Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Community Relations Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Community Relations Manager leads the design and execution of community engagement and stakeholder outreach programs that build trust, create positive social impact, and protect the organization's reputation. This role develops proactive engagement strategies, manages public-facing programs and events, serves as the primary liaison with neighborhood groups, civic leaders and community partners, and ensures that feedback loops inform operating decisions. The ideal candidate balances strategic program development, operational delivery, media and crisis communications, and measurable impact reporting.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Community Outreach Coordinator / Specialist
Public Affairs Specialist or Public Relations Coordinator
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Coordinator

Advancement To:

Senior Community Relations Manager
Director of Community & Government Affairs
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility or Public Affairs

Lateral Moves:

Stakeholder Engagement Manager
Government Relations Manager
Corporate Communications Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and manage a comprehensive community relations strategy aligned with organizational goals, including stakeholder mapping, outreach plans, KPI setting, and annual workplans that grow community trust and minimize reputational risk.
Serve as the organization's primary liaison to local government officials, neighborhood associations, non-profits, tribal authorities and other community stakeholders; cultivate long-term relationships and maintain continual lines of two-way communication.
Plan, coordinate and execute community meetings, town halls, public workshops and civic events (virtual and in-person) to share project updates, solicit feedback and address stakeholder concerns with clear agendas, accessible materials and documented outcomes.
Develop and manage community advisory boards, steering committees and stakeholder working groups; recruit diverse membership, prepare agendas, distribute materials, synthesize input and translate recommendations into actionable changes.
Lead issue and crisis communications at the local/community level: prepare holding statements, coordinate cross-functional response teams, brief senior leaders and external partners, and manage direct outreach to affected residents and stakeholders.
Create, edit and distribute community-facing communications including newsletters, fact sheets, Q&A documents, localized webpages, email campaigns and social posts designed to inform and engage residents and partners.
Manage community investment and philanthropic programs including grantmaking, sponsorships, in-kind contributions and volunteer initiatives; set selection criteria, coordinate application/review processes and report on outcomes.
Develop and implement volunteer recruitment, training, scheduling and recognition programs that support organizational initiatives and generate measurable community benefit.
Perform regular stakeholder analysis and sentiment tracking through surveys, listening sessions, social listening tools and field observations; translate community feedback into recommendations for program, policy or operational change.
Negotiate and maintain memoranda of understanding (MOUs), partnership agreements, and service contracts with community organizations, vendors and consultants; ensure compliance and manage renewals.
Prepare and present periodic reports and dashboards to senior leadership and cross-functional teams that summarize engagement activities, issues, KPIs and community impact using quantitative and qualitative metrics.
Maintain and manage a centralized stakeholder database (CRM), update contact records, log meetings and track commitments to ensure reliable follow-up and institutional memory.
Collaborate with project managers, operations, legal, health & safety and environmental teams to ensure community concerns are integrated into project planning, permitting and mitigation measures.
Design and deliver culturally competent outreach campaigns and materials that address language access, accessibility needs and diverse channels to reach underserved and hard-to-reach populations.
Oversee budgeting for community relations programs: prepare annual budgets, monitor spend, forecast needs, and ensure vendor payments and community investments follow procurement and compliance processes.
Conduct needs assessments, baseline studies and impact evaluations to inform program design and measure short/long-term outcomes against community benefit objectives.
Coordinate logistics and vendor management for events and outreach activities, including site permits, venue selection, AV needs, signage, translation services and safety planning.
Partner with external media and public relations teams to secure earned media coverage, respond to press inquiries and align messaging between community outreach and broader communications strategies.
Lead training for internal stakeholders on community engagement best practices, empathy-based listening techniques, and commitments tracking to ensure consistent, respectful engagement at all levels of the organization.
Monitor local policy developments, regulatory matters and neighborhood issues that may affect operations; proactively brief leadership and coordinate advocacy or mitigation actions when appropriate.
Implement and continuously improve processes for tracking community commitments and grievance resolution, ensuring timely follow-up, documentation, escalation and transparency of outcomes.
Drive inclusion initiatives in community programming by proactively engaging historically excluded groups, designing accessible engagement formats and measuring participation equity.
Identify opportunities for collaborative programming and shared value partnerships with local businesses, schools, non-profits and community-based organizations to amplify positive impact and reach.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc community analysis requests and prepare synthesis briefs, stakeholder maps and meeting summaries for internal project teams.
Contribute to organizational strategy by providing community insight and recommendations that inform planning, risk assessment and CSR priorities.
Collaborate with digital teams to optimize community engagement channels, including localized webpages, email segmentation and social media outreach strategies.
Participate in cross-functional planning meetings, program sprints and governance forums to ensure community priorities are represented in project decision-making.
Assist with grant reporting, documentation for funders and impact storytelling to communicate program results to internal and external audiences.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Stakeholder Relationship Management — proven ability to identify, map, segment and maintain relationships with diverse community and government stakeholders.
Community Engagement Strategy — experience designing multi-channel outreach plans, running town halls, workshops and advisory group processes.
Event Planning & Logistics — budgeted planning and execution of large public meetings, volunteer events and stakeholder convenings.
Crisis & Issues Communications — drafting holding statements, direct outreach, and coordinating multi-stakeholder responses during incidents.
Content Development & Copywriting — writing clear, audience-appropriate fact sheets, FAQs, op-eds and briefing memos for community audiences.
CRM & Database Management — hands-on use of CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, NationBuilder, CiviCRM) to track contacts, commitments and engagement history.
Measurement & Reporting — designing KPIs, dashboards and impact reports; comfortable with basic quantitative analysis and qualitative synthesis.
Budgeting & Grants Administration — preparing budgets, managing community investment funds and reporting to donors or sponsors.
Digital & Social Media Tools — familiarity with social listening, email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp), CMS and basic analytics (Google Analytics).
Contract & Partnership Negotiation — drafting MOUs, managing vendor scopes and ensuring compliance with procurement rules.
Accessibility & Multilingual Outreach — implementing translation/interpretation workflows and accessible materials for diverse audiences.
Microsoft Office / Google Workspace — advanced use of spreadsheets, slides and collaborative documents for planning and reporting.

