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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for External Relations Coordinator

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External RelationsCommunicationsPublic AffairsStakeholder Engagement

🎯 Role Definition

The External Relations Coordinator is responsible for building, maintaining, and strengthening relationships between the organization and external stakeholders — including government bodies, community organizations, media, partners, donors, and vendors. This role plans and executes outreach and engagement activities, produces clear and compelling communications, monitors public sentiment and policy developments, and provides strategic support for advocacy, partnership development, events, and campaigns. The Coordinator acts as a visible, responsive point of contact for external audiences and ensures alignment between external-facing efforts and organizational goals.

Key SEO keywords: External Relations Coordinator, stakeholder engagement, government relations, media relations, community outreach, partnership development, public affairs, external communications.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Communications Assistant / Communications Coordinator
  • Outreach or Community Engagement Coordinator
  • Administrative Assistant with stakeholder-facing duties

Advancement To:

  • External Relations Manager / Senior External Relations Coordinator
  • Manager, External Affairs or Partnerships
  • Director of External Affairs / Head of Public Affairs

Lateral Moves:

  • Communications Manager / PR Manager
  • Government Relations Specialist / Public Policy Officer
  • Corporate Partnerships or Development Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop and execute a proactive stakeholder engagement plan that maps priorities, influence, and engagement frequency for government agencies, community groups, funders, vendors, and strategic partners to advance organizational objectives.
  • Serve as the primary external contact for assigned stakeholder segments; respond to inquiries, manage bilateral relationships, follow-up on commitments, and escalate policy or reputational risks to senior leadership.
  • Draft, edit, and distribute clear, persuasive external communications including briefings, talking points, partner letters, press releases, newsletters, and social media posts to ensure consistent messaging across channels.
  • Monitor and analyze local, regional, and national policy developments, regulatory changes, and public sentiment; prepare concise reports and recommended responses for the executive team and program leads.
  • Coordinate government relations activities: schedule meetings with elected officials and their offices, prepare briefing materials and leave-behinds, log meeting outcomes, and track follow-up actions and deadlines.
  • Identify partnership and sponsorship opportunities, conduct outreach, negotiate scopes of collaboration or memorandum of understanding (MOUs), and shepherd partnerships from initial contact through contracting and activation.
  • Plan and manage stakeholder events, roundtables, site visits, and public forums — coordinating logistics, invitations, agendas, speakers, accessibility, and event follow-up to maximize engagement and outcomes.
  • Support media relations efforts by building journalist lists, pitching story ideas, arranging interviews, preparing spokespeople, responding to media inquiries rapidly, and tracking coverage impact.
  • Maintain and update stakeholder relationship management systems (CRM) or contact databases by logging interactions, activities, outcomes, and forecasted engagement to ensure accurate institutional memory.
  • Produce monthly and quarterly external relations metrics and status reports (engagement dashboards, earned media reach, meeting outcomes, partnership pipeline) to inform strategic decision-making.
  • Develop and manage outreach campaigns tailored to target audiences, using multi-channel tactics (email, social media, direct outreach, events) with clear objectives, timelines, and KPIs.
  • Assist in the preparation of grant proposals, donor briefings, and funding reports by providing contextual materials, stakeholder letters of support, and evidence of partnership impact.
  • Coordinate cross-functional teams (program, legal, communications, finance) to ensure external agreements, communications, and events comply with organizational policy and contractual obligations.
  • Provide proactive reputation management support by identifying emerging issues from media, social platforms, or partners, drafting holding statements, and recommending mitigation approaches.
  • Facilitate stakeholder consultation processes and community engagement activities that collect feedback, co-design solutions, and document community priorities for program planning and evaluation.
  • Conduct stakeholder research and landscape analyses to map competitor activity, influence networks, strategic allies, and points of leverage for advocacy and partnership approaches.
  • Create and maintain a repository of templates, standard operating procedures, and contact materials for external outreach to ensure consistency and efficiency across the team.
  • Handle sensitive and confidential communications with diplomacy and discretion, including managing requests for information, FOI/FOIA interactions in collaboration with legal counsel, and confidential partner negotiations.
  • Train and brief internal staff and spokespeople on engagement protocols, media interactions, and culturally appropriate outreach to ensure consistent external representation.
  • Support crisis communications and escalation processes by rapidly coordinating cross-functional inputs, drafting external statements, liaising with partners, and tracking stakeholder reactions.
  • Track budgets and expenses for external engagement activities, events, and partnership deliverables; review vendor contracts and process invoices in coordination with finance.
  • Translate technical or programmatic content into accessible formats for non-technical stakeholders, ensuring clarity and alignment between program teams and external audiences.
  • Maintain compliance with applicable lobbying, disclosure, and ethics rules; document outreach activities and ensure reporting obligations are met.

