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Director of Communications

Director of Communications

Career Overview

A senior manager of corporate communications is in charge of all internal (and possibly external) communication initiatives for market development and operation strategies. They are also in charge of making sure that all employees, regardless of location, receive and have access to all of the information that they need to effectively complete their job.

Education

Senior managers of corporate communications need to have at least a bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, or a related field. They also need to have a minimum of five years of work experience in a similar communication or public relations role.

Future Outlook

Overall employment of top executives is projected to grow 4 percent from 2019 to 2029, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Projected employment growth varies by occupation.

Work Environment

The senior manager of corporate communications position is generally full time and takes place in an office during regular business hours.

Recommended High School Courses

  • Journalism
  • Math
  • Business
  • Public Speaking
  • Economics
  • Marketing
  • Computer Applications

  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
  • Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Develop organizational policies or programs.
  • Develop organizational goals or objectives.
  • Direct financial operations.
  • Present information to the public.
  • Develop marketing plans or strategies.
  • Develop promotional materials.
  • Coordinate special events or programs.
  • Edit documents.
  • Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
  • Evaluate employee performance.
  • Supervise employees.
  • Evaluate program effectiveness.
  • Manage organizational or project budgets.
  • Liaise between departments or other groups to improve function or communication.
  • Coordinate with external parties to exchange information.
  • Direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities.
  • Develop contingency plans to deal with organizational emergencies.
  • Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
  • Confer with organizational members to accomplish work activities.
  • Monitor external affairs or events affecting business operations.
  • Maintain operational records.

Schools

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Brown University
Northwestern University-...
Stanford University
University Of Georgia
University Of North Carol...
University Of Pennsylvani...
University Of Southern Ca...
University Of Texas- Aust...
Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University
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Canadian Mennonite Uni...
Carleton University
Mcgill University
Mcmaster University
Royal Roads University
University Canada West
University Of Calgary
University Of Ottawa
University Of Prince E...
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Potential Scholarships

Aqha Region 1 Quarter Hor...
Aqha Arizona Quarter Hors...
Aqha Joan Cain Florida Qu...
Aqha Indiana Quarter Hors...
Aqha Dr. Gerald O'connor...
Aqhf Nebraska Quarter Hor...
- Creditcardgenius 2020 S...
- Haywood | Hunt & Associ...
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Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:
Low End:
$62,290.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$184,460.00 /yr
High End:
$208,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

Marketing Specialist - Advertising
Training & Development Specialist
Construction Manager
Insurance Broker

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
PayScale, Inc., https://www.payscale.com/.
WorkBC's Career Trek, http://www.careertrekbc.ca/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.