Project Coordinator Job Description Guide for Hiring

If you’re writing a project coordinator job description or validating your fit for the role, this guide gives you a clear, copy-ready path.

A project coordinator supports project managers by organizing schedules, communications, documentation, and vendor logistics so projects deliver on time and on budget. Employers use this role to increase throughput across multiple projects without adding full project manager headcount.

Below you’ll find responsibilities, skills, KPIs, salary guidance, and a free template you can post today. Use it to reduce time-to-hire, set clear expectations, and improve outcomes in the first 90 days and beyond.

Role Overview: What a Project Coordinator Does and Where the Role Fits

Set the foundation up front so projects run smoothly. A project coordinator is the operational backbone that keeps tasks, stakeholders, and artifacts aligned to plan.

Unlike a project manager who owns scope, budget, and risk decisions, the coordinator drives the cadence. They schedule meetings, chase actions, update trackers, and ensure information flows.

In PMBOK terms, coordinators support process execution across initiation through closing. They focus on scheduling, communications, and change tracking.

For candidates, this role is a strong entry point into project management. It offers hands-on exposure to tools and cross-functional teams.

The takeaway: coordinators amplify project manager capacity and raise delivery reliability.

Reporting structure and team context

Expect project coordinators to report to a project manager, program manager, or PMO lead. They typically collaborate with functional leads such as engineering, operations, and finance.

Typical environments include 1–3 coordinators per PMO. One coordinator may support 2–5 project managers depending on complexity.

Cross-functional stakeholders often include Procurement, Legal, IT, HR, and external vendors or subcontractors. In smaller firms, coordinators may support both project execution and light administrative tasks.

The fit is straightforward: the more concurrent workstreams you run, the more leverage a coordinator provides.

When you need a Project Coordinator

Hire when project managers spend too much time on logistics instead of leadership. It’s especially helpful when you’re scaling concurrent projects.

Watch for triggers such as increasing meeting loads, rising slippage on action items, delayed documentation, and lagging vendor responses. Multi-project environments with tight dependencies and external vendors benefit most because coordination friction compounds.

If your time-to-decision is slow due to scattered data or unclear ownership, a coordinator can drive cadence and clarity. Rule of thumb: once a PM manages three or more active workstreams, a coordinator pays for themselves by protecting schedule and stakeholder velocity.

Core Responsibilities and Duties

Clarify expectations early to get better outcomes. Map project coordinator responsibilities to project process groups.

Coordinators anchor planning, keep execution moving, and provide the reporting artifacts that help PMs make decisions. The list below can be copied directly into your job description and scaled up or down by scope.

Assign ownership deliberately—coordinators execute and escalate; PMs decide and approve. Use the H3 sections to tune for your environment.

Planning and scheduling

Build and maintain project schedules (e.g., Smartsheet, MS Project), including milestones, dependencies, and resource calendars.
Organize work breakdown structures and task lists; align task owners and due dates.
Coordinate cross-team planning sessions; capture assumptions and constraints.
Maintain project calendars and sprint/iteration schedules (for Agile teams).
Prepare kickoff agendas and logistics; ensure charters, RACI, and comms plans are filed.

Execution support and vendor coordination

Assign tasks in tools (Jira/Asana/Monday) and follow up on overdue items.
Coordinate vendor onboarding, NDAs, purchase requests, and delivery schedules.
Track procurement milestones (POs, lead times) and escalate blockers early.
Manage small change requests within defined thresholds, routing approvals to PMs.
Support quality checks by collecting evidence, test outcomes, and sign-offs.

Communication, meetings, and documentation

Schedule and facilitate stand-ups, status meetings, and retros; capture and distribute minutes and actions within 24 hours.
Maintain project documentation in SharePoint/Confluence with version control.
Prepare weekly status reports and dashboards (schedule, risks, issues, decisions).
Keep stakeholder lists, distribution groups, and contact rosters current.
Draft executive summaries with clear red/amber/green signals and next steps.

