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What does a community development manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

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.

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Community development manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real community development manager resumes:

  • 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.

Community development manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Community Development Managers are proficient in Customer Service, Community Development, and Relationship Building. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Community Development Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 20%

    Developed marketing communications plans and outsourcing strategy with program/product managers within Customer Service & across Apple.

  • Community Development, 18%

    Established a housing and community development citizen's advisory committee and served as liaison between this committee and local elected officials.

  • Relationship Building, 14%

    Focus was directed towards relationship building, marketing outreach, strategic networking and efficient donor management.

  • ROI, 10%

    Created quarterly marketing plans to increase retail awareness and drive ROI of Microsoft products and services.

  • Event Participation, 8%

    Collaborate with community health systems to maximize event success, attaining corporate sponsorship, volunteer recruitment and event participation.

  • American Cancer Society, 2%

    Presented to schools, businesses, service organizations, and individuals encouraging participation in American Cancer Society events.

"customer service," "community development," and "relationship building" are among the most common skills that community development managers use at work. You can find even more community development manager responsibilities below, including:

Leadership skills. The most essential soft skill for a community development manager to carry out their responsibilities is leadership skills. This skill is important for the role because "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities." Additionally, a community development manager resume shows how their duties depend on leadership skills: "provided leadership and direction for the development and implementation of the corporate cra strategies. "

Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling community development manager duties is speaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." According to a community development manager resume, here's how community development managers can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted community meetings to determine neighborhood needs which were addressed in community development block grant applications. "

Writing skills. community development managers are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to community development manager responsibilities, because "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." A community development manager resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "provided training and technical support to chapters on grant writing, grassroots fundraising, awareness, media, and community outreach. "

Problem-solving skills. community development manager responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues." This resume example shows what community development managers do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "identified and solved inside sales-related issues when implementing salesforce as a company. "

Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a community development manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what community development managers relies on this skill, since "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." How this skill relates to community development manager duties can be seen in an example from a community development manager resume snippet: "developed communication materials including newsletters, press releases, press kits and website. "

Organizational skills. While "organizational skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to community development manager responsibilities. Much of what a community development manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of community development managers: "supported the organizational diversity and fund development goals of the council. "

See the full list of community development manager skills

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Compare different community development managers

Community development manager 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.

We looked at the average community development manager salary and compared it with the wages of a director of public affairs. Generally speaking, directors of public affairs are paid $47,289 higher than community development managers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both community development manager and director of public affairs positions are skilled in economic development, facebook, and community outreach.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between community development managers and director of public affairs. For instance, community development manager responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "community development," "relationship building," and "effective leadership." Whereas a director of public affairs is skilled in "government affairs," "public policy," "external stakeholders," and "policy issues." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Directors of public affairs earn the highest salaries when working in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average yearly salary of $137,872. On the other hand, community development managers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $74,613.On average, directors of public affairs reach similar levels of education than community development managers. Directors of public affairs are 1.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 5.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Community development manager 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.

A career as a public relations director brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a community development manager. In fact, public relations directors salary is $27,342 higher than the salary of community development managers per year.A few skills overlap for community development managers and public relations directors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "roi," "facebook," and "community outreach. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that community development manager responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "community development," "relationship building," and "effective leadership." But a public relations director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "pr campaigns," "crisis communications," "instagram," and "fact sheets."

Public relations directors earn a higher average salary than community development managers. But public relations directors earn the highest pay in the internet industry, with an average salary of $114,632. Additionally, community development managers earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $74,613 annually.public relations directors earn lower levels of education than community development managers in general. They're 9.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Community development manager vs. Manager of special events

A manager of special events is responsible for organizing events and programs for a company and various organizations. Managers of special events monitor the event procedures from conceptualization to the actual execution. They analyze the event purpose, manage participants' list, coordinate with suppliers for resources, allocate budget accurately, and ensure that the program outlines and agendas are polished on time. A manager of special events must have excellent communication and organizational skills to deliver a successful event and resolve complications as they arise.

On average scale, managers of special events bring in lower salaries than community development managers. In fact, they earn a $10,634 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on community development managers and managers of special events resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "roi," and "facebook.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 community development manager resumes include skills like "community development," "relationship building," "effective leadership," and "cash handling," whereas a manager of special events is more likely to list skills in "event logistics," "powerpoint," "inventory control," and "trade shows. "

Managers of special events earn the highest salary when working in the non profits industry, where they receive an average salary of $60,955. Comparatively, community development managers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $74,613.managers of special events typically earn lower educational levels compared to community development managers. Specifically, they're 10.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Community development manager 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.

Media directors average a higher salary than the annual salary of community development managers. The difference is about $45,214 per year.According to resumes from community development managers and media directors, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "roi," "facebook," and "business development. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "customer service," "community development," "relationship building," and "effective leadership" are skills that commonly show up on community development manager resumes. On the other hand, media directors use skills like digital marketing, video production, media planning, and client relationships on their resumes.media directors enjoy the best pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $117,485. For comparison, community development managers earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, media directors hold lower degree levels compared to community development managers. Media directors are 10.0% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of community development manager

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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