What does a public affairs specialist do?
Psychology research assistants take charge of the operational and administrative tasks like mailing surveys, summarizing results, and managing correspondence. The research assistants identify the areas in need of improvement and score psychological tests. They prepare the interview questions and summarize test results. Their job involves responding to research-related emails and take part in project meetings. Also, they update the content of websites and prepare reports of their progress. The skills they need in carrying out this job include communication, critical thinking, attention to detail, and technical skills.
Public affairs specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public affairs specialist resumes:
- Manage agency media engagements, including tracking queries on SharePoint.
- Respond to media queries, write news releases and manage media engagements while acting as spokesperson for several multifacete organizations.
- Improve moral for thousands of soldiers, family members, and veterans.
- Create a command Youtube page; shoot, edit and place innovative videos share nationally.
- Develop a SharePoint website allowing USDA employees to retrieve templates and to submit communications requests i.e.
- Update the IACH Facebook page on a daily basis with news, events, pictures and videos.
- Prepare congressional testimony, speeches, correspondence, PowerPoint presentations, and talking points for senior staff.
- Set up a Facebook account and create an official AFRICOM fan page in Arabic, and one in French.
- Authore statements on behalf of the DoD responding to requests from the general public via email, phone and postal mail.
- Create PowerPoint slides for wing commander briefings and community speaking engagements.
- Partner with Washington employment agency to inform student veterans of job opportunities.
- Experience on-the-record spokesperson working with news media and the public for information regarding programs and activities.
- Work with administrators, managers and department heads to add/edit/develop content as necessary, ensuring accuracy of content and utilizing SEO.
- Draft internal communications periodically; articles post on intranet; often collaborate with employee communications and investor relations teams.
Public affairs specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Public Affairs Specialists are proficient in News Stories, Veterans, and Fact Sheets. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Public Affairs Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- News Stories, 7%
Write and edit news stories about science, technology and other organization activities for public release to internal and external audiences.
- Veterans, 7%
Facilitate and educate other VA employees on how different social media platforms can be used to engage Veterans and their families.
- Fact Sheets, 6%
Develop various informational materials including complex brochures and fact sheets.
- Press Releases, 6%
Developed and transmitted information materials through prepared statements, response to inquiries, press releases, and radio/television/social media events.
- Conduct Interviews, 5%
Developed extraordinary ideas for news articles and arrange and conduct interviews.
- News Articles, 5%
Published news articles in the Buckeye Guard magazine regarding OANG training as a member of the 196th Public Affairs Detachment.
Most public affairs specialists use their skills in "news stories," "veterans," and "fact sheets" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential public affairs specialist responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a public affairs specialist to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Public affairs specialists often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "coordinated interpersonal communication and cover community relations and outreach events, including interviews. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling public affairs specialist duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements." According to a public affairs specialist resume, here's how public affairs specialists can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "produced more than 20 news articles on international staff and organizational initiatives. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for public affairs specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how public affairs specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a public affairs specialist: "provide strategic communications solutions for businesses, nonprofits and individuals. ".
Speaking skills. public affairs specialist responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." This resume example shows what public affairs specialists do with speaking skills on a typical day: "served as a spokesperson for the regional office concerning agency policy, project status and community outreach and engagement activities. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in public affairs specialist job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what public affairs specialists do. Public affairs specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." You can also see how public affairs specialist duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "created and conducted training for field personnel on writing, photography, and powerpoint. "
The three companies that hire the most public affairs specialists are:
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Compare different public affairs specialists
Public affairs specialist vs. Community relations coordinator
A public relations coordinator or community relations coordinator is an individual who is responsible for promoting or creating a public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. Since businesses are major contributors to communities and fundraisers, public relations coordinators are required to handle donations requests and build a marketing platform for the company. They must work with advertising representatives and other members of the media team to help promote the image of the company to the community. Community relations coordinators are also required to handle charity events such as blood drives or hold a corporate carnivals to benefit cancer research.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between public affairs specialists and community relations coordinator. For instance, public affairs specialist responsibilities require skills such as "news stories," "veterans," "fact sheets," and "conduct interviews." Whereas a community relations coordinator is skilled in "patients," "event planning," "admission process," and "medicaid." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Community relations coordinators tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $50,326. In contrast, public affairs specialists make the biggest average salary, $76,898, in the government industry.community relations coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than public affairs specialists. In fact, community relations coordinators are 3.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Public affairs specialist vs. Media relations assistant
A media relations assistant is an entry-level media and public relation professional. They offer administrative support to a public relations department within an organization. They perform a number of tasks such as researching relevant trends and data that help with the company's PR campaign, helping create marketing materials, maintaining relationships with existing clients, and working to find new clients. They also have to keep accurate correspondence records and monitor social media accounts.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, public affairs specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "veterans," "conduct interviews," "external audiences," and "strategic communications." Meanwhile, a media relations assistant has duties that require skills in areas such as "athletics website," "alumni events," "ncaa," and "donor database." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Media relations assistants earn lower levels of education than public affairs specialists in general. They're 6.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for public affairs specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Paula Englis
Professor of Management, Berry College
Public affairs specialist vs. Communications consultant
Communications consultants are responsible for preparing media releases, whether through print, video, or email. They perform varied tasks that may include working on complete projects such as media analysis and branding, creating strategies to reinforced communication among clients and employees, and providing guidance and recommendations to a company's public relations team. Communications consultants may also conduct training on best practices for other employees. Some employers prefer someone with a bachelor's degree in communications, public relations or journalism, previous work experience in a related field, and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a public affairs specialist is likely to be skilled in "news stories," "veterans," "conduct interviews," and "news articles," while a typical communications consultant is skilled in "project management," "strategic communications plan," "corporate communications," and "communications materials."
Communications consultants make a very good living in the utilities industry with an average annual salary of $102,010. On the other hand, public affairs specialists are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $76,898.Most communications consultants achieve a similar degree level compared to public affairs specialists. For example, they're 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public affairs specialist vs. Communications coordinator
A communications coordinator is responsible for overseeing the communications department's operations, developing the brand image, and monitoring press releases, company articles, and other related marketing materials for business promotion and visibility. Communications coordinators actively interact with existing and potential clients, negotiate contracts, and build profitable partnerships. They also develop strategic procedures for creating the business' online presence, organizing promotional events, and media conferences. A communications coordinator must have excellent communication and organization skills to maintain a good reputation and customer satisfaction.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between public affairs specialists and communications coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a public affairs specialist might have more use for skills like "news stories," "veterans," "conduct interviews," and "news articles." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of communications coordinators require skills like "customer service," "event planning," "patients," and "community engagement. "
In general, communications coordinators earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $46,362. The highest-paying industry for a public affairs specialist is the government industry.The average resume of communications coordinators showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to public affairs specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.9%.Types of public affairs specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
