Tap to Read ➤

Event Coordinator Job Description

Planning and executing an event might seem to be a fun task; but along with it, it also is highly demanding job. Read on for what this exciting job entails.
Rujuta Borkar
Career choices for an event coordinator are several. He/she plans and executes the events ranging from professional corporate events to home events. The planner does everything - starting from scratch and continuing till the very end of an event.
Usually, majority of the company events require large-scale planning. So, a company might have their own event coordinator or hire someone from an event management company.
Thus the event coordinators' duties and tasks may change according to the company they are hired by or according to the event to be planned and executed. But, their responsibilities remain the same.

Responsibilities

Being an event coordinator is no easy task. Their typical set of responsibilities will literally run into pages. But one can't deny that it is a rather interesting job. In fact, it is the perfect job for people who are social, love to organize things and are good at planning.
An event coordinator will have certain responsibilities that are common to his/her profession, no matter what the nature of the event. Here is a list of some of the duties that he/she will have to look into and fulfill.
An event coordinator has to be social and a people's person who loves interacting with people from different walks of life because he/she will need to deal with them on a daily basis.
He/she must:
  • have a cheerful and pleasant disposition along with being approachable.
  • have excellent interpersonal skills to work as a mediator between management and workers.
  • be highly organized to formulate guidelines for work.
  • be able to work under pressure because there will be several situations in work where he/she will be faced with the same.
  • know how to deal with it well and work through it as well.
  • be good at multitasking as he/she may have to manage several projects at once.
  • be prepared with the annual events calendar and the entire year's budget, if working for a company.
  • know how to keep an eye on any new events that need to be organized and inform the management of the same.
  • know how to manage the event and formulate the budget depending upon the kind of event.
  • get the budget approved by the management. Any changes in the budget will have to be done after consultation with the management.
  • search for the locations for the event after a budget has been set.
  • study each location to find the most suitable one. Once it is fixed, informing the management for their approval.
  • after the management approval, the availability of the location has to be checked. Also if the location comes into the formulated budget or not. If not, negotiations have to be made between the management and the location manager and a consensus reached upon.
  • appoint adequate staff required for the event.
  • make a list of all the things needed for that event and arranging for them have to be looked into. These will change depending on the nature of the event.
  • schedule different duties to the staff according to their expertise is also one of the important factors of this job. It takes an expert to delegate tasks with expertise.
  • be present to guide the staff and supervise every aspect of their tasks and thereby the entire event.
  • always be present on the scene in case of emergencies.
  • always maintain direct contact with the staff and the management to convey the problems and success of the preparation process from one to the other.
  • be responsible for supervising the budget expenditure and keeping it in check, never allowing it to exceed the allocated amount.
  • look into the publishing of any material required like brochures and files for the event.
  • hold meetings on a regular basis to discuss any important information, or to discuss issues that are in some way affecting the smooth flow of the event.
  • maintain a record of the attendance numbers.
  • supervise the event's smooth functioning on the day of the event.
  • anticipate any problem and try to eliminate them before the event, so that it does not lead to a block in the smooth functioning.
  • handle the payments of the caterers, staff and location managers after the event is over.

Salary Details

The salary of an event coordinator will range from $27,144 - $54,817 annually. However several factors will be responsible for determining the exact figures of the same.
These figures depend on whether the event coordinator is working for a company or as an individual, whether he/she is working under someone or is a freelancer, and the pattern according to which he/she charges fees - for an event on the whole, by day or simply by the hour. So there is no fixed income but it usually falls in the range of $25,000 to $55,000.
Having explained the details of an event coordinator's job, here's hoping that it helps those who are planning to take it up as a career to understand the responsibilities of an event coordinator and the work that is expected to be done.