What does a director of corporate relations do?
A director of corporate relations is in charge of spearheading communication programs and strategies to maintain strong client relationships. Their responsibilities revolve around establishing objectives and budgets, coordinating with experts and staff, managing company portfolio, and liaising with key clients and external parties. They must also devise strategies to identify new business opportunities. Furthermore, as a director of corporate relations, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
Director of corporate relations responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of corporate relations resumes:
- Manage the complete accounting and reporting cycle and ensure compliance with GAAP.
- Manage financial operations of the organization, including monthly bank account reconciliation, cash flow, accounts payable and payroll.
- Program development includes managing and building strong relationships with corporate and affinity partners to secure sponsorship and career enhancement for alumni
- Stay abreast of developments in CMS, compliance and regulatory guidelines.
- Calculate and submit weekly and quarterly payroll taxes, as well as, monthly sales taxes for multiple states.
- Collaborate on character development, website development, game development, business plan creation, PowerPoint presentations and investor outreach.
- Work with administrative leadership with community relations, including promotional events and media communication.
Director of corporate relations skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Directors Of Corporate Relations are proficient in Foundation Relations, Alumni, and Corporate Relations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Corporate Relations that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Foundation Relations, 12%
Developed major gift programs, including foundation relations, individual support, corporate sponsorship, and prospective cultivation strategies.
- Alumni, 11%
Worked collaboratively with Business Development and Alumni Relations to generate new funds and increase existing commitments.
- Corporate Relations, 9%
Collaborated with Compliance Department to produce the policy and procedures guidelines for the Business Development and Corporate Relations teams.
- Professional Development, 5%
Evaluated the skill, experience, and professional development needs and interests of 32 chapter members.
- Corporate Donors, 5%
Research, identify, solicit, maintain and build new relationships with individuals, corporate donors and corporate foundations.
- Project Management, 4%
Provided communications and project management to the Global Compliance Executive and departments within the compliance organization.
"foundation relations," "alumni," and "corporate relations" are among the most common skills that directors of corporate relations use at work. You can find even more director of corporate relations responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of corporate relations to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of corporate relations do 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." Additionally, a director of corporate relations resume shows how directors of corporate relations use communication skills: "handled reporting and ongoing communication with funders assisted media relations with press releases publicity for grant awards. "
Leadership skills. Many director of corporate relations duties rely on leadership skills. "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities.," so a director of corporate relations will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of corporate relations responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "designed performance review process and shared oversight with route sales leadership. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of directors of corporate relations is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday director of corporate relations duties, as "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "created and implemented organizational strategic plan in conjunction with executive director. "
Problem-solving skills. director of corporate relations 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 directors of corporate relations do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "work directly with corporate executives to provide solutions around branding, public relations, leadership development and employee engagement. "
Speaking skills. Another common skill required for director of corporate relations responsibilities is "speaking skills." This skill comes up in the duties of directors of corporate relations all the time, as "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." An excerpt from a real director of corporate relations resume shows how this skill is central to what a director of corporate relations does: "developed pr plans, wrote press releases, responded to media inquiries, and facilitated speaking engagements. "
Writing skills. While "writing skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to director of corporate relations responsibilities. Much of what a director of corporate relations does relies on this skill, seeing as "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of directors of corporate relations: "coordinated underwriting, asset due diligence, and land sale agreements. "
The three companies that hire the most director of corporate relationss are:
- American Physical Society
13 directors of corporate relations jobs
- Trellix6 directors of corporate relations jobs
- Columbia University in the City of New York4 directors of corporate relations jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable director of corporate relations resume templates
Build a professional director of corporate relations resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of corporate relations resume.
Compare different directors of corporate relations
Director of corporate relations vs. Community development director
The job of a community development director is to manage and direct the management and planning initiatives for a community or city organization. Your duties will include collaborating with community partners in developing strategies to improve the community, architectural and economic initiatives, monitoring budgets for department initiatives, and participating in business development efforts. As a community development director, it is your responsibility to develop and maintain the community development department's short- and long-term developmental goals. It is also your duty to develop and coordinate marketing strategies for economic development.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a director of corporate relations are more likely to require skills like "foundation relations," "corporate relations," "foundation prospects," and "professional development." On the other hand, a job as a community development director requires skills like "economic development," "program development," "web site," and "code enforcement." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Community development directors tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of corporate relations. In fact, community development directors are 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of corporate relations vs. Communications director
A communications director is responsible for monitoring and supervising the overall media relations from internal to external communications. A communications director's duties include managing campaigns, providing organizational updates to the employees, supporting social media marketing, developing effective communication strategies to build the organization's reputation, and efficiently leading team members in handling events that represent the business. Communications directors must have strong leadership and communication skills to provide support for the company's daily operations and strategies.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of corporate relations responsibilities requires skills like "foundation relations," "alumni," "corporate relations," and "foundation prospects." But a communications director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "web content," "customer service," "employee engagement," and "powerpoint."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Communications directors tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of corporate relations. In fact, they're 4.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Directors of corporate relations in the next 3-5 years?
Clarke Caywood
Professor (founder group of IMC and PR in Medill) Joint Doctorate in Business and Journalism - Univ. Wis. Madison, Northwestern University
Director of corporate relations vs. Chief of staff
A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from director of corporate relations resumes include skills like "foundation relations," "alumni," "corporate relations," and "foundation prospects," whereas a chief of staff is more likely to list skills in "pet," "team support," "good judgment," and "marketing campaigns. "
Most chiefs of staff achieve a similar degree level compared to directors of corporate relations. For example, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of corporate relations vs. Publication director
A publication director spearheads and oversees the operations of publishing establishments, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They have the authority to make publication decisions, set goals, establish guidelines and timelines, delegate tasks and resources among teams, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They also monitor the workflow and the performance of the workforce, addressing issues and concerns if any arise. Moreover, a publication director leads and encourages staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, developing new ones as needed.
Types of director of corporate relations
Updated January 8, 2025
