How to hire a director of communications and marketing

How to hire a director of communications and marketing, step by step

Here's a step-by-step director of communications and marketing hiring guide:

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

What does a director of communications and marketing do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a director of communications and marketing, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A director of communications and marketing's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, directors of communications and marketing from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of director of communications and marketing salaries for various roles:

   Type of Director Of Communications And Marketing	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Communications And Marketing	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$27-63
   Marketing Strategist	The marketing strategist is an executive who works with the members of the marketing team to ensure the implementation of high-quality marketing strategies within a given time frame. Marketing strategists examine data to find out the best way to administer resources to increase revenue and profits... Show more	$25-57
   Marketing Director	Marketing directors are responsible for the overall branding and marketing direction of the company. They are in charge of identifying goals and strategies related to marketing... Show more	$32-92

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Web Content
   • Strategic Communications
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Press Releases
   • Digital Marketing
   • External Communications
   • Graphic Design
   • Project Management
   • Social Media Marketing
   • Market Research
   • Email Campaigns
   • Facebook
   • Marketing Collateral
   • Communications Plan

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all internal company-wide communications, including company intranet, quarterly all- company meetings broadcast to all locations and executive communications.
   • Direct SEM and SEO strategies for trial consumer online site in reus device sales.
   • Develop social media strategy via Facebook that is now a key marketing component to current and prospective families.
   • Implement company s first Facebook advertisement.
   • Implement ROI methodology measures of effectiveness enabling quantifiable measures of ROI and efficiency gains.
   • Develop marketing strategy for university s online degree programs and implement SEO and web usability efforts.

   More director of communications and marketing duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the director of communications and marketing job description is a good way to get more applicants. A director of communications and marketing 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 director of communications and marketing in Mississippi may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level director of communications and marketing. Additionally, a director of communications and marketing with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average director of communications and marketing salary

   $87,324yearly

   $41.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of communications and marketing salary

   $57,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average director of communications and marketing salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$121,029	$58
   2	Oregon	$118,936	$57
   3	New York	$115,628	$56
   4	Massachusetts	$105,749	$51
   5	District of Columbia	$104,950	$50
   6	Virginia	$104,321	$50
   7	Washington	$104,246	$50
   8	New Hampshire	$103,496	$50
   9	Maryland	$95,413	$46
   10	Illinois	$92,631	$45
   11	Delaware	$90,767	$44
   12	Montana	$90,632	$44
   13	Texas	$86,904	$42
   14	Colorado	$86,135	$41
   15	Indiana	$85,625	$41
   16	Ohio	$84,842	$41
   17	Pennsylvania	$84,801	$41
   18	Minnesota	$84,372	$41
   19	Utah	$83,967	$40
   20	Missouri	$83,813	$40

   Average director of communications and marketing salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Paul Hastings	$156,665	$75.32
   2	Allegro MicroSystems	$143,905	$69.19	1
   3	Apple	$136,875	$65.81	20
   4	Xilinx	$130,261	$62.63
   5	Amd	$125,721	$60.44	12
   6	Conemaugh Health System	$121,888	$58.60
   7	The Aspen Institute	$118,127	$56.79
   8	Nike	$117,709	$56.59	24
   9	Morgan Stanley	$115,031	$55.30	23
   10	Power Integrations	$113,131	$54.39
   11	CVS Health	$106,027	$50.97	85
   12	Datadog	$105,017	$50.49	10
   13	Fidelity Investments	$102,587	$49.32	38
   14	Other World Computing	$102,456	$49.26
   15	Johnson & Johnson	$102,214	$49.14	84
   16	Hexcel	$100,886	$48.50
   17	Thomas Jefferson Foundation	$98,005	$47.12
   18	Movement Mortgage	$96,750	$46.51
   19	Andersen	$95,056	$45.70	37
   20	Stanford University	$94,690	$45.52	13

4. Writing a director of communications and marketing job description

   A job description for a director of communications and marketing 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 director of communications and marketing job description:

   Director of communications and marketing job description example

   The Office of University Communications and Marketing (UCM) has overall responsibility for marketing and brand management, media relations and content, producing various print and web publications and communications for the university. The office optimizes the coordination of strategies and programs for these areas. The Marketing and Branding group reports up to the VP of Communications and Marketing and produces a wide range of print and digital marketing from event invitations to integrated marketing campaigns across all schools and university-wide campaigns. The group comprises Marketing Strategy, Creative Services, and Digital Services and oversees the universitys marketing strategy, brand messaging, visual identity, and directs marketing and lead-generation campaigns to support awareness, enrollment, and fundraising efforts.
   What You'll Do
   
   The Director, Engagement Marketing partners with the Chief Marketing Officer on overall engagement strategies and campaigns. Manages a portfolio of school-based and/or university-wide business partners to help develop and deliver on marketing strategies that achieve fundraising and engagement goals for existing Tufts audiences, including alumni, donors, parents, students, faculty, and staff. Works closely with colleagues throughout UCM. Manages a team of five strategists, providing day-to-day support.
   
   Essential Functions: Builds and sustains partnerships with stakeholders across UCM and University Advancement to develop comprehensive marketing strategies and tactical plans that meet engagement and fundraising goals Provides leadership and direction for staff, conducting performance reviews, providing opportunities for growth and development, and effectively managing and communicating about job performance and improvement Remains current on trends in higher education, emerging technologies, best practices in communications and marketing, and the competitive landscape to maximize efficiencies and meet business goals Partners with Content and Media Relations colleagues covering the same school-based portfolios to ensure goals, strategies, messaging and implementation are aligned across teams and that content produced by these teams can be repurposed appropriately for marketing outreach What We're Looking For
   
   Basic Requirements: B.A.or B.S. in marketing, marketing communications, or related field 10+ years of experience in marketing communications, particularly in a non-profit or fundraising setting Proven track record as a relationship builder and thought leader Mastery of integrated marketing strategies and tactics across print, digital, and broadcast marketing and communication channels 5+ years of experience managing individuals and teams Strong attention to detail Experience managing and tracking budgets and KPIs Confident and engaging presenter who is comfortable in front of senior stakeholders and school/university leadership Preferred Qualifications: Masters degree preferred Higher education experience a plus An employee in this position must complete all appropriate background checks at the time of hire, promotion, or transfer.
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer minority/females/veterans/disability/sexual orientation/gender identity.
   
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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right director of communications and marketing for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your director of communications and marketing job on Zippia to find and attract quality director of communications and marketing candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit directors of communications and marketing, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 director of communications and marketing

   Once you've decided on a perfect director of communications and marketing candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new director of communications and marketing. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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.)

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