How to become a communications manager

In an increasingly digitised and competitive marketplace, strategic communication is critical for businesses that want to cut through. As a result, highly skilled and qualified communications managers who can effectively craft and shepherd a brand’s core messages and overall communications are increasingly valuable.

Working across various sectors, from corporations and governments to charities and community groups, communications managers drive and strengthen a brand's voice and reputation.

There are many realms of expertise for this role – crisis communication, stakeholder engagement, media relations, internal messaging and more. Regardless of which area they work in, communications managers are vital to building a cohesive and impactful brand that connects with target customers.

If you love crafting messages, thrive in high-pressure environments, enjoy strategic thinking and genuinely connecting with others, a career in communications may be your calling. So, how do you carve one out?

In this article, we’ll discuss the skills and steps to becoming a communications manager, from choosing your focus area to gaining the best qualifications for a competitive edge.

Whether you’re looking to start or accelerate your communications trajectory or apply new skills to your current role, here’s how to become a communications manager or hone your communication expertise.

Is becoming a communications manager right for me?

A communications qualification can open many doors and varied possibilities. Switching into a full-time communications role is just one pathway you might take.

For example, many general management roles are expanding, and having a communications degree may equip you to do your current job more effectively, rather than lead to a change of career into communications itself.

Whether a communications manager role is right for you may also depend on the type of communications role you’re pursuing.

To determine whether becoming a communications manager is right for you, ask yourself:

• Do you enjoy crafting creative messages that resonate with diverse audiences?
• Are you a strong written and verbal communicator?
• Are you interested in a full-time role promoting a company’s mission, brand and products?
• Have you got a passion for thinking strategically about communicating, PR, marketing or similar disciplines?

What's it like to be a communications manager?

Communications managers work across many industries – including corporate organisations, government and non-profit sectors – to ensure key messages are delivered across relevant platforms effectively and with purpose.

Communications managers can have a range of responsibilities depending on their role. These responsibilities may include:

• Developing and executing communication strategies that align with business goals.
• Managing corporate communication channels including press releases, social media, emails, newsletters and more.
• Leading internal teams of communications specialists to ensure brand integrity is maintained at every level.
• Steering crisis communications to protect the brand’s reputation.
• Leading internal comms to ensure messaging is consistent across all departments.
• Collaborating with public relations (PR) and marketing teams to ensure that brand voice and messaging are cohesive and as strong as possible.

How can I become a communications manager?

The path to becoming a communications manager will depend on your professional and educational background, and whether you are transitioning from a related field, making a career change, or seeking to upskill with new expertise.

Generally, the steps to become a communications manager are:

1. Choose your focus area

As mentioned above, there are a number of roles communications experts can take on. So, the first step to becoming a communications manager is to identify your area of interest. This may include:

• Crisis communications: Managing a company’s reputation during crises. This can involve a large amount of fast-paced and high-pressure reactive work to respond to emergencies quickly, calmly and effectively with the right messaging.
  
  It can also involve a great deal of proactive work, such as preparing the company and communications for such crises as much as possible.
• Corporate communications: Often for global companies with an extensive network of stakeholders; these communications managers are responsible for ensuring both internal and external communication aligns with business objectives.
• Media relations: Largely externally focused, this role acts as the key point of contact between the organisation and media outlets, and, in some cases, external PR or communications agencies.
  
  This role will likely involve a lot of collaboration with the PR team and senior spokespeople for the business to hone media-worthy and safe quotes and communications.
• Internal communications: More internally focused, these communications managers keep employees and internal stakeholders informed and engaged with the company’s mission and goals.
  
  Depending on the structure of the business, this role may involve frequent collaboration with senior leadership and the human resources (HR) team.

2. Gain relevant skills

There are several critical skills for a communications manager to master. These include:

• Written and verbal communication: Crafting clear and impactful messages is at the crux of what communications managers do, regardless of which industry or role they work across.
  
