By definition, project managers must efficiently and effectively execute projects. Firstly, they must balance both internal and external stakeholder interests and keep both sides in sync over time. Second, they must understand the beneficiaries’ requirements, address their changing needs, and manage the dynamics of those changes. However, they must also manage those changes throughout the organization, communities, local governments, vendors, suppliers, and partners. This can increase the amount of work the project manager needs to take care of, but  an effective project manager knows that delegating project work is a strategy to focus on what is important, for large and complicated projects a project coordinator can be a useful addition to the team.

Typical areas of responsibilities of the project coordinator:

• Project Coordination - The role and responsibilities of a Project Coordinator are usually a subset of that of a Project Manager. The primary responsibility is to keep the project and all related processes running smoothly. Project teams often require coordination of activities, resources, equipment, and information. To satisfy this need, the project coordinator functions in their primary role. Any coordination issues which cannot be resolved are elevated to the project manager.
• Project Schedule Management- It is the project coordinator who is to be the expert on the project schedule software. If project managers attempt to fulfill this role, they will discover that it is so time-consuming that it diverts their focus from the overall management of the project. A project coordinator assumes the role of working with project team members to develop the initial project schedule, making certain that all project schedule conflicts are resolved, and then updating it routinely.
• Project Status Reviews - While some project managers prefer to have each team leader present the status of the recent work, many insist on having the project coordinator present the status since they will be unbiased. As a result, true project problems will be surfaced in the project status review meetings. It will then be up to the project manager to work out a corrective action plan. The project coordinator follows up on the approved corrective action plan.

Any coordination issues which cannot be resolved are elevated to the project manager.  As such, the project coordinator becomes the one point of contact and thus reducing the number of communication channels for the Project Manager.

Want to learn more? Enroll in the next session of our online course Fundamentals of Project Management for Development Organizations and NGOs and learn how to use a modern project management methodology.