How to hire a university relations director

How to hire a university relations director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step university 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 a university relations director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new university relations director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a university relations director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a university relations director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   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 a university 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 a university relations director that fits the bill.

   This list presents university relations director salaries for various positions.

   Type of University Relations Director	Description	Hourly rate
   University 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.	$26-78
   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
   Manager Of Corporate Communications	A manager of corporate communications is primarily responsible for overseeing the external and internal communications in a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for managing marketing communications and public relations, and even developing various marketing content... Show more	$27-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Project Management
   • Investor Relations
   • Investment Community
   • Website Content
   • Professional Development
   • Investor Presentations
   • Sell-Side Analysts
   • Investor Conferences
   • Alumni
   • Human Resources
   • Financial Performance
   • Institutional Investors
   • Financial Results

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Draft all shareholder communications and 1993 annual report/Form 10-K; manage registrar/transfer agent activities and relationship with NASDAQ.
   • Experience in managing stock splits, odd-lot buybacks, proxy fights, annual meetings, litigation settlements and securities offerings.
   • Hire, train and manage play-by-play broadcasters guaranteeing a professional and informative listening experience.
   • Initiate and execute successful programs to encourage alumni attendance, involvement and donations.
   • Maintain CRM database used for benefactor tracking, financial reporting and marketing-driven fundraising efforts.
   • Establish automation and integration with CRM databases that enable accurate audience segmentation and time responses.

   More university relations director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the university relations director job description is a good way to get more applicants. A university relations director salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a university relations director in Minnesota may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level university relations director. Additionally, a university relations director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average university relations director salary

   $95,885yearly

   $46.10 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level university relations director salary

   $56,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average university relations director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$125,400	$60
   2	Oregon	$109,552	$53
   3	Connecticut	$108,767	$52
   4	New York	$107,036	$51
   5	New Jersey	$105,661	$51
   6	Illinois	$102,863	$49
   7	Utah	$99,106	$48
   8	North Carolina	$95,042	$46
   9	Massachusetts	$94,367	$45
   10	Colorado	$93,518	$45
   11	Arizona	$90,233	$43
   12	Indiana	$90,051	$43
   13	Louisiana	$89,307	$43
   14	Wisconsin	$89,156	$43
   15	Michigan	$86,725	$42
   16	Maryland	$85,115	$41
   17	New Hampshire	$81,224	$39
   18	Texas	$80,290	$39
   19	Missouri	$79,308	$38
   20	Florida	$71,113	$34

   Average university relations director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Nike	$146,211	$70.29	1
   2	First Republic Bank	$145,771	$70.08
   3	PVH	$145,179	$69.80
   4	Aspiration	$143,369	$68.93
   5	Zoho	$138,365	$66.52
   6	ENERGY RECOVERY, INC.	$131,357	$63.15
   7	Splunk	$127,877	$61.48
   8	Medifast	$114,266	$54.94
   9	Easter Seals Midwest	$107,544	$51.70	2
   10	TravelPerk	$103,018	$49.53
   11	Affirm	$102,253	$49.16	1
   12	Chicago Public Schools	$102,244	$49.16	2
   13	Upstream USA	$101,382	$48.74
   14	American Water	$98,008	$47.12
   15	Rockwell Automation	$96,788	$46.53	3
   16	Bausch + Lomb	$95,035	$45.69
   17	Labor	$94,891	$45.62
   18	United States Courts	$92,420	$44.43
   19	HNTB	$87,974	$42.30	6
   20	Crowe	$82,552	$39.69	1

4. Writing a university relations director job description

   A job description for a university relations director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a university relations director job description:

   University relations director job description example

   At Iron Mountain we protect what our customers value most, from the everyday to the extraordinary. We build customer value around the world with a passion for preserving the physical, transforming the digital, and respecting the environmental. We pioneered the industry for global records and information management and have established some of the best customer relationships in the industry with 95% of the Fortune 1000 companies among our 225,000 loyal customers. Here, you'll bring your expertise and creativity to a workplace that thrives on continuous improvement. Here, you'll be part of a global workforce that embraces the differences among us. And here, we'll encourage you to Climb Higher for the benefit of our customers and each other. There is so much more, but enough about us. We can't wait to hear about YOU.
   
