Identikit of the Project Coordinator: missions, salary and route
Sometimes functional leaders or project managers cannot perform all the tasks required in project management by themselves. For this reason, the professional figure of the project coordinator was created. But what are the activities that a project coordinator covers?
Appvizer has already devoted several articles to the figure of project managers and their roles and responsibilities, and to all the methodologies applicable to project management. Today, however, we want to explore the role of the project coordinator.
Where does the project coordinator fit in?
In order to understand the position of the project coordinator within the organisational hierarchy of the company, we need to explain the position of the different figures involved in project management. For the development and realisation of a project, it is necessary to have a functional leader and a project manager. The project coordinator is the communication bridge between the team and the functional leader or project manager. On a hierarchical level, they are second in command immediately after the project manager and the functional leaders and their field of competence is mainly the logistics of project management.
The missions of the project coordinator
A project co-ordinator is responsible for the co-ordination of the project's budget, problems and risks. His or her mission is to ensure the smooth running of the project and to avoid any inconveniences. To ensure the smooth running of operations, he/she will have to communicate with all the departments that are part of the company's organisational structure, so that each team can work with the same means and operational data.
Project coordinators must distinguish themselves by their adaptability in a fast-paced and challenging working environment. The creation of a project always involves multiple problems. The project coordinator is the person everyone turns to in order to solve unforeseen problems encountered along the way.
What are the skills of a project coordinator?
The list of skills that a project coordinator must possess are manifold and belong to different fields of work. We have made a selection of the most important ones for you.
Details-orientation . Attention to detail is essential when a project has multiple variables to keep under control. Every detail of the project is like the cog in a complex machine that must work perfectly for the project's well-being and success.
Reliability. The project coordinator takes care of all the details of project management and provides the project manager with an accurate report of the analysis. Therefore, since the project coordinator supervises the tasks of all team members, he or she must have a high degree of reliability.
Good speaking skills. As we have said many times, the project coordinator is the one who is responsible for the communication of the various members of a team and not only that. He must also communicate progress or problems encountered outside the team. For this reason, he cannot be a person who is afraid of public speaking and who is unable to interpret and convey a clear and precise message.
High productivity rate. The project coordinator is the motor oil that makes all the components of a machine work. Therefore, within the team if he/she fails to be productive, the project coordinator will be the cause of problems for the rest of the team. His productivity will proportionally affect that of the other members.
Effectiveness in task completion. The project coordinator has a fairly independent role within the team. Being himself the supervisor of the others' tasks, he must be resolute in completing his own without someone constantly reminding him. The project manager needs a project coordinator who is an ally and not an obstacle to the team's success.
What are the concrete tasks of a project coordinator?
If you are interested in this professional figure, you should know that the project coordinator can present himself under different titles such as principal project coordinator or building project coordinator.
But you will ask yourself: what are the actual functions of a project coordinator in the workplace? What are his or her daily tasks?
Among the project coordinator responsibilities are:
- Providing each team member with adequate working conditions to complete the project.
- Define a detailed road map with daily and monthly follow-ups and fixed deadline dates according to the team's cruising speed. Present this road map to management for validation and approval
- Assist the team in understanding the ultimate goals and expectations of stakeholders and customers towards the current project through the creation of interactive explanatory meetings.
- Being a full team member, attending all meetings and discussing with each team member the progress of the project
- Being the team's cheerleader, providing continuous assistance, support and collaboration to the team so that they can meet and even surpass the required performance scores.
The information that makes a difference on the CV
What is the typical educational background of a project coordinator? What specialised degrees will an HR person look for?
On an educational level, a project coordinator will need to present
- a degree in Business Administration or a related field.
- a PMP certificate from the Project Management Institute that is recent and focuses on the latest developments in project management.
Soft skills
- Being your own boss, i.e. being able to assign yourself tasks and fulfil them independently
- Being able to manage all the intrinsic dynamics within the team
- Being able to use all project management software with some familiarity
Salary of the project coordinator
Given that this role originated in the Silicon Valley environment and is more widespread in the United States, in order to estimate the average annual salary of a delivery manager, we made an average of the remuneration of this professional figure in the United States, i.e. between 130 thousand and 150 thousand dollars.
In Italy, there is not enough data on a large scale to be able to make an overall and reliable average.
It must therefore be pointed out that the salary may change depending on the region, the city, the size of the company, the years of career and the size of the project to be managed.
And you, what do you think of this professional figure? Do you have more detailed questions about the role of delivery manager? Write them in the comments.
Article translated from Italian