What Is a Project Coordinator? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

A project coordinator’s job is to help ensure projects are completed on deadline and within budget. They provide the administrative and financial support that enables teams to meet their goals. Here’s what to know about a project coordinator’s salary, needed skills and how to become one.

What Is a Project Coordinator?

A project coordinator handles various administrative tasks to keep project teams organized and on track. They facilitate communication, keep an eye on project statuses and maintain important documentation.

What Do Project Coordinators Do?

A project coordinator collaborates with team members to manage schedules, establish timelines and ensure projects continue moving along at a steady pace. Project coordinators also handle financial tasks like bookkeeping, putting together reports and invoices and enforcing budget guidelines.

Project Coordinator Responsibilities

• Plan project tasks to be completed within budget.
• Coordinate and maintain team members’ schedules.
• Handle financial documents and planning.
• Monitor and report on project progress.
• Serve as the main point of contact for project-related communications.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities of Project Coordinators

• Divide projects into tasks to be assigned to team members.
• Supervise project workflows.
• Correspond with clients to make sure project specifications are being met.
• Use software and tools to track and report on project statuses and deadlines.
• Handle bookkeeping, reports, invoices and other financial and legal documentation.

Project Coordinators Within a Company

A project coordinator falls under the supervision of a project manager. They typically work as part of a project management team and act as a liaison between team members and leadership.

Importance of Project Coordinators

Project coordinators are important because they hold team members accountable for completing job tasks. Their administrative support helps to maintain project momentum, and they take care of necessary documentation so that teams can be sure they’re operating within appropriate financial means.

What Skills Are Needed to Be a Project Coordinator?

Qualifications to Be a Project Coordinator

• Knowledge of project management best practices.
• Financial and analytical proficiency.
• Familiarity with product development.
• Ability to stay highly organized and balance multiple tasks.
• Background in administrative support.
• Experience using project management tools.

Project Coordinator Prerequisites

• A bachelor’s degree in business, finance, communications or a related field.
• Courses and certifications can pave the way for career advancement.

Project Coordinator Hard Skills

• Maintaining financial and legal documentation.
• Using software and tools to coordinate schedules and workflows.
• Understanding of product development.

Project Coordinator Soft Skills

• Organized and detail oriented.
• Proficient at multitasking.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Analytical thinking.

Tools and Programs Project Coordinators Use

• Jira
• Trello
• Scoro
• Asana
• Google Workspace
• Slack
• Zoom

How to Become a Project Coordinator

Project Coordinator Education and Experience

A project coordinator usually has a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as business or finance. They also typically bring a minimum of three years working in project management or a related position that fostered their technical skill set.

Project Coordinator Certificates and Courses

• Project Management Institute Project Management Ready
• Project Management Institute Scheduling Professional
• LinkedIn Learning Project Coordinator Learning Path
• Coursera Foundations of Project Management

Project Coordinator Career Path

A project coordinator often gets their start in a junior or entry-level project coordination role that likely involves shadowing and learning from a more experienced professional. Once a project coordinator has a few more years of experience to bolster their resume, they can shift into becoming a project manager.

Project Coordinator Salary and Job Outlook

A 2021 Project Management Institute report revealed there is high demand for professionals in “project management-oriented employment,” with 2.3 million people needing to enter the field through 2030 to close the gap between demand and talent availability.

The full compensation package for a project coordinator depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average project coordinator salary.