Project Coordinator Job Description: Role, Responsibilities & Skills

Sometimes functional leads or project managers need help managing projects. That’s where the project coordinator comes in. There’s already a lot about project managers and their various roles and responsibilities floating around on the web and even on our project management blog.

We’ve also talked about program managers and other types of project management roles, but now, let’s explore the role of project coordinator.

What Is a Project Coordinator?

A project coordinator is a member of the project management team who supports project managers by overseeing administrative tasks, communicating with stakeholders and ensuring resource availability for the project team.

Project coordinators go by a few different titles, such as lead project coordinator, project management coordinator or assistant project manager. There are also industry-specific job titles like construction project coordinator. They’re needed in large projects in many industries such as construction, information technology and healthcare.

Project management software makes it possible for a project coordinator to do their job. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that connects them to the project team and stakeholders, allowing for shared documents and much more. Our online software delivers real-time data to help project coordinators execute their tasks, manage documents, schedule meetings and foster collaboration. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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Project Coordinator Responsibilities

So, what does a project coordinator do? As stated above, the daily duties of project coordinators vary depending on the organization, but here’s a quick overview of the most common project coordinator responsibilities.

Assist the project manager in the development of project management documents such as project budgets, project schedules, scope statements and project plans
Execute project management administrative and bookkeeping tasks such as managing invoices, purchase orders and inventory reports, among other financial documents
Supervise the project procurement process
Meeting with project clients to assess their needs and define project requirements, acceptance criteria and project timelines
Coordinate the allocation of project resources to ensure the project team has what’s needed at the right time
Assign tasks to team members and help them understand what’s expected from them in terms of project milestones and deliverables
Be the liaison between the project team and project clients throughout the project life cycle
Help project managers monitor project progress and team members’ performance and provide updates to project stakeholders
Schedule stakeholder meetings, document and generate reports
Foster cross-team collaboration to help project team members complete project tasks and produce deliverables

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Project Coordinator Skills

Here’s an overview of the main skills that are required to lead the project coordination process effectively.

Communication skills: Project coordinators interact with many individuals throughout the life cycle of a project, such as project managers, project sponsors, stakeholders and of course, the project team. For this reason, project coordinators must demonstrate excellent communication skills.
Problem-solving skills: There will be issues, challenges and different types of problems, big and small. For this reason, project coordinators must have problem-solving skills that allow them to quickly come up with solutions and strategies.
Change management skills: As projects are executed, there are many variables to control, and many situations that might force the project management team to make changes to the original project plan. Project coordinators must be able to adapt to these changes.
Organizational skills: Project coordination, as its name suggests it’s a demanding field that requires organizational skills such as time management, delegation, planning, goal setting and decision-making, among others that’ll help the project coordinator be on top of his own duties and responsibilities and monitor the performance of others.

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Project Coordinator vs. Project Manager

The project coordinator and the project manager work closely together. While not every project has both positions on staff, when the project is larger it’s almost a necessity. Without a project coordinator, a project manager can get lost in the busy work of a project and fail to oversee the activities of the project as needed.

The project manager is responsible for the overall project, managing the team, planning and scheduling as well as monitoring the progress and performance of the team as they execute their assigned tasks. The project manager is also tasked with overseeing the project coordinator.

As stated, the project coordinator is responsible for much of the administrative work around a project. While they can help the project manager and project team with tasks, they’re also setting up meetings with stakeholders and dealing with the volumes of documentation common in most projects.

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Project Coordinator vs. Program Coordinator

By now, it’s clear what a project coordinator is. They’re the ones who do the work that supports the project manager and the project. They order supplies, keep track of the budget, manage calendars, train and communicate with the team, file paperwork and so on.

But the project coordinator is doing all that for only one project. When you have a group of many projects or a group of related projects, that’s called a portfolio or a program, respectively. Therefore, a program coordinator is doing similar things to what a project coordinator does only for many projects.

The program coordinator helps with the planning and coordination of the program. They’ll monitor the implementation of program policies and practices and keep the program on schedule and on budget and manage assignments and workloads. Essentially, they coordinate but on a program level.

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Project Coordinator Job Description Example

Here’s a project coordinator job description example you can use in case you’re looking for a project coordinator or want to become one.

Role Description

The project coordinator will coordinate the schedule, budget, issues and risks of the project. It’s their job to ensure the project management framework is well-organized and that it runs smoothly. This can include communicating with various departments in the organization to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Project Coordinator Responsibilities

Monitoring project progress and creating project status reports for project managers and stakeholders
Assisting with resource scheduling so that team members have the resources they need to complete their tasks
Scheduling stakeholder meetings and facilitating communication between the project manager and stakeholders throughout the project life cycle
Managing project management documents such as the project plan, budget, schedule or scope statement, as directed by the project manager
Executing a variety of project management administrative tasks such as billing and bookkeeping
Support team members when implementing risk management strategies

Desired Project Coordinator Skills

Communication skills
Problem-solving skills
Change management skills
Organizational skills
Management skills

Project CoordinatorEducation & Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, management or a related field
Project management certifications: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), project management professional (PMP) or similar
Working knowledge of project management software
Proficiency with Microsoft Office

Experience

Because it’s a sensitive role, most companies require at least 2 years of experience in project coordination, project management roles or related fields. However, in some cases, education and training can replace experience and vice versa.

Project Coordinator Salary

According to Glassdoor, the average project coordinator makes a salary of approximately $53,500 annually in the United States. However, the range goes from roughly $40,000 up to $80,000 depending on the type of position, location and experience.

ProjectManager Is the Perfect Project Coordinators Tool

ProjectManager is online project management software that helps project coordinators work more effectively and efficiently. Project coordinators have a lot of responsibilities that need to be managed with the right tools. Our online Gantt chart makes responding to changes quick and easy. To change a start or end date, just drag and drop the duration bar to the new dates.

Project coordinators are communicators, and ProjectManager is a collaborative platform that facilitates clear communication. One-click reporting makes a project coordinator’s job that much more productive. These reports can be filtered to address the concerns of the project manager or stakeholders. If asked for more details in a presentation, the reports are online and can be quickly accessed for a deep dive into the asked-for data.

Watch a Tutorial Video on Project Coordinators

If you’d like to get a little more familiar with what a project coordinator does, then watch the following training video by Jennifer Bridges, PMP.