Alternate Title(s) | Communications Lead, Supervisory Communications Specialist |
Minimum Education Requirements | Bachelor's degree |
Salary | See Bureau of Labor Statistics for more information |
Job Skills | - Communication skills. Managers deal with the public regularly; therefore, they must be friendly enough to build rapport and receive cooperation from their media contacts and donors. - Leadership skills. Public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities. - Organizational skills. Public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills. - Problem-solving skills. Managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues. They must use good judgment in what they report and how they report it. - Speaking skills. Public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization. When doing so, they must be able to explain the organization’s position clearly. - Writing skills. Managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches. They must be able to grasp the key messages they want to get across and write them succinctly in order to keep the attention of busy readers or listeners. |
Job Duties | Public relations managers typically do the following: - Write press releases and prepare information for the media - Identify main client groups and audiences and determine the best way to reach them - Designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source for media inquiries - Help clients communicate effectively with the public - Develop their organization's or client’s corporate image and identity - Assist and inform an organization’s executives and spokespeople - Devise advertising and promotion programs - Assign, supervise, and review the activities of staff |
Job Profile | Public relations managers review press releases and sponsor corporate events to help maintain and improve the image of their organization or client. Public relations managers help to clarify their organization’s point of view to its main audience through media releases and interviews. They observe social, economic, and political trends that might ultimately affect their organization, and they recommend ways to enhance the firm's image based on those trends. In addition, public relations managers may handle internal communications, such as company newsletters, and may help financial managers produce an organization’s reports. They may also draft speeches, arrange interviews, and maintain other forms of public contact to help the organization’s top executives. Public relations managers must be able to work well with many types of specialists to report the facts accurately. |
The information presented within this occupational profile was synthesized from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Handbook of Occupational Groups & Families.