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External relations director vs community development director

The differences between external relations directors and community development directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an external relations director and a community development director. Additionally, an external relations director has an average salary of $130,849, which is higher than the $109,396 average annual salary of a community development director.

The top three skills for an external relations director include project management, external relations and oversight. The most important skills for a community development director are economic development, oversight, and project management.

External relations director vs community development director overview

External Relations DirectorCommunity Development Director
Yearly salary$130,849$109,396
Hourly rate$62.91$52.59
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs22,84866,252
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does an external relations director do?

An external relations director is responsible for helping a company or entity establish good public relations by creating a good market perception. The professional's responsibilities include giving communications counseling to the leadership team and ensuring compliance with appropriate facility conditions and sanitation standards. The job requires good communication, leadership, and organizational skills to accomplish such responsibilities. The job's education requirements include possessing a college degree in business, public relations, marketing, or other related fields.

What does a community development director do?

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.

External relations director vs community development director salary

External relations directors and community development directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

External Relations DirectorCommunity Development Director
Average salary$130,849$109,396
Salary rangeBetween $82,000 And $208,000Between $70,000 And $169,000
Highest paying CityDavis, CASan Jose, CA
Highest paying stateNevadaCalifornia
Best paying companyPhoenix Children'sBazaarvoice
Best paying industryEnergyManufacturing

Differences between external relations director and community development director education

There are a few differences between an external relations director and a community development director in terms of educational background:

External Relations DirectorCommunity Development Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

External relations director vs community development director demographics

Here are the differences between external relations directors' and community development directors' demographics:

External Relations DirectorCommunity Development Director
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 44.1% Female, 55.9%Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between external relations director and community development director duties and responsibilities

External relations director example responsibilities.

  • Program development includes managing and building strong relationships with corporate and affinity partners to secure sponsorship and career enhancement for alumni
  • Ensure target ROI with feasibility studies on potential acquisitions, identifying optimum projects requiring rezoning and entitlement approvals for development.
  • Develop and implement company-wide QA and delivery procedures.

Community development director example responsibilities.

  • Manage organization s membership program by implementing annual membership drives and appeals.
  • Support documentation activities for FDA audits & manage integration activities for acquisitions.
  • Provide oversight and leadership to HUD fund rehab lending and grant programs, housing counseling and financial fitness training.
  • Write grants, speeches, e-blasts, and appeals on social media and websites for non-profits and political campaigns.
  • Ensure target ROI with feasibility studies on potential acquisitions, identifying optimum projects requiring rezoning and entitlement approvals for development.
  • Craft innovative plan for rebranding agency image; plan and implement new outreach focusing on culturally aware approaches.

External relations director vs community development director skills

Common external relations director skills
  • Project Management, 13%
  • External Relations, 11%
  • Oversight, 10%
  • Press Releases, 9%
  • GAAP, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 7%
Common community development director skills
  • Economic Development, 6%
  • Oversight, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Press Releases, 5%
  • Community Outreach, 5%
  • Program Development, 4%

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