Coordinator Duties

What does a coordinator do? He mostly coordinates events and meetings. A coordinator is required for anything that requires organization and planning. What are some duties that a coordinator undertakes?

Coordinator duties range differently from one company to the other. The duties might seem the same at the core, but a coordinator's job description changes according to what is required to be coordinated. For example, the duties that a coordinator undertakes for a kids' birthday party won't be the same as the ones he undertakes for management company events.

So much so, his duties for an adult's birthday party and for a children's birthday party will also not be the same, even though they are both essentially parties. Similarly, his duties will change when the type of event changes. Let's see some of the duties that he undertakes taking into account two scenarios.

► The main duty of a coordinator when coordinating an event like a party, wedding, or religious function, is to be able to understand the needs of his clients and organize an event that is just right for them. Something that is custom-made.

► He begins by meeting the clients and understanding what exactly their requirements are.

► He discusses the budget with them, because that is the most important thing when planning an event as everything else depends on it.

► He prepares a list of the things that are needed to be known in order to organize a party, like the guest list, location preference, timings of the party, and the kind of cuisine that is to be served, among other things.

► Once he has a list, he will set about preparing for the event. He will narrow down on 2-3 locations so that the clients can make a choice.

► Once the location has been fixed, he will coordinate with the manager of the hotel or the recreation hall and set things up.

► He will order for the food and have a tasting session with the clients. When the menu is approved, he is responsible for getting the food prepared for that day. For this he will interact with the main chefs.

► He will organize for games for the party and arrange for a DJ/MC or a band, if required.

► He will be a middlemen among the clients and the workers. Keeping in touch with both and communicating their needs to the other.

► He will also be responsible for drafting and dispatching the invitations to the guests and finding out how many guest will be present at the event.

► He has to be present at the function to see that everything goes out as planned and be there to handle any problems that may arise.

► If there are any return gifts that are to be given, he has to be responsible for them, to see that it is carried out properly.

► Once the party is over, he has to stay back to supervise the cleaning up.

► He has to also make sure that the workers are paid their charges.

► He has to be a link between the management and the workers and staff.

► He will prepare a list of the requirements that the management has. If it is for a particular event or for several events.

► He will organize a budget and get an approval for the same.

► Depending on the kind of event it is, he will search for locations. Also keeping in mind that it needs to fit the budget.

► Once the location has been approved by the management, he will check for its availability and begin preparations there.

► He will hire the staff required and be responsible for allocating duties to them.

► He will supervise all their duties and extend help whenever required.

► He will give a daily report to the management about the same.

► He will look into all other aspects of the event and see that they are carried out properly.

► He will be present on the day of the event to see that everything is carried out smoothly.

► Other than that, if he is not a freelancer but working with a single management company, he has to also prepare an annual budget for them and a list of all the events that fall in a year.

No matter what type of a job he is doing, a coordinator has to have very good interpersonal skills and an ability to interact and communicate well. He has to be of a cheerful disposition and have a pleasing personality. So also he needs to be a people's person, because he spends so much time interacting with them.