How to hire a director strategic communications

How to hire a director strategic communications, step by step

Here's a step-by-step director strategic communications 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 strategic communications job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new director strategic communications
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a director strategic communications do?

Post a director strategic communications job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the director strategic communications you need to hire. Certain director strategic communications roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A director strategic communications's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, directors strategic communications 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.

   This list presents director strategic communications salaries for various positions.

   Type of Director Strategic Communications	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Strategic Communications	Public 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.	$31-80
   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... Show more	$33-81
   Community Relations Director	A community relations director is a professional 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... Show more	$29-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Business Development
   • Professional Development
   • C-Suite
   • Executive Leadership
   • Leveraged
   • Direct Reports
   • HR
   • Strategic Communications Plan
   • External Audiences
   • External Communications
   • Market Research
   • Press Releases
   • Facebook

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and develop marketing, communication, and implementation process improvements for training curricula and the department's intranet website.
   • Support principal's digital presence, including Facebook.
   • Serve as representative to senior management team during community events and company spokesperson for division, including to nonprofit sector clients.
   • Perform all aspects of CLETS / NCIC data entry / inquiry
   • Direct company communications and publications including brand messaging and design, copywriting, media relations, and website content.

   More director strategic communications duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your director strategic communications job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A director strategic communications salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a director strategic communications in Alaska may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level director strategic communications usually earns less than a senior-level director strategic communications. Additionally, a director strategic communications with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average director strategic communications salary

   $105,320yearly

   $50.63 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director strategic communications salary

   $66,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 3, 2026

   Average director strategic communications salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Nevada	$133,559	$64
   2	California	$127,090	$61
   3	Georgia	$123,280	$59
   4	Texas	$121,754	$59
   5	Washington	$120,592	$58
   6	Arkansas	$120,279	$58
   7	New York	$119,269	$57
   8	Colorado	$118,153	$57
   9	Kansas	$117,078	$56
   10	Massachusetts	$106,097	$51
   11	Tennessee	$102,486	$49
   12	Virginia	$101,225	$49
   13	Indiana	$100,733	$48
   14	Oklahoma	$100,354	$48
   15	Iowa	$98,847	$48
   16	Wisconsin	$96,976	$47
   17	Nebraska	$94,684	$46
   18	Florida	$94,332	$45
   19	Rhode Island	$93,900	$45
   20	Maryland	$93,836	$45

   Average director strategic communications salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Hatcher Group	$162,529	$78.14	1
   2	MongoDB	$156,956	$75.46	4
   3	Riot Games	$148,413	$71.35
   4	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$148,388	$71.34	11
   5	AbbVie	$144,720	$69.58	22
   6	Oracle	$142,455	$68.49	58
   7	SunPower	$140,884	$67.73
   8	Grand Rounds	$140,630	$67.61
   9	FTI Consulting	$137,958	$66.33	7
   10	Arrow Electronics	$134,343	$64.59	1
   11	Salesforce	$133,470	$64.17	5
   12	New York University	$132,101	$63.51	3
   13	Emory Healthcare	$130,425	$62.70	4
   14	Johnson & Johnson	$128,769	$61.91	17
   15	American Express	$126,542	$60.84	2
   16	Something Digital	$123,894	$59.56
   17	General Motors	$123,138	$59.20
   18	Northwestern Mutual	$120,236	$57.81	3
   19	Chobani	$119,294	$57.35
   20	Jacobs Engineering Group	$118,186	$56.82

4. Writing a director strategic communications job description

   A job description for a director strategic communications 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 strategic communications job description:

   Director strategic communications job description example

   Join The Chronicle Team!
   
   Born from a tradition of nonprofit journalism and deeply engaged in innovative digital ventures, The Chronicle is powered by an essential mission: to inform, empower, and connect the people and institutions that work to improve society. Today, The Chronicle serves the higher-education and nonprofit communities through two industry-leading news and information resources: The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
   
   The Chronicle is seeking An Associate Director, Strategic Communications to join its Marketing Department. The Associate Director, Strategic Communications, in close collaboration with the Managing Director of Marketing and senior business and editorial leadership, is responsible for developing and executing a robust and multi-faced communications program to increase the visibility of The Chronicle of Higher Education's and The Chronicle of Philanthropy's brands, products, editorial coverage, and executive leadership within the higher education, non-profit, and publishing communities. This position is also responsible for corporate communications activities
   
   What's in it for you?
   
   Medical/Dental/Vision Plans
   24 PTO Days + Company Holidays
   Paternal/Family/Adoption Leave
   401K with Company Contribution & Profit Sharing
   Tuition Assistance
   And more!
   
   What you'll do:
   
   Work with key business and editorial stakeholders to build and execute an annual strategic communications plan that drives awareness of The Chronicle's brands, editorial coverage, and expertise in covering the higher education and non-profit sectors.
   Manage all outbound media relations activities for The Chronicle, proactively placing editorial coverage and company news in trade and mainstream media.
   Oversee all public relations operations, including media list management and the tracking and reporting of mainstream, trade, and social media placements to measure the impact of PR activities on our brands, audiences, and revenues.
   Manage editorial and executive speaker or panel engagements at industry conferences.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, journalism, or equivalent field of study preferred
   10-15 years of experience in media relations, preferably with experience working directly with a newsroom in a publishing or media organization.
   Experience growing the visibility of company executives and subject matter experts in mainstream and trade media outlets.
   Exemplary communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to interact with external media contacts, reporters, and senior executives.
   Ability to think strategically and execute tactically.
   Superior writing, research, presentation, and project management skills.
   
   The Chronicle is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to creating a diverse work environment. We encourage members of underrepresented communities to apply.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find directors strategic communications 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.

   To find director strategic communications candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with director strategic communications 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 strategic communications

   Once you've decided on a perfect director strategic communications 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new director strategic communications. 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

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a director strategic communications?