Soft Skills

Empathy and active listening — ability to engage respectfully with community members, absorb concerns and reflect them back to stakeholders and leadership.
Relationship-building — persistent, credible and trustworthy engagement that develops long-term partnerships.
Influence and negotiation — ability to reach mutually beneficial outcomes with partners and skeptical stakeholders.
Public speaking and facilitation — confident moderation of public meetings and the ability to distill complex topics into clear, approachable language.
Cultural competency — sensitive, inclusive approach to diverse communities and historically marginalized groups.
Problem-solving and adaptability — handle unpredictable community dynamics and rapidly changing circumstances.
Collaboration — strong cross-functional teamwork with internal departments, external partners and contractors.
Time management and prioritization — juggle multiple programs, deadlines and stakeholder demands effectively.
Attention to detail — accurate recordkeeping of commitments, agreements and follow-up actions.
Resilience and composure — manage high-pressure stakeholder situations with calm and professional demeanor.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Public Policy, Community Development, Political Science, Sociology or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree or professional certificate in Public Affairs, Community Development, Organizational Leadership, or a related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Communications / Public Relations
Public Policy / Government Affairs
Community Development / Urban Planning
Sociology / Social Work
Environmental Studies (for roles tied to infrastructure or site operations)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressively responsible experience in community relations, stakeholder engagement, public affairs, or corporate social responsibility.

Preferred:

5+ years leading community engagement programs, managing public meetings and serving as a primary liaison to local government or neighborhood organizations.
Demonstrated experience in crisis communications, budget management for outreach programs, and measurable community impact reporting.
Experience working in regulated industries (energy, utilities, construction, transportation) or in large multi-site organizations is a plus.
Bilingual ability or demonstrated experience conducting multilingual outreach is highly desirable for diverse communities.