Risk, issue, and change tracking

Maintain risk, issue, and change logs with owners, due dates, and impacts.
Drive follow-ups until closure; flag scope/schedule variance thresholds to PMs.
Document decision records and dependencies to support audits and lessons learned.
Coordinate change control board logistics and materials.
Track compliance tasks in regulated environments (e.g., HIPAA, FDA, SOX).

Budget and reporting support

Track actuals vs. budget at a task/workstream level; request accruals monthly.
Reconcile vendor invoices against SOW milestones; route for approval.
Prepare EVM-lite metrics (e.g., schedule variance summaries) for PMs.
Update resource utilization and capacity views for planning.
Support executive reporting packages with standardized charts and narratives.

Skills and Competencies (with Behavioral Indicators)

Hire for behaviors to predict on-the-job performance, not buzzwords. The best project coordinators combine organization and communication with tool fluency and service-minded follow-through.

Map these skills to observable actions in your interviews and work samples. Calibrate expectations by level so you don’t over- or under-hire. Use the indicators below to align leveling and performance criteria.

Core skills: organization, communication, stakeholder management

Organization
Junior: Keeps trackers tidy; meets deadlines with guidance; updates calendars proactively.
Mid: Anticipates scheduling conflicts; creates repeatable checklists; improves team workflows.
Senior: Designs coordination systems across teams; mentors others in operational excellence.
Communication
Junior: Sends clear action summaries; confirms understanding; escalates when stuck.
Mid: Tailors messages for execs vs. contributors; simplifies complex updates with visuals.
Senior: Shapes communication norms; facilitates tough cross-team conversations calmly.
Stakeholder management
Junior: Builds rapport; follows up reliably; documents agreements.
Mid: Aligns competing priorities; negotiates timelines; secures timely approvals.
Senior: Influences without authority across departments; diffuses friction; drives decisions.

Technical skills: tooling and data fluency

Scheduling and collaboration: MS Project or Smartsheet; Asana/Jira/Monday; Google Workspace/Microsoft 365; Confluence/SharePoint.
Visuals and workflows: Miro/Lucidchart/Visio for process maps and RACI.
Data and reporting: Excel/Sheets (vlookups, pivot tables), Power BI/Tableau basics for dashboards.
Agile tooling: Jira/Confluence, sprint boards, backlog hygiene, burndown charts.
Communication hygiene: Version control, naming conventions, permissions, and audit trails.

Qualifications and Experience

Set minimums to widen your candidate pool, then add role-specific nice-to-haves to signal your environment. Many successful coordinators are career changers with strong operations or admin backgrounds plus tool training.

For entry-level candidates, emphasize behaviors and potential, then upskill during onboarding. For senior candidates, specify complexity, vendors, and governance to calibrate expectations.

Education and certifications (CAPM, PMP, and equivalents)

Education: Associate’s or bachelor’s degree preferred (business, operations, IT, engineering, communications). Equivalent experience accepted.
Certifications:
CAPM or Google Project Management Certificate: solid differentiators for entry-level.
PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner: nice-to-have for senior coordinators or hybrid PM roles.
Agile: PSM I/CSM helpful in Scrum environments.
Note: Certifications validate knowledge but don’t replace proven coordination behaviors; do not over-filter.

Experience requirements by level (junior, mid, senior)

Junior (0–2 years): Internship or operations/admin experience; exposure to project tools; ready to execute defined tasks.
Mid (2–5 years): Runs meeting cadences independently; maintains logs and schedules across multiple workstreams; handles vendors with minimal oversight.
Senior (5+ years): Supports complex, multi-team programs; streamlines processes; mentors juniors; may own small projects under PM supervision.

KPIs and Success Metrics for Project Coordinators

Make performance visible so you can coach what matters. Coordinators don’t own scope decisions, but they do own the cadence and data that keep projects on track.

Define 90-day ramp metrics and steady-state targets with your PMO so expectations are explicit. Track weekly to correct drift early and recognize improvements quickly.

