Communications Specialist Job Description Templates
Free communications specialist job description templates: general, marketing, internal, nonprofit, small business, and corporate. Download 6 as one DOCX.
Communications Specialist Job Description Templates
6 free templates by context. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The communications specialist job description covers more ground than it looks, because the role changes a lot by organization and focus. A marketing communications specialist running campaigns, an internal communications specialist keeping employees aligned, a nonprofit coordinator supporting fundraising, and a small-business first hire doing all of it alone share the title but do very different work. Most templates online give one generic block and skip the focus and seniority differences that actually define the hire.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the small companies and nonprofits making this hire, often the owner or director writing the posting for their first communicator. The six templates below cover the role by context: general, marketing, internal, nonprofit, small business, and corporate/PR. Each names the FLSA status to confirm and the focus of the role. Fill in the brackets and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is a Communications Specialist?
A communications specialist develops and delivers an organization's internal and external communications: writing content, managing channels, supporting media relations, and maintaining a consistent brand voice. The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the role within public relations specialists (SOC 27-3031), noting that public relations specialists are also called communications specialists.
For the employer writing the posting, the key point is that the work depends on the organization and the focus. A marketing comms role drives campaigns; an internal role focuses on employees; a nonprofit role supports fundraising; a corporate role handles media. The six templates on this page split by context so the document matches the actual role rather than a generic definition. (And to settle a common question: communications specialist and communication specialist are the same role; the plural is just more common.)
Communications Specialist Duties and Responsibilities
Communications specialist duties center on content and writing, channels and social, media and PR, and strategy and measurement. The focus shifts the emphasis, campaigns for a marketing role, employees for an internal role, but these four categories hold across nearly every communications role. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: the audiences you communicate with, the channels and tools in use, the focus of the role, and who the specialist reports to. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your organization type and the focus of the role. The writing-and-channels core runs through all six, but the emphasis, the seniority, and the audience differ enough that the matched version always reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Communications Specialist Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, the FLSA classification field, pay, and how to apply, with an EEO statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: General Communications Specialist (W-2)
The universal version covering internal and external communications: content, channels, media relations, and brand voice. Start here for most hires.
Template 2: Marketing Communications Specialist
For a brand and campaign focus: content, social, email, SEO, and campaign performance. Common at marketing teams and small agencies.
Template 3: Internal Communications Specialist
For an employee-facing focus: internal channels, newsletters, leadership and change communications, and internal culture.
Template 4: Nonprofit Communications Coordinator / Specialist
For a small nonprofit: donor communications, fundraising support, grant reporting, and mission storytelling. Often a coordinator-level first hire.
Template 5: Small Business / First Communications Hire
For a growing company hiring its first communicator: a broad, hands-on role owning messaging, content, and channels end to end, reporting to the owner.
Template 6: Corporate / PR Communications Specialist
For a media-relations and reputation focus: press, executive communications, messaging, and crisis support. For larger or PR-heavy teams. If the role leans fully into press and media, the public relations job description may fit better.
Communications Specialist Skills and Certifications
Most communications roles weigh strong writing and judgment over a specific background, though a bachelor's degree is typical. List what is truly required separately from what is preferred so you do not screen out strong candidates.
| Type | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Education | Bachelor's in communications, PR, journalism, or marketing |
| Core skills | Writing, editing, proofreading, and storytelling |
| Channels | Social media, email, web content, and basic analytics |
| Certification | APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) for experienced PR |
The main professional credential is the APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) from PRSA, generally pursued by experienced practitioners; entry-level and marketing roles more often value digital certifications and a strong portfolio. If the role leans more toward campaigns or content than communications broadly, the digital marketing specialist and copywriter templates may be a closer match. Keep the language neutral and inclusive, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. For a fuller framework, the SHRM guide to writing a job description covers the standard sections.
FLSA: Are Communications Specialists Exempt or Non-Exempt?
Communications specialists are usually exempt, but it depends on the duties and salary rather than the title. Most roles qualify, with one common exception worth checking at the junior and coordinator level.
