External Relations Manager
What this job does:
Builds and maintains strategic partnerships between their organization and outside entities - including government agencies, industry partners, donors, community groups, and academic institutions. Day-to-day, coordinates outreach activities, writes proposals and reports, organizes high-level meetings and events, and serves as the public-facing representative of their institution. Ensures the organization's research mission and partnership opportunities are communicated effectively to attract funding, collaborators, and public support.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Reaching out to potential collaborators across institutions, negotiating roles in multi-site studies, writing grant proposals and progress reports, explaining research to non-specialist audiences
Typical starting salary range
$90k to $145k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Stakeholder relationship management and outreach (30%)
- Written communications: proposals, reports, briefing materials (25%)
- Event planning and coordination (20%)
- Strategy development and program evaluation (15%)
- Internal coordination and team management (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Proposal and grant writing; fundraising strategy and donor cultivation; event planning and management; government relations and science policy knowledge; CRM and database management; budgeting and financial reporting; strategic communications; stakeholder relationship building; public speaking; negotiation and diplomacy; cross-departmental project management
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about building research collaborations across institutions - reaching out to potential partners, negotiating roles in multi-site studies, and maintaining productive long-term relationships across disciplines. Talk about your formal scientific writing experience through grant proposals and journal articles, and explaining complex research to varied audiences.
Alternative job titles to search:
Director of External Relations; Partnerships Manager; Stakeholder Relations Manager; Government Relations Manager; Community Relations Manager; Director of Strategic Partnerships; Institutional Relations Manager; Research Partnerships Manager; Advancement Manager; Public Affairs Manager
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