  In particular, the ability to harness the power of storytelling to inspire engagement and action in others is of high value for communications managers.
• Relationship-building: Creating and nurturing relationships with media contacts, external stakeholders and internal teams is key to high performance as a communications manager.
• Problem-solving: Effectively navigating crises and overcoming challenges – which are often unforeseen, potentially detrimental and urgent – is fundamental in this career path.
• Timeliness and news awareness: While this one is particularly pertinent for the crisis communications pathway, knowledge of current events and cultural sensitivity is a must for all comms managers – especially in a market where consumers are more savvy and empowered than ever.
• Critical analysis: The ability to think critically and evaluate a situation with nuance, rather than succumbing to generic stereotypes or binary thinking, is what makes skilled communications managers stand out from a sea of less-qualified practitioners – and from their competition.
• High emotional intelligence (EQ): Being able to empathise and understand what motivates, spikes fear, spurs emotion and drives overall impact in others is crucial to success as a communications manager.
  This skill is essential not only for writing messages that cut through and connect with a business’s stakeholders but also for adapting to market trends and generally staying timely and relevant.

3. Pursue an educational qualification

Undergraduate degree

An undergraduate degree is the minimum requirement for many sought-after senior communications roles.

Completing one in a relevant field such as communications, marketing, public relations, or journalism provides a strong foundation for aspiring communications managers and ambitious professionals who want to develop skills that will set them apart.

If you don’t have an undergraduate degree in a related field but still want to expand your communications expertise, there are other pathways available. Specific postgraduate qualifications allow students to enter with undergraduate degrees from other disciplines.

If you haven’t completed an undergraduate degree, you can also explore alternative pathways through a graduate diploma or approved professional experience.

Postgraduate degree

If you are looking to add communication skills to your current role, advance to a senior communications position or even change careers, a postgraduate degree is often recommended.

In such a broad and competitive field, postgraduate communication degrees offer advanced skills and knowledge that can give you a competitive edge in the job market.

Postgraduate degrees in communications can open doors to a range of dynamic senior roles in corporate, political, government, organisational or marketing communication. Job titles might include Global Manager of Internal Communications, Director of Public Relations or Head of Corporate Communications.

UTS Online’s Master of Strategic Communication is a strong way to gain skills and knowledge to progress your career and become a communications leader in your organisation.

If you’re interested in corporate communications, you might also consider UTS Online’s Graduate Certificate in Corporate Communication, where you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to develop internal and external corporate communications that educate, inform and inspire.

4. Gain experience

Once you have gained the skills and knowledge you need, you can begin applying for communications roles. 

As communications roles continue to show strong growth in Australia, you are likely to have a range of communications careers to consider. Depending on your specialisation and interest, you could work in industries as varied as health, environment, energy, infrastructure, arts, justice, business or sports. 

Get ready to communicate with purpose

The ability to communicate is vital to success in both your professional and personal life, and mastering the art of it unlocks many coveted doors.

Whether you aspire to lead a team, drive change within an organisation, compel consumer action, help a business thrive in a challenging climate, or influence public perceptions for the better, the ability to connect with and inspire others is crucial to achieving these goals.

With UTS Online’s Master of Strategic Communication, you will gain the advanced knowledge and market-ready skills needed to create powerful communication strategies that resonate across platforms, industries and cultures.

If you do not have an undergraduate degree but already have relevant experience, UTS Online’s Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication offers you foundational skills and knowledge to utilise communication methods and techniques to achieve business or organisational objectives.

Looking to upskill in corporate environments? You might also consider UTS Online’s Graduate Certificate in Corporate Communication , where you’ll learn how to communicate with purpose across the spectrum of corporate communication channels.

These degrees are delivered through a flexible, 100% online learning experience designed for today’s busy professionals who are driven to lead tomorrow.

Whether you pursue a career in communications or apply your skills to your current role, the UTS Online Master of Strategic Communication will help you become a leader in the communication profession.

You can find out more about UTS Online’s Master of Strategic Communication, Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication and Graduate Certificate in Corporate Communication on our website or by contacting our Student Enrolment Advisors at 1300 477 423.