Sample KPIs and targets

Task follow-through
Action item closure rate: 90%+ closed by due date across assigned workstreams.
Overdue item reduction: 30%+ reduction in first 90 days.
Schedule hygiene
On-time milestone updates: 100% of milestones reviewed weekly; <5% stale dates.
Schedule variance reporting: weekly updates with drivers and recovery actions.
Meeting effectiveness
Minutes turnaround: within 24 hours with owners and due dates.
Decision latency: decisions documented within 48 hours of agreement.
Risk/issue/change discipline
Log completeness: 95% of items with owner, impact, due date, and status.
Escalation timeliness: high-impact risks escalated within one business day.
Stakeholder satisfaction
PM satisfaction score: 8/10+ after 90 days.
Vendor response SLAs: 90% of inquiries acknowledged within one business day.

Reporting cadence and tools

Set clear rhythms so information is reliable and repeatable. Use:

Weekly: status report, action tracker review, schedule refresh, risk/issue updates.
Biweekly (Agile): sprint review/retro notes, burndown/burnup snapshots.
Monthly: budget actuals vs. plan, resource utilization, executive summary.
Tools: Jira/Asana/Monday for tasks; Smartsheet/MS Project for schedules; Confluence/SharePoint for docs; Power BI/Tableau or Sheets for dashboards.

Project Coordinator vs Project Manager vs Project Administrator vs Program Coordinator

Choose the right role to prevent mis-hires and protect budgets. Think in terms of decision rights, complexity, and governance needs.

Coordinators drive logistics; managers own outcomes; administrators support general admin; program coordinators operate at a multi-project level. Use this section to pick the right title, level, and pay.

When to hire each role

Project Administrator: Choose for pure admin support (data entry, calendar support, travel) when project tooling and reporting are light; lowest cost.
Project Coordinator: Choose when you need structured scheduling, vendor coordination, risk/issue/change tracking, and disciplined meeting cadences across one or more projects.
Project Manager: Choose when someone must own scope, budget, schedule, risk decisions, and stakeholder commitments.
Program Coordinator: Choose when coordinating across multiple related projects, shared resources, and program-level reporting is essential.
Ratios and complexity cues:
Coordinator-to-PM ratio: 1:2 for complex, vendor-heavy projects; up to 1:4–1:5 for lighter, internal projects.
Assistant Project Manager vs Project Coordinator: APMs often own portions of scope and decisions; coordinators focus on logistics and data integrity.
Program Coordinator vs Project Coordinator: Program coordinators standardize across projects and escalate portfolio-level risks.

Salary and Total Compensation (with Methodology Notes)

Post transparent ranges to improve applicant quality and support compliance. As of 2025 in the U.S., project coordinator salaries typically span from the mid-$50,000s to the mid-$70,000s base, with higher ranges in top markets and specialized industries.

Total compensation can include overtime (if non-exempt), bonuses, and benefits. Always localize your range and include pay factors in your job ad.

Typical U.S. ranges (base pay):
Entry-level: $45,000–$58,000
Mid-level: $58,000–$72,000
Senior: $70,000–$90,000+
Geography adjustments (illustrative):
High-cost metros (CA/NY/WA/DC): +15–25%
Medium-cost (TX/CO/IL/MA): baseline to +10%
Lower-cost regions (Southeast/Midwest): −5–15%
Industry tendencies:
IT/SaaS: generally higher ($60,000–$85,000)
Construction: steady with overtime potential ($55,000–$80,000)
Healthcare: moderate with strong benefits ($52,000–$75,000)

Methodology notes: Benchmark with at least three current sources (HR-reported surveys, BLS occupational data, and job board aggregates). Normalize by location, industry, and level.

Revalidate quarterly, and disclose the range, bonus/OT eligibility, and benefits to meet pay transparency requirements in applicable states and cities.

Factors that influence pay

Geography and cost of labor (city vs. remote bands)
Industry complexity and regulatory burden
Certifications and tool depth (e.g., Smartsheet Control Center, Jira administration)
Level and scope (number of concurrent projects, vendor load)
Work setup and FLSA status (non-exempt roles may earn overtime)

Copy-Ready Project Coordinator Job Description Template

Use this free, fill-in-the-blank template to post your role today. Replace bracketed text with your details, and keep the responsibilities and KPIs aligned to your environment.

