Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Communications Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Communications Manager is responsible for developing and executing integrated communications and public relations strategies that elevate brand reputation, drive stakeholder engagement, and support business objectives. This role leads content creation, media relations, internal and executive communications, crisis response, and measurement of communications impact across owned, earned, and paid channels. The ideal candidate blends strategic thinking with tactical execution, strong editorial judgment, digital literacy, and experience managing cross-functional communications programs that influence public perception and employee engagement.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Communications Coordinator or Communications Specialist
Public Relations Specialist or Account Executive (agency)
Content Marketing Associate or Social Media Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior Communications Manager
Director of Communications or Director of Corporate Communications
Head of Communications, VP of Communications, or Chief Communications Officer (CCO)

Lateral Moves:

Content Marketing Manager
PR Manager or Media Relations Lead
Employee Communications or Employer Brand Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, own, and execute an annual communications strategy aligned with organizational goals, including external PR, internal communications, social media, content marketing, executive visibility, and crisis preparedness.
Lead the creation and editorial oversight of high-quality, audience-targeted content — press releases, bylined articles, blog posts, executive speeches, talking points, newsletters, and long-form thought leadership — ensuring consistent brand voice and SEO best practices.
Serve as primary media relations lead: cultivate journalist relationships, pitch story ideas, secure earned media placements, manage embargoes, coordinate interviews, and brief spokespeople to maximize positive coverage.
Design and manage an integrated social media content calendar that supports brand storytelling, demand generation, community engagement, and paid amplification, while reporting on channel performance and optimization.
Build and maintain internal communications programs that inform, align, and engage employees (e.g., intranet content, executive updates, town halls, leadership communications, and employee newsletters).
Plan and execute communications for product launches, major initiatives, fundraising events, or enterprise announcements, coordinating cross-functional teams including product, marketing, legal, and sales to ensure timely, accurate messaging.
Lead crisis communications planning and real-time response: develop playbooks, draft holding statements, manage rapid internal and external updates, and coordinate with leadership and legal to protect reputation.
Create measurement frameworks and dashboards to quantify the impact of communications programs (media reach, sentiment analysis, share of voice, engagement metrics, internal adoption, lead conversion attribution), and present insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
Manage relationships with external agencies and vendors (PR agencies, creative agencies, freelance writers, multimedia producers), including RFPs, contracting, campaign oversight, and performance evaluation.
Oversee brand messaging architecture and style guidelines, ensuring consistent application across campaigns, product pages, marketing collateral, and partner communications.
Coach and prepare executives and subject-matter experts for media interviews, panels, podcasts, and keynote presentations through briefing documents, mock interviews, and message training.
Lead cross-functional communications projects and campaigns from brief to launch, creating project plans, timelines, content briefs, approvals matrixes, and post-launch reviews to ensure deadlines and objectives are met.
Produce and manage multi-channel editorial calendars, ensuring timely content delivery, repurposing assets for different audiences, and prioritizing high-impact topics tied to business milestones.
Conduct stakeholder mapping and targeted outreach strategies for investors, partners, customers, employees, and community audiences to tailor messaging and drive engagement.
Lead internal measurement programs such as employee pulse surveys and feedback loops to refine internal messaging and boost organizational alignment and morale.
Create accessible and inclusive communications materials that comply with accessibility standards (e.g., alt text, clear language, captioning for video) and reflect diverse audiences and perspectives.
Manage budgets for communications activities including PR, events, content production, technology subscriptions, and paid social amplification; track spend and optimize for ROI.
Produce multimedia content (light video scripts, interview footage, social assets) and partner with creative teams to deliver on-brand visuals and asset packages for campaigns.
Drive thought leadership programs that position executives as industry authorities through bylines, awards submissions, speaking engagements, and strategic partnerships.
Monitor industry and competitor news, synthesize trends and implications, and proactively recommend comms opportunities and risks to leadership and product teams.
Ensure legal and regulatory compliance in communications, coordinating with legal and compliance teams on claims, disclosures, and sensitive announcements.
Maintain and update media lists, press kits, FAQs, and a repository of evergreen communications assets to streamline responses and accelerate time-to-publish.
Evaluate and recommend communication tools and platforms (CMS, email platforms, media monitoring, analytics tools) to improve workflow, reporting, and distribution efficiency.
Drive employee advocacy programs to enable employees to share coordinated content externally and amplify brand stories through training, toolkits, and incentives.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc reporting requests and conduct analysis to understand campaign performance and audience behavior across channels.
Collaborate with HR and People teams on employer brand, recruitment marketing, onboarding communications, and internal engagement campaigns.
Provide communications input to product and go-to-market teams during roadmap planning to ensure early alignment and readiness for external launch.
Coordinate logistics and communications for live and virtual events, webinars, trade shows, and industry conferences (including speaker coordination and promotional strategy).
Assist in vendor selection and onboarding for communication platforms, media monitoring, creative production, and freelance talent.
Maintain knowledge of emerging digital communications trends, platform algorithm changes, and content formats to recommend experimentation and innovation.
Participate in cross-functional risk assessments, ensuring communications considerations are included in enterprise risk and business continuity planning.
Mentor junior communications staff and support professional development through goal setting, feedback, and training initiatives.
Help compile crisis after-action reports and continuous improvement plans to refine response times and messaging accuracy.
Contribute to corporate social responsibility communications and community engagement programs to strengthen external stakeholder relationships.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strategic communications planning and program development across owned, earned, and paid channels.
Media relations expertise: pitching, interview coordination, media training, and crisis response.
Superior writing and editing for multiple formats: press releases, op-eds, speeches, blogs, and newsletters with SEO-aware copywriting.
Content strategy and editorial calendar management, including repurposing and A/B content testing.
Digital and social media management across major platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) and social analytics/tools.
Measurement and analytics: experience with PR measurement tools, Google Analytics, social analytics, media monitoring, sentiment analysis, and KPI dashboarding.
CMS management and content publishing (e.g., WordPress, Contentful, HubSpot CMS).
Email marketing platforms and segmentation (e.g., Mailchimp, HubSpot, Marketo) and best practices for deliverability and engagement.
Basic multimedia production awareness: briefing video/audio shoots, understanding of editing workflows, and experience working with designers (Adobe Creative Suite, Canva).
Project management skills and software proficiency (Asana, Trello, Monday, Jira) for cross-functional campaign execution.
Budget management and vendor contract oversight.
Familiarity with legal/regulatory compliance and issues management processes.

