Public relations supervisor vs communications lead

The differences between public relations supervisors and communications leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a public relations supervisor, becoming a communications lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a communications lead has an average salary of $96,988, which is higher than the $75,368 average annual salary of a public relations supervisor.

The top three skills for a public relations supervisor include press releases, account management and integrated marketing. The most important skills for a communications lead are project management, strategic communications, and HR.

Public relations supervisor vs communications lead overview

	Public Relations Supervisor	Communications Lead
Yearly salary	$75,368	$96,988
Hourly rate	$36.23	$46.63
Growth rate	8%	12%
Number of jobs	25,097	20,413
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	4	6

What does a public relations supervisor do?

Public or patient relations representatives are professionals who act as an intermediary between hospitals and the families of their patients. These representatives are required to provide excellent service to patients and their families by responding to their questions, filling out paperwork, and providing information. They are required to handle all communications and complaints as well as relay concerns to the appropriate channels. Public relations representatives must also conduct satisfaction surveys so that they can improve the loyalty and service recognition of the company.

What does a communications lead do?

The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.

Public relations supervisor vs communications lead salary

Public relations supervisors and communications leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Relations Supervisor	Communications Lead
Average salary	$75,368	$96,988
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $104,000	Between $67,000 And $139,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Internet

Differences between public relations supervisor and communications lead education

There are a few differences between a public relations supervisor and a communications lead in terms of educational background:

	Public Relations Supervisor	Communications Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Public relations supervisor vs communications lead demographics

Here are the differences between public relations supervisors' and communications leads' demographics:

	Public Relations Supervisor	Communications Lead
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0%	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	16%	14%

Differences between public relations supervisor and communications lead duties and responsibilities

Public relations supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage public affairs and media efforts including writing and placing op-eds and mobilizing editorial campaigns.
Administer corporate oversight of customer expectations and appropriate services to ensure alignment between customer practices and core customer service values.
Direct strategic planning and execution for entertainment partnership platform to include B2C communications and marketing.

Communications lead example responsibilities.

Lead content migration of old intranet to new SharePoint platform.
Manage editorial calendar and writing content for digital assets including intranet and external web.
Lead copywriting for newly launch Chinese language website LeEco.com/Chinese to attract Chinese American customers.
Manage intranet content, with responsibility for project news, executive visibility, community activities, educational outreach.
Manage and overseen housing operations, administration of HUD programs, supervise maintenance and/or improvements of residential properties.
Serve as SharePoint site administrator, creating intranet, surveys and resource repository.

Public relations supervisor vs communications lead skills

Common public relations supervisor skills

Press Releases, 10%
Account Management, 8%
Integrated Marketing, 6%
Direct Reports, 5%
Guest Service, 4%
Client Relations, 4%

Common communications lead skills

Project Management, 9%
Strategic Communications, 6%
HR, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Community Outreach, 4%
Digital Marketing, 4%

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Public Relations Supervisor
Public Relations Supervisor vs Communications Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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