The deciding factor is the actual duties and salary, so a coordinator-level role at a nonprofit or an entry-level position deserves a closer look. For the underlying rules, the exempt vs non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act guide explain the tests. Classify each role by its real duties, mark the status on the posting, and track hours for any non-exempt role. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney, since state overtime rules can be stricter than federal.
How to Write a Communications Specialist Job Description
A strong communications posting takes about fifteen minutes once you settle the focus, the responsibilities, the qualifications, and the pay. Here is the process the templates are built around. If you are building out your team, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
Communications Specialist Pay
Communications specialist pay varies by experience, industry, region, and the focus of the role. Because the role is classified within public relations specialists, the federal data gives a solid anchor.
Within that range, corporate and PR roles and high-cost metros run toward the higher end, while nonprofit coordinator and entry-level roles start lower, often well below the median. These are the most recent confirmed federal estimates for the occupation.
| Role / level | Relative pay | Typical FLSA status |
|---|---|---|
| Nonprofit coordinator / entry | Lower | Confirm by duties |
| General / marketing comms | Around the median | Usually exempt |
| Internal communications | Around the median | Usually exempt |
| Corporate / PR (senior) | Higher | Exempt |
For setting pay, use the federal median as a reference, adjust for the focus, the level, and your local market, set an honest range, and state it in the posting, since a growing number of states require a range.
Hiring Your First Communicator at a Small Company or Nonprofit
A large institution hires communications staff through a team and a standard process. A smaller company or nonprofit makes this hire directly, and often the bigger question is whether the role should be a broad generalist or coordinator rather than a narrow specialist. Here is how to do it well.
After You Hire: Onboarding a Communications Specialist
The job description is step one, and a communications hire is a bit different: the person speaks for you publicly and gets access to your brand voice, social accounts, and channels fast. Start with the standard steps: send the offer with the pay and FLSA classification stated, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms.
Then handle the role-specific side: grant access to social and email platforms, share your brand guidelines, and run a knowledge transfer on your voice, audiences, and messaging history, plus any social-media or confidentiality policy you want signed. The documents around the hire follow the usual sequence: the offer letter template for the terms, the onboarding checklist template for the first days, and a 30-60-90 day plan to set early goals, with signed onboarding documents kept in one place.
FirstHR fits the people side of this: e-signature for the offer and any social-media or confidentiality policy, document management for brand guidelines and signed forms, task workflows for account access and the brand-voice knowledge transfer, training assignments for onboarding, an HRIS with an org chart, and a self-service portal, all of which help a small team handle the hire cleanly. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect your payroll and benefits providers for those functions. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a communications specialist do?
A communications specialist develops and delivers an organization's internal and external communications. The core work is consistent: writing and editing press releases, newsletters, and web and social copy, managing channels and the editorial calendar, supporting media and public relations, coordinating events and announcements, maintaining a consistent brand voice, and tracking communication performance. The setting shapes the rest. A general communications specialist covers the full scope, a marketing communications specialist focuses on brand and campaigns, an internal communications specialist focuses on employees, a nonprofit coordinator supports fundraising and mission storytelling, a small-business first hire owns everything alone, and a corporate or PR specialist focuses on media and executive communications. Because the role varies so much by organization and focus, a job description should describe the specific role rather than a generic list, which is why the templates on this page split into general, marketing, internal, nonprofit, small business, and corporate.
What is the difference between communications specialist and communication specialist?
There is no real difference; they are the same role with a spelling variation. Communications specialist (plural) is the more common form in US job postings, but communication specialist (singular) appears often too, and both describe the same work: developing and delivering an organization's messaging, content, and public relations. Some employers use one form by habit or style preference, and search engines treat them as essentially the same query. When writing your posting, pick whichever form your organization uses consistently. The templates on this page work for either spelling, and the role they describe, internal and external communications, content, channels, and media, is identical regardless of which version of the title you choose.
What are the duties and responsibilities of a communications specialist?
