community Relationships at Squarespace with Sarah Greisdorf. Save your spot

🗓️ July 07th, London Community Week 2026 (July 7th - 10th, 2026). Save your spot