How to hire an external relations director

How to hire an external relations director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step external relations director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an external relations director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new external relations director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an external relations director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The external relations director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an external relations director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an external relations director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of external relations director salaries for various roles:

   Type of External Relations Director	Description	Hourly rate
   External Relations Director	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.	$39-100
   Campaign Manager	Campaign managers are responsible for developing, executing, and managing marketing campaigns for events, products, and services targeting consumers or organizations. These professionals typically collaborate with external agencies in the preparation and execution of campaigns... Show more	$26-52
   Vice President Of Communication	A vice president of communication is in charge of overseeing and implementing internal and external communication programs. Their responsibilities revolve around setting goals and objectives, allocating budgets, delegating tasks, liaising with key clients, and managing the workforce to ensure an efficient workflow... Show more	$45-124

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • External Relations
   • Oversight
   • Press Releases
   • GAAP
   • Financial Statements
   • Business Development
   • Event Planning
   • External Communications
   • Leveraged
   • Community Outreach
   • Website Content
   • Government Relations
   • Alumni Relations

   Check all skills

   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.

   More external relations director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your external relations director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An external relations director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, external relations directors' average salary in hawaii is 56% less than in nevada.
   • Seniority. Entry-level external relations directors 61% less than senior-level external relations directors.
   • Certifications. An external relations director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an external relations director's salary.

   Average external relations director salary

   $130,849yearly

   $62.91 hourly rate

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   Entry-level external relations director salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average external relations director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$147,394	$71
   2	Virginia	$146,414	$70
   3	New Jersey	$145,866	$70
   4	Massachusetts	$141,457	$68
   5	Georgia	$138,275	$66
   6	Texas	$134,315	$65
   7	District of Columbia	$133,504	$64
   8	Oregon	$127,788	$61
   9	Colorado	$124,730	$60
   10	New York	$122,971	$59
   11	Florida	$122,745	$59
   12	Indiana	$120,187	$58
   13	Arizona	$115,204	$55
   14	Maryland	$112,377	$54
   15	Kentucky	$111,222	$53
   16	Utah	$106,011	$51
   17	Ohio	$105,886	$51
   18	Illinois	$105,791	$51
   19	South Carolina	$104,714	$50
   20	Washington	$101,672	$49

   Average external relations director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Phoenix Children's	$179,353	$86.23
   2	Netflix	$177,995	$85.57	1
   3	Genentech	$173,780	$83.55	11
   4	Vertex Pharmaceuticals	$163,798	$78.75	3
   5	Sanofi US	$163,010	$78.37	17
   6	Moderna	$159,788	$76.82
   7	Amneal Pharmaceuticals	$157,737	$75.84	2
   8	Merck	$156,839	$75.40
   9	MasterBrand Cabinets	$155,293	$74.66
   10	AbbVie	$154,930	$74.49	12
   11	Circle K	$150,001	$72.12	2
   12	Elanco	$149,374	$71.81
   13	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$148,843	$71.56
   14	International Peace Institute	$146,720	$70.54
   15	Medifast	$145,273	$69.84
   16	Moore	$145,072	$69.75
   17	Amd	$143,971	$69.22	2
   18	Intel	$142,191	$68.36
   19	Suffolk University	$140,583	$67.59
   20	Univision Communications	$138,729	$66.70	1

4. Writing an external relations director job description

   A good external relations director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an external relations director job description:

   External relations director job description example

   For more than 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and expand reproductive freedom-including access to abortion and contraception-for every body. We are powered by our more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion.
   
   As the oldest and largest national membership organization primarily focused on advocating for abortion access, we organize and mobilize, galvanizing millions of people to take action to defend reproductive freedom, and shining a spotlight of accountability on bad actors who work to impose their ideological agenda on others. We also work to elect champions for reproductive freedom and advance state and federal legislation to safeguard it.
   
   NARAL Pro-Choice America centers diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our organization and our work. Continuously learning from our history, we strive to hold ourselves accountable so we can realize our vision for a world where reproductive freedom is a reality for all.
   
   As a member of the senior management team, the Director of Government Relations will work collaboratively with NARAL leaders and other department directors to achieve our mission.
   
   The Director will develop and implement new strategies to use governmental levers to change the national debate on reproductive rights; use policy advocacy to build power; work toward better policy outcomes at the state and federal levels; work with coalition partners and allies for greater impact and defend against anti-choice legislation and regulations.
   
   The Director will lead the government relations team, including federal lobbyists and federal and state policy teams, in building and leveraging strategic relationships, and integrate its work with the campaign, political, and communications teams.
   
   The Director will be a campaigner at heart and a manager with proven experience leading successful and collaborative teams with an eye for innovative ways to use policy to create solutions.
   Details Location: Washington, DC (temporarily fully remote) Reports to: Senior Vice President of Campaigns & Advocacy This position is: Level VII, Non-Union, Exempt Salary Range: $140,000-$155,000 ResponsibilitiesOversees all aspects of NARAL's federal lobbying efforts as well as federal and state policy work Work with senior leadership to develop NARAL's near and long-term strategies to use governmental levers to achieve policy goals and change the national debate on reproductive rights Build and leverage strong strategic relationships at the federal and state levels, and direct team members in doing the same; represent NARAL with policy-makers and their staff, as well as the staff and leadership of government agencies and departments Develop and implement strategies to work advance a reproductive freedom policy agenda at the federal and state level and defend against anti-choice legislation and executive actions Continually monitor and assess the reproductive policy and political landscape Identify opportunities to push model legislation at the state level, with an understanding that state trends are national trends Design and manage all aspects of the overall legislative programs and activities of NARAL, including managing budgets, evaluating effectiveness, setting the overall goals with plans, targets and timelines Manage, supervise, develop and evaluate staff Represent NARAL at legislative and policy tables and coalitions Manage, supervise, develop and evaluate staff Work cross-departmentally to develop campaigns that lead to policy outcomes that improve the lives of women across the full range of their reproductive lives Closely coordinate with the political team on elected political outreach and endorsement conversations Coordinate with the organizing, campaigns, and political teams as necessary to support effective legislative advocacy campaigns Work with the development team to showcase NARAL's governmental strategies with donors, and provide material for donor proposals and reports Work with the communications team to increase visibility for NARAL's governmental relations work and priorities, including talking to the press as needed and establishing a legislative communications plan to ensure unified messaging efforts Represent NARAL in high-level speaking engagements and prepare others to do so as well Occasional travel to work with partner organizations, allies and coalitions QualificationsAt least ten years of experience of effective governmental service at the federal and/or state level, legislative advocacy, and/or political campaigns. Lobbying experience preffered Quality management experience, including preparation of budgets and supervision of staff Demonstrated ability to successfully integrate policy advocacy and lobbying with direct voter engagement and communications Experience working with membership organizations and desire to engage members Experience managing high-level coalition relationships and strategic partnerships Experience with the reproductive freedom movement is a plus Deep attention to detail and excellent written and verbal communication skills Proven leadership skills, and ability to manage collaborative teams working on complex, time-sensitive, and detail-oriented projects Experience contributing to healthy teams that allow each team member to contribute to their fullest and thrive.Commitment to NARAL's mission and goals NARAL Pro-Choice America is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We do not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender or sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), age, marital status, sexual orientations, gender identity or expression, veteran status, uniform service member status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Women, people of color (including bilingual and bicultural individuals), LGBTQ+ persons, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right external relations director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with external relations directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit external relations directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your external relations director job on Zippia to find and attract quality external relations director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit external relations directors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   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 external relations director

   Once you've decided on a perfect external relations director 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.

   To prepare for the new external relations director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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.)

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