The White House Director of Communications is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States, and is responsible for developing and promoting the President's agenda. The director, along with his or her staff, work on speeches such as the inaugural address and the State of the Union Address. The current holder of this position under President George W. Bush is Kevin Sullivan, who took over the position from Nicolle Wallace (nee Devenish) on July 24, 2006. The Communications Director is usually given an office in the West Wing of the White House.
Historically, the position of White House Communications Director is typically given to a senior public relations staff member of the candidate's campaign staff. Typically this is either the Deputy Campaign Manager or the Campaign Communications Director. The Communications Director works closely with the White House Press Secretary, who typically was a co-worker in the president's campaign. An example of this during the 1992 Clinton Presidential Campaign is Deputy Campaign Manager George Stephanopoulos who was appointed to Communications Director after Clinton's election.
As the President's voice and vision must be clear, the Communications Director must ensure that all aspects of communications are covered to ensure that the administration's message has been delivered successfully.
Fiction
Toby Ziegler (played by Richard Schiff) is prominently featured as President Bartlet's Communications Director in the television series The West Wing. He was later replaced by Will Bailey after Toby was fired for leaking classified information.