What does a senior communications specialist do?
A senior communications specialist is primarily in charge of developing communication strategies in the company. Their responsibilities revolve around ensuring the smooth flow of internal and external communications, coordinating various departments, managing campaigns and event schedules, devising social media strategies, and supervising media relations. A senior communications specialist must also address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly. Furthermore, as a senior specialist, it is essential to lead and assist the junior specialists, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Senior communications specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior communications specialist resumes:
- Manage the bureau s Facebook account and shoot/edit videos for the agency s YouTube channel
- Manage copywriting and copyediting process for plan benefit materials for county government and school employees.
- Plan and manage high-level institutional events in NYC, Washington, other U.S. cities and foreign capitals.
- Manage, create and edit internal and external communication collateral, providing high-level management copywriting and document creation support.
- Create and develop all social media correspondence (Facebook, twitter, instagram, etc . )
- Conduct CRM for 187k-member database.
- Drive ROI optimization by measuring and analyzing KPIs.
- Used Photoshop to generate the samples of web pages for public and secure sections of the site.
- Customize the company's sales tracking tool (CRM), Salesforce.com, to fit all business units' needs.
- Prepare detailed audience engagement reports for digital media to optimize ROI.
- Provide proofreading and copy editing support for all types of communications company-wide.
- Coordinate revisions, approvals and strategies while editing and proofreading artwork to verify accuracy.
- Promote stronger ties between organization and prospective clients and patients by initiating daily information-fil newsletter.
- Authore, edit, and review speeches and develop PowerPoint presentations for managers and senior executives.
- Assist residents with day-to-day activities, encouraging resistant patients to comply and engage in lifestyle activities.
Senior communications specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Senior Communications Specialists are proficient in Project Management, PowerPoint, and Strategic Communications. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Communications Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 8%
Developed and implemented communication plan for leading financial services company, utilizing advanced writing and editing skills and project management skills.
- PowerPoint, 6%
Prepared manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals, summaries of peer-reviewed articles and PowerPoint presentations for academic researchers
- Strategic Communications, 6%
Developed, managed strategic communications plans for federal programs that built capture momentum among key stakeholder audiences from Congress to end-users.
- External Communications, 5%
Create, edit, and distribute leadership-level communications* Develop content for internal communications and external communications* Interview subject matter experts
- Patients, 4%
Assisted residents with day-to-day activities, encouraging resistant patients to comply and engage in lifestyle activities.
- Press Releases, 4%
Developed an annual PR/Community Relations calendar including press releases, mailings and article placements in appropriate publications.
Most senior communications specialists use their skills in "project management," "powerpoint," and "strategic communications" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior communications specialist responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior communications specialist to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Senior communications specialists often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "distinguished interpersonal wrote and edited reports, press releases, and other important documents with and customer service skills. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform senior communications specialist duties is organizational skills. Senior communications specialists responsibilities require that "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements." Senior communications specialists also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "orchestrated employee research in nearly every area of hr and organizational communications. "
Speaking skills. senior communications specialists are also known for speaking skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior communications specialist responsibilities, because "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." A senior communications specialist resume example shows how speaking skills is used in the workplace: "provided communications and presentation support for the organization's annual hr evaluation presented to headquarters. "
Writing skills. A big part of what senior communications specialists do relies on "writing skills." You can see how essential it is to senior communications specialist responsibilities because "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior communications specialist tasks: "managed profitpoint accounting software product launch and marketing, including writingarticles, press releases, fact sheets and ad copy. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for senior communications specialist responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior communications specialists all the time, as "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." An excerpt from a real senior communications specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior communications specialist does: "functioned as key conduit to uncover and disseminate consulting tools, techniques, solutions and global hr trends. "
The three companies that hire the most senior communications specialists are:
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Compare different senior communications specialists
Senior communications specialist vs. Social media internship
In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior communications specialists and social media internship. For instance, senior communications specialist responsibilities require skills such as "project management," "strategic communications," "external communications," and "patients." Whereas a social media internship is skilled in "instagram," "facebook insights," "social media marketing," and "pinterest." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Social media interns really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $33,136. Comparatively, senior communications specialists tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $85,027.On average, social media interns reach lower levels of education than senior communications specialists. Social media interns are 7.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior communications specialist vs. Public relations internship
A public relations intern is responsible for assisting the public relations department in creating content to engage customers and prospective clients in availing of the goods and services of the company. Public relations interns participate in meetings to suggest strategies and observe areas of improvement. They also perform administrative duties as needed, post social media updates, review press releases, and research market trends. A public relations intern must be detail-oriented and communicative to assist customers with their concerns and inquiries.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior communications specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "project management," "strategic communications," "external communications," and "patients." Meanwhile, a public relations internship has duties that require skills in areas such as "press clippings," "instagram," "blog posts," and "press kits." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Public relations interns may earn a lower salary than senior communications specialists, but public relations interns earn the most pay in the non profits industry with an average salary of $32,969. On the other hand, senior communications specialists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $85,027.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Public relations interns tend to reach lower levels of education than senior communications specialists. In fact, they're 7.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior communications specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Mike Bromberg
Assistant Professor, East-West University
How we get our information will be more relevant, and new media platforms will continue to change how it is consumed.
I felt it essential to engage students with sources from both liberal and conservative views, especially with the discussion on fake news. For many people, unfortunately, ideology is more important than facts.
Senior communications specialist vs. Public relations
Public relations is a strategic way of developing and maintaining a client's or company's public image through media coverage, appearances, and press releases by designing and developing events to raise funds or to spread awareness to the public regarding products, brands, or individuals. It involves research and evaluation of programs including financial, marketing, employee, or government relations using topics of public interest and news items. Due to our present technological innovations, public relations now use webinars, blogs, and downloadable resources under one convenient website.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior communications specialist resumes include skills like "project management," "strategic communications," "patients," and "corporate communications," whereas a public relations is more likely to list skills in "blog posts," "photography," "instagram," and "content marketing. "
Public relations make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $56,027. On the other hand, senior communications specialists are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $85,027.When it comes to education, public relations tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior communications specialists. In fact, they're 4.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior communications specialist vs. Specialist
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Types of senior communications specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
