What does a communications officer do?
A communications officer is responsible for maintaining the brand image of an organization through monitoring marketing campaigns and public relations techniques. Communications officers handle press releases, social media management, media outreach, reviewing digital contents, and disseminating public communications within the company's premises and appropriate audience. They often coordinate with the senior management to develop strategic procedures to improve brand awareness, attracting potential partnerships that would generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability. A communications officer must have excellent leadership skills to monitor the performance of the communications staff and ensure maximum productivity.
Communications officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real communications officer resumes:
- Manage Facebook page and create event page for grand opening.
- Perform the duties of watch supervisor managing the maintenance and operation of all RF and base band equipment.
- Lead project to upgrade CCTV cameras, digital recording devices, fiber optics, and monitors within the operations center.
- Coordinate the installation of a university wide RF base Motorola radio system that has IP base network components.
- Answer PBX phones for the hospital including paging duties and taking messages.
- Document findings of building checks, fire watches, and park patrol observations.
- Provide proper EMD instructions over the phone to deliver a baby (11-15-15).
- Confirm warrants, missing persons, stolen vehicles and articles from FCIC and NCIC.
- Provide proper medical procedures according to Pro-QA guidelines, including stroke diagnostic and CPR instructions.
- Assist officers and other LEO agencies with warrant information obtain from NCIC and FCIC database.
- Perform a full range of radio, telephone, and CCTV operational duties in the 24-hour communication center.
- Answer administrative, alarm, and emergency telephone calls, dispatch appropriate police, fire, and ems units.
- Enter and delete warrants, missing persons, stolen items, property and vehicles in the ACIC/NCIC cad system.
- Monitor various radio frequencies such as by those used by public works departments, police, ems, & fire.
- Provide emergency instructions such as CPR, childbirth, Heimlich maneuver, and other life-saving techniques to callers in need.
Communications officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Communications Officers are proficient in Affordable Housing, Non-Emergency Telephone Calls, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Communications Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Affordable Housing, 15%
Develop relationships with affordable housing non-profits and developers.
- Non-Emergency Telephone Calls, 11%
Received emergency and non-emergency telephone calls; asked questions to solicit information regarding the nature and location of the emergency.
- Customer Service, 7%
Prioritized customer service and helped improve relationships between security department and school administrations and staff.
- Computer Aided Dispatch, 6%
Operated law enforcement telecommunications system to interface with state and national databases, computer aided dispatch, and local records management systems
- Public Safety Agencies, 5%
Perform general functions of public safety agencies communications and staffing efforts.
- CAD, 5%
Utilized computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to ensure officer safety by maintaining officer location information and public contact information.
Most communications officers use their skills in "affordable housing," "non-emergency telephone calls," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential communications officer responsibilities here:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a communications officer to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities." Communications officers often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "progressed through the ranks to leadership positions, with responsibilities for operation and maintenance of sophisticated military communications systems other"
Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform communications officer duties is speaking skills. Communications officers responsibilities require that "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." Communications officers also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "record and document all incidents addressed by units, bringing statistical value to the response and resolution of emergency situations. "
Writing skills. This is an important skill for communications officers to perform their duties. For an example of how communications officer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a communications officer: "oversee press and media activity including writing and distributing press releases (disaster/crisis/non-disaster) for public welfare and safety. ".
Organizational skills. For certain communications officer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a communications officer rely on this skill, as "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what communications officers do: "possessed good interpersonal communication and written communication skills; detail-oriented and customer service-oriented; excellent organizational skills. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in communications officer job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what communications officers do. Communications officer responsibilities rely on this skill because "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues." You can also see how communications officer duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "cultivated greater public awareness of ihfa's mission to provide affordable housing solutions to idahoans. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a communications officer does. Communications officer responsibilities require this skill because "managers deal with the public regularly; therefore, they must be friendly enough to build a rapport with, and receive cooperation from, their media contacts and donors." This resume example highlights how communications officer duties rely on this skill: "receive and dispatch calls for fire, rescue and police vcin/ncic operator communications training officer emd instructor dcjs general instructor vcin instructor"
The three companies that hire the most communications officers are:
- Cleveland Clinic8 communications officers jobs
- SAIC6 communications officers jobs
- United Nations Foundation6 communications officers jobs
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Compare different communications officers
Communications officer 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a communications officer are more likely to require skills like "affordable housing," "non-emergency telephone calls," "customer service," and "computer aided dispatch." On the other hand, a job as a media director requires skills like "digital marketing," "video production," "media planning," and "client relationships." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Media directors really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $117,485. Comparatively, communications officers tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $43,787.The education levels that media directors earn slightly differ from communications officers. In particular, media directors are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a communications officer. Additionally, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Communications officer vs. Police dispatcher
Police Dispatchers are responsible for assessing incoming calls and deploying police resources using professional judgment. Their duties include answering emergency calls from agencies and the public, gathering information from police systems and call handlers, conducting priority assessments based on vulnerability and risks, and liaising with police officers to determine the logistics of place and time of an incident lodged. They also help facilitate investigations, reassure victims, and maintain accurate incident records.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that communications officer responsibilities requires skills like "affordable housing," "non-emergency telephone calls," "customer service," and "emergency situations." But a police dispatcher might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patrol," "ncic," "two-way radio," and "data entry."
Police dispatchers may earn a lower salary than communications officers, but police dispatchers earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $40,071. On the other hand, communications officers receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $43,787.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Police dispatchers tend to reach lower levels of education than communications officers. In fact, they're 6.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Communications officer vs. Social media director
Social Media Directors are responsible for the promotion of an organization's brand, services, and products through social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They are responsible for implementing a social media strategy, tracking social media presence, keeping abreast of social media trends, and adopting new social media channels. Other duties include measuring Twitter activity, analyzing traffic patterns, assessing Facebook comments, and inspecting reception levels of social media messages. They contribute to creating progress reports, providing feedback to management, and contributing to strategy improvements.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, communications officers are more likely to have skills like "affordable housing," "non-emergency telephone calls," "customer service," and "computer aided dispatch." But a social media director is more likely to have skills like "facebook insights," "instagram," "social media marketing," and "digital marketing."
Social media directors earn the highest salary when working in the internet industry, where they receive an average salary of $86,810. Comparatively, communications officers have the highest earning potential in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $43,787.When it comes to education, social media directors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to communications officers. In fact, they're 3.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Communications officer 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between communications officers and directors of public affairs, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a communications officer might have more use for skills like "affordable housing," "non-emergency telephone calls," "customer service," and "computer aided dispatch." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors of public affairs require skills like "government affairs," "public policy," "external stakeholders," and "policy issues. "
In general, directors of public affairs earn the most working in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $137,872. The highest-paying industry for a communications officer is the non profits industry.The average resume of directors of public affairs showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to communications officers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 6.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 5.2%.Types of communications officer
Updated January 8, 2025
