There are many moving parts to the successful completion of a project. Project coordinators oversee many of its aspects and drive progress forward. They can track the goals and status of the project, plan and manage meetings, collect assessment data, and communicate reports to all stakeholders. We will cover the project coordinator job description, responsibilities, skills, experience required, education needed, a typical work schedule, and the job outlook.
What Does a Project Coordinator Do?
The roles between project coordinators and project managers are confusing and can overlap with each other. They can handle some of the management of the project, but the manager helps to lead it. It’s them who are responsible for the success of the project and gives direction to the coordinator’s role.
Looking at the project coordinator job description, it’s possible some might not see them as essential to a project. However, they have a huge role in creating trust and a shared understanding within the team. It is emphasized that there is a positive correlation between trust on a team and increased productivity.
The work schedule ebbs and flows with the workflow in the project. The project coordinator job description runs under the branch of administrative jobs. The minimum education for these professionals is a high school degree. According to Payscale, the median salary is $46,670.
Project Coordinator Job Description for Resume – Responsibilities
Showing strength in organizing projects, communicating effectively, and building relationships through job responsibilities will reflect a strong resume. Consider the example responsibilities below.
- Takes ideas and roles from the project manager and works independently within that context.
- Work with many different departments and sets of people to ensure adequate progress on the project.
- Decide when you should take a decision and when to leave it to the project manager.
- Collect data to analyze project progress, team performance, and financial goals.
- Generate reports on the success of the project and areas that need development. Document all parts of the project.
- Conduct quality assurance and participate in desired project management plans such as AGILE.
Project Coordinator Required Skills
- Communication skills. Part of the project coordinator job description is to spend much of their time, as expected, coordinating. Thus, involves talking to a lot of different groups and members of the team and establishing positive relationships with everyone.
- Leadership skills. While the project coordinator is not the leader of the project, they need to act under the guidance of the manager. These professionals need to lead respective teams, create positive morale, and report necessary updates to the project coordinator.
- Organizing skills. These professionals will have to work in many different areas of a project and with various employees and team members. Staying organized from creating meeting agendas, taking meeting minutes, and creating a consistent naming protocol for documents are all vital to the success of the project.
- Decision-making skills. The people in this role need to be excellent at making decisions. Part of the project coordinator job description implies knowing when they are responsible for making the decision and when upper leadership or management needs to make the call.
How to Become a Project Coordinator
These professionals need to have their high school diploma or GED. Some employers may require a college degree or some college courses. Therefore, degree should be in management or business if necessary. However, internships and practical work experience are more important in the project coordinator job description than degrees and certificates.
Education & Training Requirements
Project coordinators need a minimum a high school diploma. However, many of these professionals will have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. When looking at the broader field of administrative services management, 19% had a high school diploma, 29% had some college education, and 28% have a bachelor’s degree.
Regardless of the level of education, you should take business and math courses throughout the years. However, the most important thing is to be able to show what they have done for previous projects and how they can be an asset.
Work Experience
The vast majority of employers prefer two or three years of experience. This experience does not need to come from a career. For example, several volunteer opportunities give similar experiences to project coordinators.
It is a good idea to keep a portfolio documenting previous projects and reflections on the projects. Reflections are as important as the work itself. These demonstrate personal growth and professional development in the project coordinator job description. Learning from mistakes and correcting them for the future is of tremendous value to potential employers.
Work Schedules
The work schedule for project coordinators is cyclical. This means that when a project is at a slower point they will have normal hours. However, when it is the start or end of a project, they will likely have to work extra hours. Most project coordinators will work full-time with normal office hours. Depending on the structure of the team, they might have to travel extensively to coordinate between the different teams and track progress of the project.
Career Prospects
The median salary for project coordinators is $46.670. Job growth for administrative services managers is expected to increase by 8% through the year 2024. Businesses will always need someone who able to organize and coordinate large-scale projects. Project coordinators who have experience in informing the company of rules and regulations that may affect the completion of the project will be particularly valuable.
A common advancement pattern for project coordinators is to take on another administrative services management position or a project manager. However, taking on an upper-level management position requires being less in the details of the project and observing progress at the higher system. Therefore, if you prefer more to deal with daily requirements and having a concrete list of to-dos, then the project coordinator job description might describe you the best.
Conclusion
They have an exciting job in which they carry out the daily processes of a project. Part of the project coordinator job description is taking direction from the project manager and ensuring that the right team is in place to accomplish tasks of the project. In addition, they need to work around the general manager job description so the cooperation is as smooth as possible.