Communications specialist duties fall into four areas. Content and writing: writing press releases, newsletters, and copy, editing and proofreading across formats, and maintaining a consistent brand voice. Channels and social: managing social media and the calendar, running email and web content, and coordinating the editorial schedule. Media and PR: supporting media relations and inquiries, coordinating events and announcements, and supporting crisis and sensitive communications. Strategy and measurement: developing communication plans, tracking and reporting on performance, and aligning messaging with goals. The emphasis shifts by focus, campaigns for a marketing comms role, employees for an internal role, donors for a nonprofit role, media for a corporate or PR role. The templates on this page group these duties so you can adapt them to your specific communications role.
What skills and qualifications does a communications specialist need?
Most communications specialist roles weigh strong writing and judgment over a specific background, though a bachelor's degree is typical. A common role wants a degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, or English, a couple of years of experience, excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills, social media and basic analytics experience, and the organization to juggle deadlines and channels. More senior or corporate roles add media relations and executive-communications experience; nonprofit roles value mission fit and fundraising-communications experience; marketing roles add campaign and SEO skills. The main professional credential is the APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) from PRSA, generally pursued by experienced practitioners. When writing the job description, separate what is genuinely required, the writing skill and core experience, from what is preferred, like a specific certification or tool, so you do not screen out strong candidates.
Are communications specialists exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
Communications specialists are usually exempt, but it depends on the actual duties and salary. The role often qualifies under the learned or creative professional exemption, since the work involves writing, judgment, and advanced knowledge typically tied to a degree, or under the administrative exemption when the role exercises discretion and independent judgment on significant matters. The federal salary basis of at least $684 per week is usually met. But exemption is not automatic. The Department of Labor is explicit that job titles do not determine exempt status; the actual duties and salary do. A junior coordinator who mostly schedules posts and updates calendars without real discretion may be non-exempt and owed overtime, which is worth checking for entry-level or nonprofit coordinator roles. Classify each role by its real duties, mark the status on the posting, and confirm with counsel, since state overtime rules can be stricter than federal. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a communications specialist make?
Communications specialists are classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics within public relations specialists, which BLS notes are also called communications specialists. That occupation had a median annual wage of $69,780 in May 2024 (about $33.55 per hour), with the lowest 10 percent earning under $40,750 and the highest 10 percent over $129,480. Pay varies by experience, industry, region, and the focus of the role. Corporate and PR roles and high-cost metros run toward the higher end, while nonprofit coordinator and entry-level roles start lower, often well below the median. Employment is projected to grow about 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than average, with around 27,600 openings a year. Because pay is one of the first things candidates screen on, post a real range; the templates leave it as a field. National compensation surveys can help you set a range for your market and the specific level.
Does a small business or nonprofit need a communications specialist?
Sometimes, but the role looks different at small scale. A dedicated communications specialist is more common in larger organizations, universities, agencies, government, and corporations, that have enough communications work for a full-time role within a team. Smaller companies and nonprofits often have the founder, a marketing generalist, or an agency handle communications until there is steady, full-time work to justify a dedicated hire. When a small organization does hire, it usually needs a broad generalist or a coordinator-level role rather than a narrow specialist: one person who writes, runs social and email, handles basic PR, and owns the brand voice. Nonprofits in particular hire communications coordinators at a smaller scale to support fundraising and mission storytelling. The small-business and nonprofit templates on this page are built for exactly those first hires, reporting to the owner or director.
What happens after I hire a communications specialist?
Onboarding a communications hire matters more than for a back-office role, because the person speaks for you publicly and gets access to your brand voice, social accounts, and channels fast. Start with the standard steps: send the offer with the pay and FLSA classification stated, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days, and gather tax forms. Then handle the role-specific side: grant access to social and email platforms, share your brand guidelines, and run a knowledge transfer on your voice, audiences, and messaging history, plus any social-media or confidentiality policy you want signed. Because small companies and nonprofits hire infrequently and the owner or director often runs HR on the side, a repeatable process pays off. FirstHR fits the people side: e-signature for the offer and policies, document management for brand guidelines and signed forms, task workflows for account access and the brand-voice knowledge transfer, training assignments for onboarding, an HRIS with an org chart, and a self-service portal. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect your payroll and benefits providers for those. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.