How to hire a communications director

How to hire a communications director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step communications director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a communications director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new communications director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a communications director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The communications director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a communications director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a communications director that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of communications directors.

   Type of Communications Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Communications Director	Public relations managers plan and direct the creation of material that will maintain or enhance the public image of their employer or client. Fundraising managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization.	$29-90
   Director, Customer Relations	Director of Customer Relations is responsible for leading the design and improvement of an organization's overall customer service experience. Their duties include developing customer service budget, driving customer service process improvements, implementing customer service agents, managing email and telephony customer service routing, and creating training programs for customer service staff... Show more	$43-94
   Director Of Public Affairs	Directors of Public Affairs are executives who manage the public relations and communications initiatives of the company. They oversee all external communications that are intended for broadcast... Show more	$33-89

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Web Content
   • Press Releases
   • Customer Service
   • External Communications
   • Project Management
   • Employee Engagement
   • PowerPoint
   • Facebook
   • Executive Communications
   • Community Outreach
   • HR
   • Oversight
   • Twitter
   • Community Relations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist in managing the Facebook and Instagram pages.
   • Develop and manage c-level strategic client relationships to grow revenue base.
   • Create and manage corporate website, online demand gen through SEO and SEM.
   • Manage editorial content of the organization website, build and upload web pages via HTML.
   • Manage the marketing strategy and budget, including B2C acquisition campaigns focuse on out of home and DRTV.
   • Manage media relations, announcements, editorial placement, and speaking opportunities the organizations.

   More communications director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your communications director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A communications director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, communications directors' average salary in hawaii is 43% less than in nevada.
   • Seniority. Entry-level communications directors earn 68% less than senior-level communications directors.
   • Certifications. A communications director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a communications director's salary.

   Average communications director salary

   $107,700yearly

   $51.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level communications director salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average communications director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$131,325	$63
   2	New Jersey	$125,287	$60
   3	Massachusetts	$125,051	$60
   4	Delaware	$124,844	$60
   5	Ohio	$117,013	$56
   6	Pennsylvania	$114,137	$55
   7	Virginia	$113,996	$55
   8	Washington	$112,647	$54
   9	District of Columbia	$111,816	$54
   10	Arizona	$107,158	$52
   11	New York	$106,982	$51
   12	Oklahoma	$106,349	$51
   13	Maryland	$105,946	$51
   14	Georgia	$105,109	$51
   15	Oregon	$104,247	$50
   16	Rhode Island	$104,201	$50
   17	Arkansas	$103,782	$50
   18	Iowa	$101,747	$49
   19	Texas	$100,485	$48
   20	Nebraska	$99,539	$48

   Average communications director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$226,888	$109.08	1
   2	Meta	$221,829	$106.65	10
   3	Baker Botts	$207,713	$99.86
   4	Citi	$198,806	$95.58	6
   5	Bloomberg	$193,682	$93.12	8
   6	Twitter	$193,097	$92.84
   7	Biogen	$192,843	$92.71	3
   8	BP America Inc	$189,369	$91.04	2
   9	ViacomCBS	$186,748	$89.78
   10	APCO Worldwide	$184,217	$88.57	2
   11	Capgemini	$183,997	$88.46	3
   12	PitchBook Data	$178,766	$85.95	2
   13	Urban Institute	$178,623	$85.88	1
   14	Pro Mujer	$177,399	$85.29
   15	BuzzFeed	$175,761	$84.50
   16	Regeneron	$174,829	$84.05	4
   17	bluebird bio	$174,546	$83.92	1
   18	FTI Consulting	$174,360	$83.83	14
   19	Droga5	$174,116	$83.71
   20	Coty	$173,900	$83.61

4. Writing a communications director job description

   A job description for a communications director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a communications director job description:

   Communications director job description example

   TransUnion's Job Applicant Privacy Notice
   
   What We'll Bring:
   Protecting the health and wellness of our associates and candidates considering a career at TransUnion is our highest priority. In supporting this vision, our recruitment and new hire experience for this role is fully virtual for the time being. Candidates interviewing will get to know our team over the phone and video, and this role will operate virtually upon hire until we return to the office. Even though we're not physically together right now, our goal is to provide you a supportive candidate and new hire experience that will immerse you in our culture and set you up for success at TransUnion.
   
   TransUnion believes in investing in the best people. Our dynamic and diverse environment values and promotes the growth of associates in their jobs, roles and careers. Our organization supports ambitious individuals who seek career satisfaction and development.
   
   What You'll Bring:
   Exceptional communication skills, including ability to write, pitch and present compelling content Strong track record developing, executing and measuring the success of strategic communication programs leveraging a variety of digital and traditional channels Strong track record developing media strategy and cultivating reporter/influencer relationships Ability to form effective, consultative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders Strong resource management, project management and prioritization skills Comfortable working under deadline pressure in a rapidly evolving environment Creativity, flexibility and initiative Quick assimilation of complicated and technical informationA minimum of 10 years relevant progressive experience, preferably in a corporate or agency setting Bachelor's degree Experience working in information services and/or financial services Experience communicating with a diverse international audience Advanced degree
   
   Impact You'll Make:
   The Director, International Communications, is responsible for leading TransUnion's external communications across Brazil, Canada and Latin America. This role is responsible for developing short- and long-term strategic communication plans to promote TransUnion news and thought leadership, support stakeholder engagement and demand generation, and protect our reputation and business in the face of issues. We're looking for a great communicator to join TransUnion as a Director of International Communications, responsible for leading TransUnion's communications across Brazil, Canada and Latin America.
   Our ideal candidate will have superior communication expertise, business acumen and people skills, and a strong track record of successful corporate communications You will develop short- and long-term strategic communication plans to promote TransUnion news and thought leadership, support stakeholder engagement, and protect our reputation in the face of issues.Your work will largely focus on external audiences, building the company's brand in local markets, driving demand for TU solutions, and educating local audiences about consumer topics and the social good we provide.You will work directly with local leaders in each market to develop strategic communication campaigns and content that influence local outcomes in alignment with enterprise brand and corporate messaging.You will partner with colleagues across local markets and enterprise support functions to develop high-quality content and campaigns, publish across a variety of channels, and then measure and report out on success.You will lead the company's communications in response to issues affecting the geographies you cover, as part of a cross-functional response team.In this role, you will lead development of communications response strategy and messaging, and you will manage the deployment of messaging where needed through relevant channels. You will also be responsible for efforts to continuously improve our crisis communication capability locally through periodic communications, trainings and plan refinements, in collaboration with our enterprise crisis communications lead.You will be accountable for media relations in your markets, including strategy, reporter relationships and spokesperson development.You will manage a team of 1-2 communicators, as well as communication agencies representing these markets.You will collaborate with communicators and colleagues across the global enterprise to ensure strategy and brand alignment and efficiently coordinate relevant activities Periodically, you will also support the broader Corporate Affairs & Communications team by contributing to other corporate communication initiatives.This person will join a dynamic communications team that helps build and protect TransUnion's reputation with key stakeholders worldwide.This role is expected to manage the work of team members and agencies to optimize performance. Some travel may be required
   
   Accommodation is available, including for applicants with disabilities, in accordance with applicable laws.
   
   TransUnion's Internal Job Title:
   Director, Corporate Affairs and Communications

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5. Post your job

   To find communications directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any communications directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level communications directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your communications director job on Zippia to find and recruit communications director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit communications directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new communications director

   Once you've decided on a perfect communications director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new communications director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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