When customizing, match scope, tools, and pay to your industry and governance model for clarity.

Job title: Project Coordinator
Location: [City, State] | [Remote/Hybrid/On-site] | Travel: [X%]
Employment type: [Full-time/Part-time/Contract]; FLSA status: [Exempt/Non-exempt]
Reports to: [Project Manager/Program Manager/PMO Lead]
About [Company]: [1–2 lines on mission, products, and culture]
Role summary: You will coordinate schedules, communications, vendors, and documentation to help deliver projects on time, on scope, and on budget.
Key responsibilities:
Maintain project schedules, milestones, and dependencies
Facilitate meetings; publish minutes and action items within 24 hours
Track risks, issues, and changes; drive follow-ups to closure
Coordinate vendors and procurement (POs, SOWs, deliveries)
Prepare weekly status reports and dashboards
Support budget tracking and invoice reconciliation
Keep project documentation organized (SharePoint/Confluence)
Required qualifications:
[0–2/2–5/5+] years in project coordination or operations
Proficiency with [Jira/Asana/Monday, Smartsheet/MS Project, Google Workspace/Microsoft 365]
Strong written and verbal communication; detail orientation
Ability to manage multiple deadlines and stakeholders
Preferred qualifications:
CAPM or equivalent; Agile experience (Scrum/Kanban)
Industry experience in [IT/Construction/Healthcare/etc.]
Experience with [Power BI/Tableau, Miro/Lucidchart]
KPIs in first 90 days:
90%+ action item closure rate by due date
Weekly status report on time, every time
Current schedule with <5% stale tasks each week
Work setup:
Hours: [Core hours/time zone expectations]
Equipment/tools provided: [List]
Compensation:
Base pay range: [$X–$Y], plus [bonus/OT eligibility]
Benefits: [Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), PTO, parental leave, learning budget]
EEO and inclusion: [Company] is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive environment for all employees. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.
Pay transparency: The posted range reflects our good-faith estimate for this role at the time of posting and may vary based on location, skills, and experience.
How to apply: [Link or instructions]

How to customize for your industry and methodology (Agile/Waterfall)

Start with your delivery model. For Agile teams, emphasize sprint cadences, backlog hygiene, Jira boards, burndown/burnup charts, and Scrum ceremonies.

For Waterfall or hybrid, highlight MS Project/Smartsheet schedules, critical path tracking, stage-gate documentation, and change control.

Insert industry specifics—construction (subcontractors, permits, safety docs), healthcare (PHI handling, IRB approvals), IT (deployments, change windows). Finally, tune KPIs to what you truly measure, and set tool expectations at hire versus within 90 days.

Inclusive language, EEO statement, and legal notes (FLSA/pay transparency)

Use plain, inclusive language. Avoid “rockstar/ninja,” unnecessary degree gates, or gendered terms.

Include a clear EEO statement and reasonable accommodation language. For FLSA, many project coordinator roles are non-exempt unless they meet duties tests and salary thresholds for an administrative exemption; consult counsel and state laws.

If you operate in pay transparency jurisdictions, publish the range, bonus/OT eligibility, benefits, and location. Avoid language that could deter candidates (e.g., “must lift 50 lbs”) unless it is essential.

Interview and Assessment Toolkit

Evaluate the behaviors that drive cadence and clarity, not just tool buzzwords. Pair structured interviews with a short work sample to see real-world execution and communication.

Use consistent rubrics and multiple interviewers to reduce bias and improve prediction. Score consistently so you can compare candidates fairly and make confident hiring decisions.

Structured interview questions by competency

Organization and follow-through
“Walk me through how you manage action items across multiple teams. What tools and routines do you use?”
Communication
“Share an example of a complex update you sent to executives. How did you tailor the message?”
Stakeholder management
“Tell me about a time you had to push for decisions without authority. What did you do?”
Risk/issue/change
“Describe a risk you spotted early. How did you track it and drive the mitigation?”
Tool fluency
“Show us how you’d update a sprint board or Gantt plan and flag downstream impacts.”
What to listen for: specific behaviors (cadences, templates, escalations), data hygiene, clarity, and calm persistence.

