What does a community relations director do?
A community relations director is an individual who is responsible for managing positive relationships with community members, nonprofit organizations, and fellow employees surrounding an organization. Community relations directors must plan, organize, and manage activities to help the organization achieve its public relations goal. They need to interface with vital community groups so that they can ensure the organization is producing effective results. Community relations managers must also assist in preparing a variety of publicity materials such as speeches and media content.
Community relations director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real community relations director resumes:
- Manage monthly marketing budget for SNF and ALF facility.
- Manage all event planning, reunion programming, donor stewardship and in-house publications for UR alumni.
- Maintain website and contribute to organization's Facebook page.
- Convert reporting from UK GAAP to IFRS first time adoption.
- Oversee community presence including Facebook, website, and print newsletters.
- Increase recruitment and sales for this locally own SNF; overcome negative referral trends and poor community perception.
- Used a database for tracking alumni and donors and developing mailing lists; oversee mailings to alumni and stakeholders.
- Leverage relationships for new business.
- Maintain targeted print and electronic media database.
- Identify and solve inside sales-relate issues when implementing Salesforce as a company.
- Develop and implement strategies and marketing materials to increase home care referrals from physicians, rehabilitation facilities, and hospitals.
- Collaborate with hospital case management, physicians to rehabilitation patients/long term care residents; as facility of choice for medical services.
- Create and update marketing material, prepare presentation packets for meetings and PowerPoint external files when necessary.
- Identify and solve inside sales-relate issues when implementing Salesforce as a company.
Community relations director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Community Relations Directors are proficient in Community Relations, Community Events, and Memory Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Communication skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Community Relations Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Community Relations, 23%
Created and directed revenue generating sales initiatives for Community Relations & Fan Development Departments that generate group and individual ticket sales.
- Community Events, 6%
Developed and implemented an effective marketing plan to include referral source building, internal community events and advertising campaigns.
- Memory Care, 5%
Coordinated sales and marketing events that educated the community regarding retirement, memory care and assisted living program.
- Press Releases, 3%
Prepared advertisements and press releases for various media to increase public awareness and increase community visibility.
- Business Development, 3%
Served as departmental representative to Business Development, Administrative and Scientific Executive staff and the California-based Institute Center & Program Directors.
- Sales Process, 3%
Managed 4-6 sales representatives while creating relationships with municipalities and not-for-profit organizations to solidify a smooth sales process.
"community relations," "community events," and "memory care" are among the most common skills that community relations directors use at work. You can find even more community relations director responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a community relations director 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." Community relations directors often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "collaborated with key volunteer leadership to develop and implement community relations and advocacy strategies. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform community relations director duties is communication skills. Community relations directors responsibilities require that "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." Community relations directors also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed a variety of communication materials, including marketing materials and press releases. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of community relations directors is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday community relations director duties, as "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "directed lead generation programs, corporate branding, investor relations and solution/product positioning. "
Speaking skills. For certain community relations director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of a community relations director rely on this skill, as "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what community relations directors do: "represented broadcast network at rallies and public events. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in community relations director job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what community relations directors do. Community relations director responsibilities rely on this skill because "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." You can also see how community relations director duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "assisted with marketing communications efforts by writing press releases and public service announcements, creating newsletters and making website updates. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a community relations director does. Community relations director responsibilities require this skill because "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." This resume example highlights how community relations director duties rely on this skill: "developed future assisted living community organizational leaders; four staff members promoted through effective mentoring and development. "
The three companies that hire the most community relations directors are:
- Trellix9 community relations directors jobs
- Bickford Senior Living7 community relations directors jobs
- Indigo Arts5 community relations directors jobs
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Compare different community relations directors
Community relations director 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between community relations directors and director of public affairs. For instance, community relations director responsibilities require skills such as "memory care," "sales process," "senior care," and "public speaking." 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 really shine in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $137,872. Comparatively, community relations directors tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $87,495.directors of public affairs tend to reach similar levels of education than community relations directors. In fact, directors of public affairs are 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Community relations director vs. Assistant director, communications
An assistant communications director is responsible for managing the communicative operations across the company, handling the dissemination of information among employees, and releasing management announcements to media platforms. Assistant communications directors draft project techniques and strategies, as well as monitoring social media contents and press releases. They also identify business opportunities by analyzing recent trends that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profits. An assistant communications director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in assessing business information to prevent miscommunications and negative publications.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that community relations director responsibilities requires skills like "memory care," "business development," "sales process," and "senior care." But an assistant director, communications might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "property management," "professional development," and "alumni."
On average, assistant directors, communications earn a lower salary than community relations directors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, assistant directors, communications earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $65,113. Whereas community relations directors have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $87,495.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant directors, communications tend to reach similar levels of education than community relations directors. In fact, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for community relations directors in the next 3-5 years?
Brett Atwood
Associate Professor, Washington State University
Community relations director 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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, community relations directors are more likely to have skills like "memory care," "business development," "sales process," and "senior care." But a public information officer is more likely to have skills like "web content," "community outreach," "press conferences," and "graphic design."
Public information officers earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $65,730. Comparatively, community relations directors have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $87,495.Most public information officers achieve a similar degree level compared to community relations directors. For example, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Community relations director vs. Manager of corporate communications
A manager of corporate communications is primarily responsible for overseeing the external and internal communications in a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for managing marketing communications and public relations, and even developing various marketing content. There are also instances where they must handle a company's social media platforms, review communication materials, and provide progress reports of different projects and programs. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage team members, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between community relations directors and managers of corporate communications, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a community relations director might have more use for skills like "community events," "memory care," "sales process," and "senior care." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of managers of corporate communications require skills like "corporate communications," "project management," "strategic communications," and "employee engagement. "
The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for managers of corporate communications, with average annual pay of $104,720. Comparatively, the highest community relations director annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.managers of corporate communications reach similar levels of education compared to community relations directors, in general. The difference is that they're 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of community relations director
Updated January 8, 2025
