What Does A Liaison Officer Do? (And How To Become One)

Updated 23 February 2023

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A liaison officer is a professional who facilitates communication between two organisations by communicating with other companies on behalf of their organisation and with employees on behalf of the management. They streamline the communication process and schedule meetings when various agencies require working together. Liaison officers find work in private and government organisations, specialised niches such as the military, law enforcement and education and in companies to communicate information to the media, press and the public. In this article, we discuss what does a liaison officer do, explore their responsibilities and look at the steps to become one.

What Does A Liaison Officer Do?

What does a liaison officer do, can be explained that the Liaison officers are company representatives who build and maintain mutual relationships between two or more companies or organisations. They coordinate and streamline operations for smooth function. For example, military and government departments often operate in unknown territories where they may deal with domestic and foreign agencies and face language and cultural barriers. In such circumstances, liaison officers of both parties may intervene, overcome these barriers and establish communication between the officials and groups.

They help in conveying information during major events and emergency situations. They may also be responsible for portraying the right brand image of the organisation in front of the media or the public. The role of liaison officer can be versatile. They perform multiple responsibilities simultaneously, such as managing communication and coordination, streamlining operations and acting as a mediator.

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Liaison Officer

Here are a few essential duties and responsibilities of a liaison officer:

Acting as the primary contact person for employees within their company
Communicating with other organisations or the public on behalf of their company
Attending and starting meetings wherever intervention is required
Writing correspondence reports to maintain a record of the relevant communication
Helping employees with company briefings
Identifying issues in communication and coordination within the company or organisation and creating solutions for overcoming these challenges
Fostering healthy relationships between professionals and employees in the industry by facilitating transparent communication
Creating a list of relevant people from other companies, agencies, or organisations
Delivering media releases in a public forum

How To Become A Liaison Officer?

If you are an excellent communicator and can work in a high-pressure environment, being a liaison officer can be a promising career option for you. Here is a step-by-step guide for becoming a liaison officer:

1. Complete your graduation

There is no specific graduate degree in liaison management, but you can enrol for a bachelor's degree in public relations or communications. Many liaison officers also hold bachelor's degrees in political science, business management, criminal justice and international relations. Liaison officers often work in the media or public sectors, so you may master some valuable non-technical skills such as fluent communication, leadership, negotiation and coordination, which would be helpful in day-to-day tasks. There are several other training and certification programs for aspiring liaison officers, such as executive programmes in general management, entrepreneurship or business relations.

2. Look for job openings

Once you complete your graduation, you can start looking for a liaison officer job that matches your requirements and interests. There is a great demand for liaison officers in various fields such as management, public sector, government sector, military and law. You can look for potential job options online or get a reference from the institution from where you have graduated.

Online job portals like Indeed are a good place to start looking for liaison officer jobs. You can simply create your account, add your educational details and start your search. In addition, you may start building your professional profile on networking platforms to create a strong work portfolio.

3. Improve your non-technical skills

Liaison officers may work in a fast-paced environment. Presentation and clear communication are at the core of their job profile. They may also require being proactive and ready to multi-task. Here are a few non-technical skills liaison officers can develop:

Problem-solving skills: Liaison officers can face several challenges in their day-to-day work, which they may resolve quickly to maintain the brand image and smooth functioning of the organisation. For instance, if there is a leadership change in the company, liaison officers may streamline things between the new CEO and the employees.
Presence of mind: Liaison officers manage multiple tasks at a time, such as establishing communication between two groups, coordinating and public speaking. In such circumstances, they can show their presence of mind and pay attention to every minute detail without being easily affected by high-pressure situations.
Public speaking skills: Liaison officers deal with professionals, employees and the public regularly. It may be important for them to project confidence and have effective public speaking skills while addressing the employees or coordinating with other organisations.

Types Of Liaison Officers

Here are some types of liaison officers to learn more about:

Military liaison officer

A military liaison officer may coordinate activities to protect units from collateral damage, achieve mutual understanding and undertake disaster management. For incident management, liaison officers act as first contact officers for all agencies that are helping with the situation. As a military liaison officer, you can apply for various posts, such as officer for foreign affairs, veteran liaison, immigration services, international relations, international military student officer and military alliance officer.

Multicultural liaison officer

These liaison officers deal with professionals working in foreign embassies and help maintain good relationships between countries by overcoming cultural differences and language barriers. In private companies, multicultural liaison officers may work to identify the needs of individuals from different cultural backgrounds and make them aware of support programs offered by the organisation. As a multicultural liaison officer, you can serve as a senior policy and advocacy officer, cultural liaison officer, service and industry liaison officer, senior policy officer and executive officer.

Community liaison officer

Community liaison officers interact with the local community on behalf of the company they work for, gather information from the community and convey it to the organisation. They manage communication between schools, NGOs, the police department and the local community. To work as a community liaison, you can apply for posts such as community engagement officer, student advocacy administrator and community services officer in hospitals, charities and social service organisations.

These officers are the first point of contact between companies and the community and foster and nurture a healthy relationship between the two, getting people to respect each other's points of view. They try to understand the queries and issues of the community and communicate with them through emails, telephone or social media. You can even work as a disability supporter liaison officer or player supporter liaison officer.

Job Description Of A Liaison Officer

While finding a job as a liaison manager, you may look for keywords in the job description that tell you whether the profile aligns with your current and future career goals. Here are a few job description examples for your reference.

Example 1

Here is an example of a job description for a liaison officer in a sports club:

We are seeking a communicative and leading supporter liaison officer to facilitate and coordinate between the London Championship Football club and its members. In this job profile, you will play a vital role in communication and marketing.

Responsibilities and Duties of a Liaison Officer:

Lead our club
Be accessible as the first point of contact
Liaise with departmental heads and ensure all supporters' problems are resolved
Maintain a schedule of the events arranged by the club
Communicate with the club's members via email, telephone or in-person
Make improvements to the club's fan guides
Liaise with supporters on match days
Undertake organisation and management of community visits

Example 2

Here is an example of a job description for a liaison officer in a corporate setting:

Required efficient, organised and experienced client liaison officers for our company. Under the job role, you will investigate, analyse and resolve issues of member dissatisfaction. You will use our company's complaint management framework. The role includes the following responsibilities.

Duties of Client Liaison Officer:

Investigate and respond to the issues of dissatisfied clients
Suggest suitable solutions
Gather member satisfaction data
Provide opinions or suggestions to the administrative team
Assist other employees and review their complaints
Create reports on member satisfaction