What is an engagement director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Stephanie Dellande,

Jeff Bates

An engagement director leads a team to build and maintain relationships with clients. They work to understand clients' needs and goals and develop strategies. Engagement directors oversee project management and meet client expectations while also identifying new business opportunities. They collaborate with sales, marketing, and creative departments to ensure the successful delivery of projects. Overall, an engagement director serves as the primary contact for clients to promote their satisfaction with the organizationâ€™s services or products.

What general advice would you give to an engagement director?

Stephanie Dellande

Professor, Menlo College

Most likely, some 2020 graduates are feeling discouraged about their future. Particularly for those in fields in which job opportunities are generally less abundant, e.g., communication, psychology, majority of the humanities. Young adults, ages 18-35 years, have experienced and/or are experiencing, directly or indirectly, some of the country's most difficult times, the great recession December 2007 - June 2009, for many much longer, and now the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Congress has a significant role in determining the timeline of the fate of COVID-19 and a thriving economy. While the well-being (physical, financial, emotional, educational) of the American people is top of mind for this administration, if the economy is going to recover in a more expedient way, congress ultimately must agree to the administration's proposed recommendations, bills. If they do, recent graduates will likely be in good stead. It would be in the best interest of graduates to take a mindful approach (Celsi, Nelson, Dellande, Gilly, 2017) to their career. While the economy is in a state of collapse, young adults may have a difficult time launching their career. However, food for thought, accepting most any work although it may not be in a preferred field is suggested. Also recommended, while in a less desirable position, take advantage of or create opportunities to perform tasks related or only tangentially related to an aspirational career. Doing so will likely go a long way in helping to realize an ideal position.

ScoreEngagement DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $111,426

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 55.13%

male 44.87%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being an engagement director?

Pros

High salary potential
Exposure to new technologies and trends
Opportunities for professional development and advancement
Opportunity to travel for work
Flexibility in work schedule and location

Cons

Must stay up-to-date on industry trends and best practices
May involve significant travel away from home and family
Can be stressful with high-stakes projects and deals on the line
Requires a commitment to continuous learning and improvement
Can be emotionally draining when dealing with difficult clients or situations.

Key steps to become an engagement director

Explore engagement director education requirements

Most common engagement director degrees

Bachelor's

70.0 %

Master's

21.2 %

Associate

4.6 %

Start to develop specific engagement director skills

Skills	Percentages
Healthcare	11.47%
Project Management	7.42%
Digital Marketing	5.16%
Customer Service	4.46%
CRM	4.08%

Complete relevant engagement director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New engagement directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an engagement director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real engagement director resumes.

Research engagement director duties and responsibilities

Manage the facility web site and Facebook page.
Lead team in rebranding from TransitCenter to WageWorks after being acquire.
Lead effort to redesign cdc.gov by implementing new user interface, content management system and technical architecture.
Lead company through comprehensive rebranding initiative and complete overhaul of sales collateral, booth graphics and corporate website.

Get engagement director experience

Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become an engagement director. The most common roles before becoming an engagement director include internship, director team lead and project manager.

Prepare your engagement director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your engagement director resume.

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