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What does a communications lead do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Mandy Butler
What does a communications lead do

The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.

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Communications lead responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real communications lead resumes:

  • Lead content migration of old intranet to new SharePoint platform.
  • Manage editorial calendar and writing content for digital assets including intranet and external web.
  • Lead copywriting for newly launch Chinese language website LeEco.com/Chinese to attract Chinese American customers.
  • Manage intranet content, with responsibility for project news, executive visibility, community activities, educational outreach.
  • Manage and overseen housing operations, administration of HUD programs, supervise maintenance and/or improvements of residential properties.
  • Serve as SharePoint site administrator, creating intranet, surveys and resource repository.
  • Produce Facebook ads, consistently costing less than market average for CPA.
  • Used HTML editor tools to redesign pages and make information easier to access.
  • Develop, edit, and format HTML templates to communicate key product change management.
  • Investigate feasibility of tight integration between the app store, Facebook, MySpace and WindowsLive.
  • Champion and add new CRM component and initiate separate opt-in electronic web-base newsletters for each division.
  • Complete interactive presentations with senior patients to educate about the interactions of herbal medications and prescription medications.
  • Facilitate and complete speaking engagements to educate senior citizens about Medicare and their rights as patients at several public locations.
  • Serve as representative to senior management team during community events and company spokesperson for division, including to nonprofit sector clients.
  • Reorganize MarCom department to support re-branding and expansion of small, usa-base component catalog distributor.

Communications lead skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Communications Leads are proficient in Project Management, Strategic Communications, and HR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Managerial skills, Time-management skills, and Analytical skills.

We break down the percentage of Communications Leads that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Project Management, 9%

    Collaborated with corporate communications, functional and project work stream teams and project management office to ensure consistency in messages delivered.

  • Strategic Communications, 6%

    Developed promotional materials and strategic communication plans regarding benefits of the strategic communications and ensures dissemination of materials to programs DISA-wide.

  • HR, 5%

    Implemented new HR Systems to enhance benefits eligibility.

  • Customer Service, 5%

    Control inventory by performing proper receiving and stocking Customer service Making sure general maintenance and appearance are maintained Cash handling/cash register experience

  • Community Outreach, 4%

    Practiced community outreach daily to strengthen our relationship and presence within the community.

  • Digital Marketing, 4%

    Provide digital marketing and communications thought leadership and expertise, including internal and external best practices and capabilities.

"project management," "strategic communications," and "hr" are among the most common skills that communications leads use at work. You can find even more communications lead responsibilities below, including:

Managerial skills. The most essential soft skill for a communications lead to carry out their responsibilities is managerial skills. This skill is important for the role because "social and community service managers spend much of their time administering budgets and responding to a variety of issues." Additionally, a communications lead resume shows how their duties depend on managerial skills: "promoted with managerial and budgetary responsibilities of >$1m marketing communications budget focused on lead generation and brand awareness. "

Time-management skills. Many communications lead duties rely on time-management skills. "social and community service managers must prioritize and handle numerous tasks, often in a short timeframe.," so a communications lead will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways communications lead responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "led the strategic communications planning and tactical communications activities that resulted in an on time, under budget large-scale sap implementation. "

Analytical skills. This is an important skill for communications leads to perform their duties. For an example of how communications lead responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social and community service managers need to understand and evaluate data in order to provide strategic guidance to their organization." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a communications lead: "planned and ran professional development related to data-driven, act-aligned instruction. ".

Problem-solving skills. For certain communications lead responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a communications lead rely on this skill, as "social and community service managers must be able to address client, staff, and agency-related issues." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what communications leads do: "implemented windows, exchange, sharepoint, office communications server-based hosting solutions with solution partners. "

Communication skills. Another common skill required for communications lead responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of communications leads all the time, as "social and community service managers must be able to speak and write clearly." An excerpt from a real communications lead resume shows how this skill is central to what a communications lead does: "supervised two communications agencies and implemented communications plans for community outreach programs. "

All communications lead skills

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Compare different communications leads

