Director of Communications
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The Director of Communications in the business is responsible for the implementation of communications both internally and externally. The Director of Communications works with junior communications department personnel who are headed by the Head of PR and the Head of Content as well as with various program directors and stakeholders within the business in order to develop suitable communication plans and strategies. The Director of Communications also ensures that communications support is constantly being provided by the PR and Content departments and that the messages in the content stay consistent and accurately represent the business’s values and objectives.
The Director of Communications plays the role of ensuring profitable growth of the business by supporting distribution strategies and consumer experience through the development and execution of communication plans and strategies across channels.
Objectives and Responsibilities of the Director of Communications
Leadership: The very first responsibility is to take on a leadership role over the entire communications department. The Director of Communications allocates appropriate talent and resources in all communications initiatives and guides them to completion. He also plays the lead role of creating and developing annual strategic communication plans for the business and executes key elements of the plan while simultaneously providing guidelines, tools, templates, and role delegation for elements to be executed in the plans. His day to day leadership functions include key personnel recruitment, continued establishment and follow up on the department’s strategic direction, as well as defining priorities and coordinating cross-functional initiatives.
In this capacity the Director of Communications also plays a mentorship role to key communications personnel, sharpening their skills, offering assistance in complex tasks, and essentially grooming them to take up the position of director in the future.
Strategy and Analytics: In his strategic and analytical role, the Director of Communications is responsible for the formulation of a business-wide communication strategy that apply form the top down; all the way from the CEO and other top executive leaders within the business. This is to ensure that every department in the business plays an ambassadorship role to the organization in the course of content creation or outward communications.
In addition, the Director of Communications will regularly assess the effectiveness of the business’s communication channels and put in place measures that will create awareness and momentum as well as test the effectiveness of communication activities in the business. He will also conduct analyses on audience segmentation, key messages, communications schedules etc, reporting findings directly to the Chief Marketing Officer and key stakeholders.
The reports contribute to the formulation of strategies that ensure a continued promotion and enhancement of communication activities that in turn boost the business’s consumer base and protect and preserve the business’s brand reputation.
Opportunities/Innovation: It is also the Director of Communication’s objective to challenges the status quo of the business and the communications department and seek out new creative and innovative ways and opportunities for elevating the business’s brand. The Director of Communications regularly introduces fresh perspective to the communications department and the business at large.
At this capacity, the Director of Communications also identifies and promotes newsworthy stories and topics of interest on the business’s behalf ahead of the curve, which establishes the business as thought leader, which increases the business’s popularity with the audience. Some of these stories may relate to client topical guest columns, consumer relations, current affairs, regulatory and policy changes, executive profiles, and human interest pieces, among other topics that will leverage media channel and consumer attention for the business.
Building Relationships: The Director of communications is also tasked with building relationships within and without the business. The Director establishes meaningful relationships internally across the business and externally with consumers and media personnel leading to an increased generation of content in the media, consumer forums, and on social media platforms. This in turn leads to audience segmentation and promotes measurable action.
Collaborations: The role of Director of Communications is highly collaborative and the Director works cross-functionally with numerous departments of the business. In an executive capacity, the Director of Communications partners with other directors in the business, the Chief of Marketing Officer, and key stakeholders in the development of the executive calendar, management of departmental budgets, and in the coordination of submissions of communications that affect the business and the business’s goals directly from all departments. At this capacity, the Director also plays an active role in the coordination of communications necessary for business’s events, for example, the annual General Meetings.
The Director of Communications will also collaborate with the Human Resource department in order to deploy approaches for the communications department’s employee recruitment. This is in order to ensure that key personnel within the department are competent enough to perform the duties of their positions and guarantee achievement of the department’s goals and objectives. He additionally partners up and works closely with creative teams, as mentioned above, in the development of media content submissions, case studies, consumer and executive interview material, and internal employee updates.
Other Duties: The Director of Communications also performs other duties as he deems fit for efficient execution of his duties and duties delegated by the Chief Marketing Officer or the Employer.
Required Qualifications of the Director of Communications
Education: The Director of Communications must possess a Master’s degree (Phd preferred) in Communications, Marketing, Business Administration, Law, English, Journalism, Public Relations, International Relations, Information Technology, Psychology, or any other related field. A working experience of the equivalent is also acceptable.
Experience: The Director of Communications must have had at least 10 years experience working in a leadership position of a business where his duties involved the management of comprehensive strategic communications programs for the purpose of advancing a business’s goals and objectives, preferably in the position of a Head of PR or a Head of Content.
A suitable candidate will also have had proven experience in building, coaching, and mentoring a team of communications specialists and in leading the execution of communications strategies that led to a business’s customer base expansions and financial performance improvement.
Communication Skills: It is also imperative that the Director of Communications have exceptional written and verbal skills. The Director of Communications oversees all the content production, media communications, and social media interactions by the business as well as creating reports and presentations to be presented to the Chief Marketing Officer and relevant stakeholders. In order to effectively execute these functions the Director of Communications must possess superior communication skills.
Leadership Skills: As the head of the communications department, the Director of Communications needs to have strong leadership qualities, being able to move a crowd and inspire them to work towards a common goal and vision. He will also have excellent project management skills, an ability to face stressful and uncertain situations with calmness and composure and inspiring a team to do the same, and an ability to work comfortably with high ranking executives in the development and approval-securing of communications strategies on behalf of the team.
Analytical/Technological Skills: The position of Director of Communications also demands a high level of analytical and technological skills. A candidate for the position must be highly familiar with digital channel programs and strategies, inclusive of new and emerging technologies that support content/message delivery and measurement.
The candidate must be a curious individual with a broad mindset and who has an ability to formulate advanced concepts and solutions that demand a high degree of, creativity, innovation, technological expertise, and ingenuity. The Director of Communications must also be a visionary who has the capacity to provide communication strategies and direction for the business’s various platforms.
Interpersonal Skills: For a candidate to qualify for the position of Director of Communications, there are certain interpersonal qualities that he must portray. The candidate must have excellent judgment and creative problem solving skills, be self motivated and proactive going above and beyond his call of duty, possess an ability to work comfortably and efficiently in a collaborative setting, he must be a strategic thinker who is able to provide lasting solutions for departmental issues, and must be a self-motivated individual who is able to offer proactive communications recommendations and keep the department and the business at large a step ahead of the competition.
People Skills: The Director of Communications will determine the tone of the content that the business puts out. He will also be at the forefront of most of the business’s interactions with the media and the consumers on various platforms and settings.
It is, therefore, important that the Director of Communications have great people skill that enables him to relate well with others whether in person or through the content he oversees. As such a major representative of the business, the Director must be capable of forming strong, meaningful, and lasting relationships with people on behalf of the business.