   Iron Mountain seeks a Director, Head of Analyst Relations (AR) to drive the growth of rapidly scaling technology businesses across data centers, asset lifecycle management and various digital solutions for protecting, unlocking and extending the value of client's information.
   
   This leader and function will play a critical role in Iron Mountain achieving its long term growth vision by ensuring that customers and the analyst community view our company more broadly than the legacy records management business that led us to become a member of the S&P 500. This leader will help tell a new Iron Mountain story that explains the expanded set of outcomes we help customers to achieve and how we serve clients in ways other companies can't.
   
   We're looking to create more than just an analyst relations capability; we intend to build a center of excellence. The Head of Analyst Relations' first job will be to create an AR strategy, collaborating with Iron Mountain leaders and the analyst community, to align Iron Mountain's growth goals to AR targets and programming. This work will include centralizing AR strategy and making recommendations for analyst research subscriptions; resource requirements; and programming that ensures we maximize value from analysts through both "inform" and "influence" strategies.
   
   Given the importance of this role and the need to build a formal AR program, we're looking for a leader who has done it before; is a strong collaborator and able to engender confidence with our business unit leaders; and can tell a good strategic story that both fits and differentiates Iron Mountain within analysts' research.
   
   The leader and function will be measured on both quantitative and qualitative metrics including positive inclusions in analyst reports and evaluations as well as pipeline contribution, sales cycle times and win rates.
   Key Accountabilities:
   
   * Create a multi-year vision and strategy for building an analyst relations program that grows to become an organizational center of excellence, detailing KPIs, key strategies and programming, and resource requirements.
   
   * Serve as the liaison between analysts and the company, translating Iron Mountain's technology solutions, investments and growth plans into a compelling story that uniquely positions Iron Mountain into analyst research coverage. Analysts should understand the holistic Iron Mountain "technology" story as well as the individual capabilities and plans for our data center, asset lifecycle management, and digital business units.
   
   * Establish and facilitate a recurring engagement model between leading analyst firms and Iron Mountain with the dual goals of informing product roadmaps as well as influencing Iron Mountain's placement within analysts' research. This engagement model should account for regular inquiries and briefings for each line of business, as well as enterprise-wide briefings that help analysts stitch together the big picture.
   
   * Be a student of our key analysts' research in order to guide product leadership on market developments and competitive capability, as well as to recommend positioning strategies for Iron Mountain solutions, including within major evaluations like Forrester Waves and Gartner Magic Quadrants.
   
   * Define roles and responsibilities for a manager of analyst relations to be hired soon after the head of Analyst Relations joins.
   
   * Manage Analyst Relations operations, including budget, contracts and licenses, partnering with our strategic sourcing group.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   * 10+ years experience in analyst relations with demonstrated ability to build AR programs that translate business growth objectives into AR goals, achieving meaningful coverage and ultimately help drive technology sales.
   
   * 5+ years of people management experience
   
   * Experience in related technology fields-data centers, asset lifecycle management, cloud, data content platforms-and knowledge of analysts covering those fields is a plus.
   
   * A strong collaborator across various functions and levels within the company-a good listener to understand and deliver on business requirements; an advisor who can guide stakeholders on effective "inbound" and "outbound" strategies; and an accountable business partner on the progress we're making.
   
   * A clear communicator and good storyteller, who can distill complex topics into easy-to-understand and compelling AR briefing materials.
   
   * Strong project management and organizational skills to build and lead a multifaceted analyst relations program that includes a robust engagement model.
   
   * Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business, or another relevant area of study.
   
   Category: gja_Marketing
   
   Iron Mountain is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. We recruit and hire applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, or any other factor prohibited by law.
   
   To view the Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law posters and the supplement, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement, CLICK HERE
   
   Requisition: J0051457

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right university relations director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your university relations director job on Zippia to find and attract quality university 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

   Your first interview with university relations director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 university relations director

   Once you've selected the best university relations director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new university relations director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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How much does it cost to hire a university relations director?