Communications lead vs. Media director

A media director spearheads and oversees a company's entire media-related activities, including marketing and advertising campaigns. They are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, liaising and building positive relationships with external parties, conceptualizing plans for projects and campaigns, and developing strategies to optimize operations. It is also their duty to address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a media director, it is essential to monitor the progress of different teams, leading and encouraging them to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

We looked at the average communications lead salary and compared it with the wages of a media director. Generally speaking, media directors are paid $15,576 higher than communications leads per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between communications leads and media directors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like digital marketing, instagram, and web content.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, communications lead responsibilities require skills like "project management," "strategic communications," "hr," and "customer service." Meanwhile a typical media director has skills in areas such as "video production," "client relationships," "tv," and "client facing." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Media directors really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $117,485. Comparatively, communications leads tend to make the most money in the internet industry with an average salary of $125,151.On average, media directors reach similar levels of education than communications leads. Media directors are 4.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Communications lead vs. 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. They create guidelines on the proper crafting of communication materials that will be published or broadcasted. They also lead the public affairs department in networking activities and industry events. Directors of Public Affairs must be level-headed, calm, and creative. They should know how to communicate with the public, handle crises, and create successful brands.

On average, directors of public affairs earn a $17,651 higher salary than communications leads a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both communications leads and directors of public affairs have skills such as "strategic communications," "community outreach," and "external communications. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real communications lead resumes. While communications lead responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "hr," "customer service," and "digital marketing," directors of public affairs use skills like "government affairs," "public policy," "policy issues," and "government relations."

Directors of public affairs earn a higher average salary than communications leads. But directors of public affairs earn the highest pay in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $137,872. Additionally, communications leads earn the highest salaries in the internet with average pay of $125,151 annually.directors of public affairs earn similar levels of education than communications leads in general. They're 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for communications leads in the next 3-5 years?

Mandy ButlerMandy Butler LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Theatre, Newberry College

I have never been a huge technology person; I still have a flip phone. But I would wager that, through the use of technology, the role of the theatre audience will be redefined somehow. Stage actors have a unique relationship with those who come to view their productions, so I'm hoping that someone comes up with a way to simulate that, at least to a degree.

Communications lead vs. Public information officer

The primary job of a public information officer involves the promotion of a positive public image on social media. Public information officers offer significant information during a crisis. They collect facts and distribute them to the media and organize special events like awards ceremonies. Typically, they work for large organizations and government agencies. They maintain their online presence that can be part of the duties of public information. Also, they can work for long hours on an irregular schedule, especially when the incidents or situations affect the organization.

On average, public information officers earn lower salaries than communications leads, with a $40,263 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on communications leads and public information officers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "strategic communications," "community outreach," and "external communications.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from communications lead resumes include skills like "project management," "hr," "customer service," and "digital marketing," whereas a public information officer is more likely to list skills in "press conferences," "graphic design," "emergency operations," and "crisis communications. "

Public information officers earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $65,730. Comparatively, communications leads have the highest earning potential in the internet industry, with an average salary of $125,151.Most public information officers achieve a similar degree level compared to communications leads. For example, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Communications lead vs. Public relations director

A public relations director is an individual who is employed to design and implement marketing strategies that can cultivate the relationship between a company and the media. Public relations directors collaborate with the internal team to boost brand awareness and maximize brand consistency in all advertising efforts. They must arrange interviews and press releases so that they can promote their company and its products or services. They also maintain relationships with the media and should manage sensitive issues to maintain the company's good reputation.

Public relations directors typically earn lower pay than communications leads. On average, public relations directors earn a $2,296 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, communications leads and public relations directors both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "community outreach," "external communications," and "corporate communications. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "project management," "strategic communications," "hr," and "customer service" are skills that commonly show up on communications lead resumes. On the other hand, public relations directors use skills like pr campaigns, crisis communications, crisis management, and communications strategies on their resumes.The internet industry tends to pay the highest salaries for public relations directors, with average annual pay of $114,632. Comparatively, the highest communications lead annual salary comes from the internet industry.public relations directors reach similar levels of education compared to communications leads, in general. The difference is that they're 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of communications lead

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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