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External relations director vs community relations director

The differences between external relations directors and community relations 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 relations director. Additionally, an external relations director has an average salary of $130,849, which is higher than the $96,788 average annual salary of a community relations director.

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

External relations director vs community relations director overview

External Relations DirectorCommunity Relations Director
Yearly salary$130,849$96,788
Hourly rate$62.91$46.53
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs22,84833,569
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
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 relations director do?

A community relations director is an individual 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. They need to interface with vital community groups so that they can ensure the organization is producing effective results. Community relations managers must also assist in preparing a variety of publicity materials such as speeches and media content.

External relations director vs community relations director salary

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

External Relations DirectorCommunity Relations Director
Average salary$130,849$96,788
Salary rangeBetween $82,000 And $208,000Between $61,000 And $152,000
Highest paying CityDavis, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateNevadaNew York
Best paying companyPhoenix Children'sZoho
Best paying industryEnergyManufacturing

Differences between external relations director and community relations director education

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

External Relations DirectorCommunity Relations Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

External relations director vs community relations director demographics

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

External Relations DirectorCommunity Relations Director
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 44.1% Female, 55.9%Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%
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, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between external relations director and community relations 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 relations director example responsibilities.

  • Manage monthly marketing budget for SNF and ALF facility.
  • Manage all event planning, reunion programming, donor stewardship and in-house publications for UR alumni.
  • Maintain website and contribute to organization's Facebook page.
  • Convert reporting from UK GAAP to IFRS first time adoption.
  • Oversee community presence including Facebook, website, and print newsletters.
  • Increase recruitment and sales for this locally own SNF; overcome negative referral trends and poor community perception.
  • Show more

External relations director vs community relations 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 relations director skills
  • Community Relations, 23%
  • Community Events, 6%
  • Memory Care, 5%
  • Press Releases, 3%
  • Business Development, 3%
  • Sales Process, 3%

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