Programme coordinator job description: the two jobs that share the title, nine duties and a template

Two people with the same job title, "programme coordinator", can be doing completely different work. One is holding together six related projects inside a change programme. The other is running a funded service: sessions, participants, volunteers, monitoring returns and a report to the funder.

This article sets out what a programme coordinator does in both senses, how a programme differs from a project, nine duties, the skills, routes in and a template. It is general information about the role.

A programme is judged on whether the intended change actually arrives, which is hard to see from a task list. See how New Dynamics Goals & OKRs keep targets and progress in one place.

Programme or project?

The distinction is not pedantry; it decides what the coordinator spends the week doing.

The Association for Project Management defines project management as "the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters", adding that it "has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget". The distinguishing factor, APM says, is "this final deliverable and a finite timespan, unlike management which is an ongoing process".

Programme management is broader: "the coordinated management of projects and business-as-usual activities to achieve beneficial change". APM defines a programme as "a unique and transient strategic endeavour undertaken to achieve a beneficial change and incorporating a group of related projects and business-as-usual activities", and notes that shaping one requires a "programme vision" of the desired future state and an agreed "risk appetite".

Three practical consequences:

• A project finishes when the thing is delivered. A programme finishes when the benefit arrives, which is later, and sometimes disputed.
• A programme contains ordinary operational work, not only projects, so the coordinator deals with business-as-usual teams as well as project managers.
• Reporting is different. APM puts it plainly: "programme planning is always benefits led."

The two jobs that share the title

The change programme coordinator. Supports a programme manager across several related projects. Much of the work resembles O*NET's Project Management Specialists, who "analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis", but done across strands rather than within one, with dependencies between them as the constant problem.

The service or grant-funded programme coordinator. Runs a recurring programme of activity: sessions, cohorts, participants, volunteers, partners and a funder. This is closer to O*NET's Social and Community Service Managers, who "plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of a social service program or community outreach organization" and "oversee the program or organization's budget and policies regarding participant involvement, program requirements, and benefits".

A third, smaller version: in universities and training providers, a programme coordinator administers a course of study, timetables, students, assessment boards, records. Much of the day is scheduling and records rather than change.

A one-line test for an advert: does the person coordinate projects, or does the person run activity for participants? If the advert does not answer that, ask before applying.

Nine duties

1. Plan and schedule. "Plan, schedule, or coordinate project activities to meet deadlines", and maintain the programme-level plan that shows how the strands fit together.
2. Coordinate the strands. "Confer with project personnel to identify and resolve problems", chase dependencies between projects and business-as-usual teams, and keep the critical path visible.
3. Run the meetings. "Schedule or facilitate project meetings": the programme board, the delivery group, the partner meeting. Agendas, papers, actions, and the follow-up that makes actions real.
4. Report. "Create project status presentations", "report project status, such as budget, resources, technical issues, or customer satisfaction, to managers", and "request and review project updates to ensure deadlines are met".
5. Track the money. "Monitor costs incurred by project staff to identify budget issues" and "prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports". In a funded programme this includes claims and monitoring returns.
6. Keep the records. "Produce and distribute project documents", maintain the risk and issue logs, the decision log and the document library so that the programme can be audited later.
7. Manage stakeholders and partners. "Communicate with key stakeholders to determine project requirements and objectives"; in a service programme, "establish and maintain relationships with other agencies and organizations in community to meet community needs and to ensure that services are not duplicated".
8. Support the people side. Induct new members onto the programme, coordinate training, and in service programmes "recruit, interview, and hire or sign up volunteers and staff" and "evaluate the work of staff and volunteers to ensure that programs are of appropriate quality and that resources are used effectively".
9. Watch the benefits. Collect the measures that show whether the change is arriving, and flag early when a strand has delivered its output without delivering its outcome.

The benefits half, and why it is the difficult part

Coordinating tasks is learnable. Reporting benefits honestly is what separates a good programme coordinator from a diary manager.

• Outputs are easy to count; outcomes are not. Thirty sessions delivered is an output. Whether anything changed is the question the funder or the board is actually asking.
• The measure has to be agreed at the start. Retro-fitting a benefits measure to a programme that is already running produces numbers nobody believes.
• Bad news travels slowly by default. The coordinator is usually the first person who can see a strand slipping, and the reporting rhythm decides whether that reaches anyone in time.

Programmes exist to change how an organisation works, which is why the coordinator spends more time than expected on communication. Our change management guide covers the wider discipline.

