Post job

How to hire a community development manager

Community development manager hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring community development managers in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a community development manager is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new community development manager to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a community development manager, step by step

To hire a community development manager, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a community development manager:

Here's a step-by-step community development manager hiring guide:

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

What does a community development manager do?

A community development manager is in charge of overseeing the maintenance and development of a community, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to identify and provide the needs of residents, spearheading the renovation of facilities, liaising with contractors, setting goals and objectives, and managing the budget. They may also address concerns from residents, answer inquiries, and resolve issues promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as a community development manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the community's policies and regulations.

Learn more about the specifics of what a community development manager does
jobs
Post a community development manager job for free, promote it for a fee
  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The community development manager 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?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a community development manager 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 community development manager that fits the bill.

    Here's a comparison of community development manager salaries for various roles:

    Type of Community Development ManagerDescriptionHourly rate
    Community Development ManagerPublic 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.$21-47
    Director Of Public AffairsDirectors 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
    Public Relations DirectorA public relations director is a professional 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... Show more$28-72
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Customer Service
    • Community Development
    • Relationship Building
    • ROI
    • Event Participation
    • American Cancer Society
    • CRA
    • Economic Development
    • Facebook
    • Local Community
    • Community Outreach
    • Volunteer Retention
    • Community Events
    • Business Development
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Lead content and graphic development for corporate Facebook and advisor social media programs.
    • Manage organization s membership program by implementing annual membership drives and appeals.
    • Create quarterly marketing plans to increase retail awareness and drive ROI of Microsoft products and services.
    • Implement a computer-base investment reporting system, which reduce reporting time and permit the calculation of portfolio statistics.
    • Key to rebranding of organization throughout merger and appeals to a waning, but key, demographic.
    • Plan mental health professional conferences and complete application process for CEU eligibility.
    More community development manager duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the community development manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A community development manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a community development manager in Oklahoma may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level community development manager. Additionally, a community development manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average community development manager salary

    $67,350yearly

    $32.38 hourly rate

    Entry-level community development manager salary
    $45,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 20, 2026

    Average community development manager salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$86,428$42
    2Washington$80,762$39
    3New Jersey$79,156$38
    4Illinois$76,964$37
    5Oregon$72,873$35
    6District of Columbia$71,915$35
    7Massachusetts$71,829$35
    8Texas$70,653$34
    9New York$70,103$34
    10Pennsylvania$69,237$33
    11North Carolina$67,969$33
    12Virginia$67,744$33
    13Georgia$66,860$32
    14Colorado$63,253$30
    15Maryland$63,101$30
    16New Hampshire$61,838$30
    17Ohio$59,042$28
    18Arizona$58,354$28
    19Missouri$56,999$27
    20Alabama$53,870$26

    Average community development manager salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Meta$138,442$66.5613
    2Federal Reserve Bank of New York$116,766$56.14
    3Federal Reserve$95,452$45.89
    4Federal Reserve Bank$95,129$45.741
    5Toll Brothers$88,756$42.676
    6Amazon$88,471$42.53201
    7Connecticut Children's Medical Center$85,831$41.2629
    82k$85,531$41.121
    9Citizens Financial Group$83,056$39.9311
    10Huntington National Bank$82,847$39.8314
    11Capital One$82,486$39.66241
    12TD Bank$79,185$38.07
    13The PNC Financial Services Group$79,118$38.0414
    14Centers Plan For Healthy Living$78,955$37.96
    15Woodforest Financial Group Inc$70,544$33.92
    16Busey$70,230$33.761
    17Seer Interactive$68,945$33.151
    18City of Seattle$68,811$33.08
    19Allianz of America, Inc.$68,494$32.93
    20SAND & SURF SOCCER CLUB$68,296$32.83
  4. Writing a community development manager job description

    A job description for a community development manager 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 community development manager job description:

    Community development manager job description example

    Grade: 2

    Reporting to : Program Director

    Department: Green and Healthy Homes

    Scope : Responsible for the coordination and provision of the agency’s housing rehabilitation programs and various construction and community development initiatives. Management functions include providing program staff with applicable tools, policy supports, service targets and resources to achieve the program goals. Also responsible for maintaining communication with external partners including subcontractors, local governments and funders.

    Essential Functions

    • Administer, with the assistance of the Director, housing rehabilitation programs and various construction and community development initiatives to be implemented by the agency, either independently or in conjunction with public or private partners.

    • Work in conjunction with development partners including construction services, architectural and engineering, title companies, surveyors, and related professionals.

    • Manage the development and implementation of contracts and grants to include program goals, service methods, implementation design, periodic reviews of activities and progress towards goals, modification of program plans, expenditure of grant funds, reporting to funding sources, and evaluation of activities.

    • Conduct, with the assistance of agency planning staff, periodic assessments of the needs of low-income communities, the availability of services in those communities, and gaps in the service delivery system; and subsequently, recommend the means through which the agency can improve services for these communities.

    • Develop and sustain relationships with members of the community including public officials, representatives of other community-based organizations, and consumers towards developing cooperative relationships, designing appropriate programs, and impacting the community at large.

    • Remain abreast of programmatic requirements including client eligibility standards, federal funding guidelines, state construction and environmental codes and other regulations as are required by local funding sources.

    • Provide day-to-day supervision and direction to assigned staff including but not limited to: scheduling staff; evaluating staff performance; evaluating staff development needs and aiding in determining appropriate training or coaching; and resolving staff conflicts.

    • Serve as the first point of contact for escalated issues and for clients requiring a higher degree of expertise or discretion to resolve their specific issues.

    • Maintain proper client file documentation and utilize agency database to comply with funding requirements.

    • Continuously monitor client and contractor files and data entry in accordance with agency and funding compliance requirements.

    • Prepare statistical and narrative programmatic reports for internal agency use and external funding sources in a timely and accurate manner. This may include participation in the preparation of proposals to private and public funding agencies and the development and implementation of methods through which to collect program data including file maintenance.

  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find community development managers for your business:

    • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your community development manager job on Zippia to find and recruit community development manager 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

    Your first interview with community development manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

    Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 community development manager

    Once you've selected the best community development manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new community development manager. 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.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a community development manager?

There are different types of costs for hiring community development managers. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new community development manager employee.

The median annual salary for community development managers is $67,350 in the US. However, the cost of community development manager hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a community development manager for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $21 and $47 an hour.

Find better community development managers in less time
Post a job on Zippia and hire the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Hiring community development managers FAQs

Search for community development manager jobs

Ready to start hiring?

Browse executive management jobs