What does a communications department head do?
A communications department head is in charge of overseeing the internal and external communication operations of a company. They manage the communications department staff, set goals and guidelines, establish budgets and timelines, liaise with key partners, coordinate with different teams to conceptualize and execute plans, and resolve issues promptly. They must also spearhead the development of media and marketing materials, monitoring the workflow and the workforce to ensure efficiency. Moreover, as the communications department head, they must lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
Communications department head responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real communications department head resumes:
- Manage and develop marketing, communication, and implementation process improvements for training curricula and the department's intranet website.
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- Compose themed bi-weekly bulletins on Facebook to publicize performances.
- Develop digital and social media strategy and launch internal and external websites and Facebook page.
- Serve as representative to senior management team during community events and company spokesperson for division, including to nonprofit sector clients.
- Serve as Intranet editor, using SharePoint.
- Initiate and execute rebranding of company.
- Integrate multiple acquisitions into the organization, including defining the value proposition, rebranding and sales force communication.
- Manage creative agency relationships and lead execution of commercial excellence awards program, Americas mid-year growth summit and kick-off meetings.
Communications department head skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Communications Department Heads are proficient in Communications Strategy, External Communications, and External Stakeholders. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Communications Department Heads that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Communications Strategy, 17%
Oversee communications strategy for the Rosetta Stone brand - U.S. and globally - including its corporate, consumer and B-to-B divisions.
- External Communications, 16%
Managed external communications, media relations, executive communications, internal communications, community relations and philanthropy.
- External Stakeholders, 14%
Increased the number of experiential learning opportunities for internal and external stakeholders by 300%.
- Direct Reports, 10%
Managed Swiss Quality/Compliance group (7 staff; 3 direct reports) and CAPA, Audit, and Document Control functions.
- Corporate Communications, 9%
Steer all corporate communications including investor relations reporting, crisis communications, executive media training, messaging and strategy.
- Facebook, 5%
Increased awareness through digital communication - Facebook, Twitter.
Common skills that a communications department head uses to do their job include "communications strategy," "external communications," and "external stakeholders." You can find details on the most important communications department head responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a communications department head to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what communications department heads do because "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Additionally, a communications department head resume shows how communications department heads use interpersonal skills: "distinguished interpersonal wrote and edited reports, press releases, and other important documents with and customer service skills. "
Organizational skills. Many communications department head duties rely on organizational skills. "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements.," so a communications department head will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways communications department head responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "steered company's organizational structure from disarray to a well-defined executive board under the chief executive officer. "
Speaking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of communications department heads is speaking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday communications department head duties, as "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "wrote/edited articles, statements, press releases, employee communications and plans and served as media spokesperson. "
Writing skills. A big part of what communications department heads do relies on "writing skills." You can see how essential it is to communications department head responsibilities because "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical communications department head tasks: "served as media spokesperson for the business and bore responsibility for developing and writing press releases. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in communications department head job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what communications department heads do. Communications department head responsibilities rely on this skill because "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." You can also see how communications department head duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "resolved most hr inquiries that arise in the field prior to corporate involvement. "
The three companies that hire the most communications department heads are:
- Ocean State Job Lot76 communications department heads jobs
- BNY Mellon5 communications department heads jobs
- PSEA4 communications department heads jobs
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Compare different communications department heads
Communications department head vs. Media specialist
Media specialists are individuals who establish and administer content on various social media platforms. The job involves monitoring site metrics, overseeing creative design, and responding to reader comments. Specialists offer advice to administrators and teachers on the use of non-print social media. They work for huge enterprises with multimedia departments, new media departments, and in-house websites. The skills the job requires include trend awareness, social media ads, community management, strong visual aesthetic, and understanding SEO.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between communications department heads and media specialist. For instance, communications department head responsibilities require skills such as "communications strategy," "external communications," "external stakeholders," and "direct reports." Whereas a media specialist is skilled in "digital marketing," "video production," "customer service," and "web content." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, media specialists reach similar levels of education than communications department heads. Media specialists are 3.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Communications department head vs. Digital media internship
In a digital media internship, an intern participates in various creative projects while under the supervision and guidance of a supervising manager or staff. They usually perform support tasks to gather industry insights and experience, which typically includes creating digital content according to project guidelines and themes, conducting research and analyses, utilizing client feedback, and handling digital platforms, such as websites and social media pages. They also perform clerical support tasks such as preparing documents, taking calls and other forms of correspondence, and running errands as necessary.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, communications department head responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "communications strategy," "external communications," "external stakeholders," and "direct reports." Meanwhile, a digital media internship has duties that require skills in areas such as "video content," "digital marketing," "instagram," and "digital content." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, digital media interns achieve lower levels of education than communications department heads. They're 8.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for communications department heads in the next 3-5 years?
Mandy Butler
Associate Professor of Theatre, Newberry College
Communications department head vs. Social media internship
In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, communications department heads are more likely to have skills like "communications strategy," "external communications," "external stakeholders," and "direct reports." But a social media internship is more likely to have skills like "instagram," "facebook insights," "social media marketing," and "linkedin."
Most social media interns achieve a lower degree level compared to communications department heads. For example, they're 9.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Communications department head vs. Account coordinator
An account coordinator assists account executives by providing day-to-day administrative support such as preparing and filing sales contracts and reports. As coordinators, they must maintain a good relationship with their clients and vendors by addressing issues and with regular communication. Account coordinators must possess essential skills such as a strong business administration background, adept at both written and verbal communication, and excellent time management. They are also responsible for researching prospective clients and produce client feedbacks to their account management teams.
Types of communications department head
Updated January 8, 2025