Secondary Functions

  • Support the creation and maintenance of media monitoring and social listening dashboards; summarize trends and alerts for the communications team.
  • Assist with internal stakeholder briefings and prepare executive summaries prior to high-level meetings or public appearances.
  • Provide administrative support for external delegations, including itineraries, travel logistics, and hospitality coordination.
  • Update web and partner pages with timely announcements, partner profiles, and event summaries in coordination with digital teams.
  • Contribute to outreach material design such as one-pagers, infographics, and slide decks for presentations and meetings.
  • Maintain records of contractual deliverables and timelines for partner-funded projects and public-private collaborations.
  • Support ad hoc research requests and background checks on prospective partners, media outlets, and public figures.
  • Help onboard new external relations volunteers or interns and provide day-to-day supervision where needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Stakeholder mapping and management — ability to identify, prioritize, and operationalize engagement with diverse external actors.
  • Media relations and press management — drafting press releases, pitching journalists, arranging interviews, and tracking coverage.
  • CRM and contact database proficiency (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar) for logging interactions and managing pipelines.
  • Event planning and logistics — venue selection, vendor coordination, accessibility, registration platforms, and on-site management.
  • Government and public policy literacy — legislative monitoring, preparing briefings, and scheduling government meetings.
  • Written communications and copywriting — producing clear briefings, talking points, outreach emails, and public-facing content.
  • Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting — creating engagement metrics, dashboards, and post-event reports.
  • Partnership development and negotiation — drafting MOUs, managing deliverables, and ensuring mutual accountability.
  • Social media management and content promotion — basic scheduling, best practices, and amplification techniques.
  • Crisis communications and reputational risk management — drafting statements, coordinating rapid responses, and escalation procedures.
  • Basic budgeting and financial tracking for events and partnership activities.
  • Proficiency in MS Office / Google Workspace (Word/Docs, Excel/Sheets, PowerPoint/Slides) for reporting and presentations.
  • Familiarity with media monitoring tools (e.g., Meltwater, Cision) and social listening platforms for sentiment analysis.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to tailor messages to different audiences.
  • Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills; comfortable engaging with senior officials and community leaders.
  • Diplomacy, tact, and cultural sensitivity when handling sensitive topics or diverse stakeholder expectations.
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
  • Problem-solving mindset and the ability to anticipate issues and propose practical solutions.
  • Initiative and proactivity — seeks opportunities to advance partnerships and improve processes.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced or ambiguous environments.
  • Teamwork and collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
  • Negotiation and persuasion skills to secure buy-in and resources from partners.
  • Sound judgment and discretion in handling confidential information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Political Science, International Relations, Public Affairs, Journalism, Nonprofit Management, Business, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree or postgraduate certificate in Public Policy, International Relations, Communications, Public Affairs, or related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Communications / Public Relations
  • Political Science / Public Policy
  • International Relations
  • Journalism / Media Studies
  • Business Administration / Management
  • Nonprofit Management / Development

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of progressively responsible experience in external relations, communications, government relations, community engagement, or partnerships.

Preferred:

  • 3–5+ years of direct experience in external relations, public affairs, corporate communications, or NGO/public sector engagement.
  • Demonstrated experience working with government officials, media, community organizations, or donor partners.
  • Experience using CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), media monitoring tools, and event management platforms.
  • Proven track record of managing multi-stakeholder projects, producing external-facing materials, and measuring engagement outcomes.
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