Who the coordinator works with

• The programme manager or director, who owns delivery. APM notes the programme manager "is responsible for day-to-day management of the programme including the coordination of projects and change management activities".
• The sponsor, who owns the vision and the benefits.
• Project managers running the individual strands.
• Business-as-usual teams whose ordinary work is part of the programme.
• Finance, for budget, claims and forecasts.
• Partners and funders, whose reporting deadlines are not negotiable.

Skills

• Organisation across several plans at once, without losing the one that matters this week.
• Writing. Papers, minutes, status reports, funder returns. Most of the influence in this job is exercised in writing.
• Numeracy for budget tracking and monitoring data, and enough spreadsheet skill to reconcile figures.
• Diplomacy. The coordinator chases people who do not report to them.
• Accuracy under repetition. Monitoring returns are dull and consequential.

Routes in

There is no single route. The common ones are administration or project support, a delivery role inside the programme's subject area, or a graduate route into a programme management office. Recognised project and programme qualifications help, and many coordinators study for them while working.

A programme coordinator job description template

Job title: Programme coordinator

Reports to: Programme manager

Programme: [what it is, what change it is intended to deliver, how long it runs, what it is funded by]

Purpose: Keep the programme's plan, reporting, records and meetings running so that the programme manager and board can see progress and act early.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the programme plan and schedule, and track dependencies between strands.
• Coordinate project managers and business-as-usual teams to keep delivery in step.
• Organise and service the programme board and delivery meetings, including agendas, papers, minutes and actions.
• Produce status reports and presentations for the programme manager, board and funders.
• Track budget and spend, prepare estimates and cost reports, and support claims or monitoring returns.
• Maintain the risk, issue, decision and benefits logs, and the document library.
• Support stakeholder and partner communication.
• Collect the agreed benefits measures and report on progress towards them.
• Induct new people onto the programme and coordinate programme training.

You will need: organisation across several workstreams; clear written English; comfort with budgets and monitoring data; the ability to chase people who do not report to you.

Hours and conditions: [pattern, travel to partner sites, any evening or weekend delivery].

What the advert should say

1. Which programme, and what change it is meant to deliver.
2. Projects or participants. Is the person coordinating project strands or running activity for people?
3. What they own alone (the plan, the reporting, the logs) and what they support.
4. The reporting calendar. Board dates, funder returns, and how fixed they are.

Frequently asked questions

What is a programme coordinator?

Someone who keeps a programme running: maintaining the plan across several strands, coordinating the people delivering them, organising and servicing meetings, producing status reports, tracking budget and spend, keeping the risk, issue and decision logs, and collecting the measures that show whether the intended benefits are arriving.

What does a program coordinator do?

The same job, spelled the way most countries outside the UK spell it. Day to day it means scheduling, chasing updates, writing papers and reports, tracking costs, maintaining records and supporting stakeholders. In a service or grant-funded programme it also means participants, volunteers, partners and monitoring returns to a funder.

What is the difference between a programme and a project?

The Association for Project Management defines a project by its final deliverable and finite timespan, and a programme as a strategic endeavour undertaken to achieve beneficial change, incorporating a group of related projects and business-as-usual activities. In short: a project ends when the thing is delivered; a programme ends when the benefit arrives.

Is a programme coordinator the same as a project coordinator?

No, though the daily tasks overlap. A project coordinator supports one project towards its deliverable. A programme coordinator works across several related projects plus ordinary operational work, and reports on benefits rather than only on delivery. APM notes that programme planning "is always benefits led".

What skills does a programme coordinator need?

Organisation across several plans at once, clear written English for papers and reports, numeracy for budgets and monitoring data, diplomacy to chase people who do not report to them, and accuracy under repetition for returns that are dull and consequential.

What qualifications do you need to be a programme coordinator?

None are required. Most people arrive from administration or project support, from a delivery role in the programme's subject area, or through a programme management office. Recognised project and programme qualifications are common and are often studied for while in the role.

Your next step: say which programme it is

1. Put the programme's purpose and intended change at the top of the advert.
2. Say whether the person coordinates project strands or runs activity for participants.
3. List what they own alone and what they support.
4. Agree the benefits measures before the programme starts, not at the first board meeting.

For the communication and adoption side that programmes live or die by, read and download our change management guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want objectives, check-ins and reporting in one place, so a programme's progress is visible rather than assembled the night before the board? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current programme report. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.