Work-sample exercise and scoring rubric

Give a 45–60 minute take-home or live exercise:

Exercise: Provide a short project brief with a half-complete schedule, three risks, five overdue tasks, and a vendor delay. Ask the candidate to:
Update the schedule and highlight impacts
Draft a one-page status update with RAG, top risks/issues, and next steps
Produce a follow-up list with owners and due dates
Scoring (1–5 scale each):
Clarity and structure of status update
Accuracy of schedule and impact identification
Completeness of risks/issues and escalation plan
Actionability of follow-up list
Tool proficiency and time management

30-60-90 Day Plan and Onboarding Checklist

A clear ramp plan accelerates impact and retention. Pair training on tools and processes with early wins that build credibility.

Review KPIs weekly to remove blockers and reinforce habits. Align the plan with your PMO rhythms so expectations, support, and feedback are consistent.

0–30 days: Access and learn
Complete tool training (Jira/Asana/Smartsheet, SharePoint/Confluence)
Shadow core cadences; publish minutes with mentor review
Inventory current logs (risks/issues/changes) and standardize templates
31–60 days: Own the cadence
Run meeting logistics independently; achieve 100% on-time minutes
Refresh schedules weekly; reduce overdue actions by 20–30%
Produce weekly status reports with PM feedback
61–90 days: Optimize and scale
Propose one process improvement per project (e.g., checklist, dashboard)
Stabilize KPI targets (e.g., 90% action closure; <5% stale tasks)
Onboard a vendor or new team to your documentation standards

Industry Variants: Quick-Start Snippets

Small tweaks make your project coordinator job description resonate with the right talent. Use these add-ons in the template to reflect tools, compliance, and field realities.

Keep the core responsibilities and KPIs intact to maintain clarity. Select the snippets that mirror your stack and regulatory context to improve match quality.

IT/Software

Experience with Jira/Confluence, Git change windows, and CI/CD release calendars
Coordinate sprint ceremonies, backlog grooming, and QA/UAT schedules
Partner with InfoSec on access, audits, and change management
Support cloud vendor coordination and environment readiness

Construction

Coordinate subcontractors, RFIs, submittals, and permits; log daily field reports
Track inspections, safety documentation, and site access
Align delivery schedules, crane/lift bookings, and material lead times
Update look-ahead schedules; support change orders and pay apps

Healthcare

Manage IRB approvals, PHI/PII handling, and HIPAA-compliant documentation
Coordinate clinician schedules, patient consent forms, and training logs
Track regulatory milestones (e.g., CAP/CLIA, FDA submissions in med device)
Support EHR change control windows and clinical trial data integrity

FAQs

Use this quick FAQ to align employers and candidates on common questions about the project coordinator role. Clear answers reduce misalignment, set expectations early, and help you tailor the job description to your hiring context.

Is a project coordinator an entry-level role?

Often, yes. Many organizations hire coordinators as entry-level or early-career roles, then promote to project manager in 18–36 months.

Entry-level coordinators focus on logistics, documentation, and meeting cadences under a PM’s guidance. Mid-level coordinators operate with more autonomy across multiple workstreams.

If you expect decision ownership, consider an assistant project manager or project manager title.

What tools should a project coordinator know?

Expect fluency in at least one task system (Jira/Asana/Monday), one scheduler (Smartsheet/MS Project), and collaboration platforms (Google Workspace/Microsoft 365; Confluence/SharePoint).

Reporting basics in Excel/Sheets and familiarity with Power BI/Tableau are valuable. Within 90 days, the coordinator should adopt your specific stack and naming/permissions standards.

Can the role be remote or hybrid?

Yes, with clear async standards and time zone expectations. Specify core hours and SLAs for responses (e.g., same-business-day acknowledgments).

Adopt documentation-first habits. Publish minutes within 24 hours and keep boards updated daily.

For globally distributed teams, rotate meeting times fairly and record sessions. Use shared dashboards to keep schedules, risks, and actions visible to all.