Post job

Communications manager vs communications lead

The differences between communications managers and communications leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a communications manager, becoming a communications lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a communications lead has an average salary of $96,988, which is higher than the $81,304 average annual salary of a communications manager.

The top three skills for a communications manager include customer service, property management and yardi. The most important skills for a communications lead are project management, strategic communications, and HR.

Communications manager vs communications lead overview

Communications ManagerCommunications Lead
Yearly salary$81,304$96,988
Hourly rate$39.09$46.63
Growth rate8%12%
Number of jobs26,35020,413
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4245
Years of experience46

What does a communications manager do?

A communications manager is responsible for overseeing a company or organization's public relations by devising various strategies and finding new opportunities. They must craft and produce marketing materials such as campaigns, advertisements, newsletters, social media engagements, and press releases to shape and improve a brand or company. Furthermore, a communications manager must accomplish administrative tasks such as preparing reports and necessary documentation, reaching out to advertisers, leading communication letters, and coordinating with marketing personnel from other departments.

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.

Communications manager vs communications lead salary

Communications managers and communications leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

Communications ManagerCommunications Lead
Average salary$81,304$96,988
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $122,000Between $67,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMcKinsey & Company IncMeta
Best paying industry-Internet

Differences between communications manager and communications lead education

There are a few differences between a communications manager and a communications lead in terms of educational background:

Communications ManagerCommunications Lead
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Communications manager vs communications lead demographics

Here are the differences between communications managers' and communications leads' demographics:

Communications ManagerCommunications Lead
Average age4245
Gender ratioMale, 34.9% Female, 65.1%Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage16%14%

Differences between communications manager and communications lead duties and responsibilities

Communications manager example responsibilities.

  • Co-administered sales campaigns in Salesforce, CRM to efficiently manage sales productivity of communication and leads.
  • Lead and manage marketing department's copywriting and editing team and develop many aspects of corporate communication.
  • Manage creative agency relationships and lead execution of commercial excellence awards program, Americas mid-year growth summit and kick-off meetings.
  • Manage all Medicaid paperwork, manage staff payroll, client attendance.
  • Manage all facets of community programs and recruitment for HIV prevention clinical trials.
  • Train in YARDI to complete daily transitions, manage resident ledgers and prepare weekly/monthly reports.
  • Show more

Communications lead example responsibilities.

  • 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.
  • Show more

Communications manager vs communications lead skills

Common communications manager skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • Property Management, 9%
  • Yardi, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Press Releases, 4%
  • Web Content, 4%
Common communications lead skills
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Strategic Communications, 6%
  • HR, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Community Outreach, 4%
  • Digital Marketing, 4%

Browse executive management jobs