Soft Skills

Exceptional written and verbal communication with strong storytelling instincts.
Strategic mindset with the ability to translate business objectives into communications plans and measurable outcomes.
Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills across senior leaders, product teams, external partners, and media.
Calm under pressure and decisive in crisis situations, with excellent judgment and discretion.
Highly organized project manager with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple simultaneous priorities.
Team leadership and coaching capabilities, including mentorship and performance management.
Creative problem-solving and a bias for action; able to iterate quickly with data-informed decisions.
Empathy and cultural sensitivity to craft inclusive messaging for diverse audiences.
Strong presentation and facilitation skills for briefings, town halls, and executive counsel.
Curiosity and continuous learning mindset for adoption of emerging channels and communications best practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, English, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Communications, Strategic Communications, Journalism, or MBA with communications/marketing focus; or professional certifications (e.g., CIPR, APR, HubSpot Content Marketing).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Communications
Public Relations
Journalism
Marketing
English, Literature, or Media Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of progressive experience in communications, public relations, or corporate communications; includes agency or in-house roles.

Preferred:

5+ years managing integrated communications programs, with proven experience in media relations, crisis communications, and cross-functional leadership.
Demonstrated success working with senior executives and delivering measurable outcomes (media coverage, engagement uplift, improved employee alignment).
Experience in the company’s industry (technology, finance, healthcare, nonprofit, etc.) is a strong plus.