Certification and Licensure needed for a program coordinator

No particular certification or licensure is required to operate as a program coordinator unless it is job specific, e.g. a school based program coordinator might require certificate or license in first aid or a health care program coordinator might require certification pertaining to that profession.

Skills and Abilities needed for a program coordinator

• Must have exceptional leadership qualities to motivate and encourage the staff to give off their best.
• Must have good prioritizing, organization, planning and implementing skills to help them in the successful completion of a program.
• Must have excellent communication skills.
• They should be good in verbal communication to motivate and encourage their staff as well as interact and liaise with their superiors.
• They should also have good written skills as they have to prepare reports and summaries to present to the proper authorities.
• Must have sound judgement and be diplomatic in resolving any conflicts that would arise.
• Must have the ability to not only plan a budget but also be within it while implementing a program.
• Must be abreast with all the modern technology and equipment and be able to operate them such as computers, fax machines, photocopiers etc.

How to study for the job of a program coordinator?

Education is a requirement in any field of work as it is also for a program coordinator.

A better educated person would get jobs of their liking and would also be well paying.

For a job as a program coordinator a qualitative combination of education and experience is what employers generally tend to look for as they would want to lessen the expenditure on training a person.

Education

• At the entry level of a program coordinator post secondary education is necessary in the field that they are opting to work in.
• A minimum of a college or university bachelor’s degree pertaining to the field that they want to work in.
• A master’s degree will boost their chances to qualify for good jobs especially where they would be in the supervisory capacity.
• A business or administration qualification will also help in getting better paying jobs.
• Education and experience in various combinations is generally acceptable to any employer.

Duties and Responsibilities of a program coordinator

A program coordinator works in various settings, and has a wide range of projects from various fields.

They have duties particular to that setting, but the general duties and responsibility of a program coordinator remains the same across all the different fields.

• Sets and help in the designing of goals and objectives of a program.
• Execute and put into practice the program’s strategy and processes as set by them.
• Design, prioritize, allocate, educate, organize and check the work done by the program staff, interns and helpers who are engaged in the working of this program.
• Make a significant contribution towards the hiring, training and supervising the staff.
• Work within the program limitations pertaining to finance and procedures.
• Supervise the daily operations and keep a check on the budgeted expenditure to see that no overspending occurs.
• Works towards maximum efficiency in their program by having a seamless working relationship with other programs which are connected to them in a way that they adhere to all the specifications, policies and procedures.
• Keep records of the program at all the stages and prepare financial statement, and records program activities, status and progress to be presented to the management or any other outside agency as required.
• Interact and maintain relationship with the people working on the program as well as with their higher ups.

About Program Coordinators

A program coordinator is a person who manages a particular program and is ultimately responsible for the management and outcome of the program. They coordinate all the activities and functions of a program keeping in mind the priorities of the program, the time limitations, the budget constraints and any other specifications to achieve the goals and objectives set for the program. A program coordinator works in many fields such as healthcare, education, recreation and even business organizations. Program coordinators are responsible for one program at a time but there are some jobs which specify that the program coordinator tackles more than one program; the program can be pertaining to one single project or a group of projects having the same goal and aim. To successfully complete a program they hire a team to operate on the job at hand and if necessary fire some who are slack and not picking up the load, design, plan and develop the parameter of the program, prepare the budget plans depending upon the financial limitations, have an open line of communication with people at all levels, and write reports as the program progresses through the various stages. These people have a high quality of leadership traits, are well organised, know how to manage their staff as well as work with their superiors. They are creative and have the ability to think on their feet and expend a lot of positive energy to see that the program gets through successfully.

How much does a program coordinator earn?

The salary in almost all professions is dependent on a variety of factors.

For a program manager the salary depends on the industry that they work in as the industry defines what kind of salary they could receive.

The experience of a person in a given field always has a major effect on the salary that he/she would receive.

The other factors that has an effect on the earnings of a program coordinator is the geographical location, the educational qualifications that they have, etc.

The average annual salary that a program coordinator receives irrespective of the field that they are working in falls between the range of $ 36,187 and $ 52,455 and wherever they get  bonuses and profit sharing their average annual salary falls between the range of $ 37,663 and $ 59,007.

These ranges have been determined between the twenty fifth and seventy fifth percentile on the low and high ends.

• Years of Experience

§  Program coordinators who have less than one year experience gets an average annual salary between the range of $ 31,199 and $ 40,248.

§  Program coordinators having an experience between one year to four years gets an average annual salary within the range of $ 34,807 and $ 47,828.

§  Program coordinators having an experience between five years to nine years gets an average annual salary within the range of $ 39,128 and $ 54,297.

§  Program coordinators having an experience between ten years to nineteen years gets an average annual salary within the range of $ 41,715 and $ 60,421.

§  Program coordinators having an experience of more than twenty years get an average salary between the range of $ 46,347 and $ 74,930.

• Industry

§  Program coordinators working in the public health research can expect an average annual salary range between $ 39,220 and $ 57,985.

§  Program coordinators working in the health care services can expect an average annual salary range between $ 40,462 and $ 57,852.

§  Program coordinators working in the information technology services field can expect an average annual salary range between $ 37,834 and $ 53,962.

§  Program coordinators working in the construction industry can expect an average annual salary range between $ 36,482 and $ 52,285.

§  Program coordinators working in the legal services field can expect an average annual salary range between $ 35,505 and $ 49,353.

§  Program coordinators working in the colleges or universities can expect an average annual salary range between $ 34,292 and $ 48,136.

• State or Province

§  Program coordinators working in the state of California earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 40,105 and $ 57,175.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of Virginia earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 38,034 and $ 54,682.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of Pennsylvania earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 37,874 and $ 54,618.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of Texas earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 36,121 and $ 52,377.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of New York earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 36,792 and 51,454.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of Illinois earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 35,727 and 48,475.

§  Program coordinators working in the state of Florida earn an average annual salary between the range of $ 35,529 and $ 49,467.

In this profession there are generally more females than males and it differs according to the part of the industry that they work in.

Given below are certain industries and the male to female ratio and the average annual salary which they receive.

• Program coordinators working in non-profit organization have a percentile female to male ratio of 81% to 19% and the average annual salary range falls between $ 30,771 and $ 42,959 for females and $ 32,041 and $ 43,466 for males.
• Program coordinators working in recreation industry have a percentile female to male ratio of 56% to 44% and the average annual salary range falls between $ 26,866 and $ 35,854 for females and $ 30,489 and $ 43,539 for males.
• Program coordinators working in human resources field have a percentile female to male ratio of 88% to 12% and the average annual salary range falls between $ 34,626 and $ 46,897 for females and $ 33,204 and $ 45,577 for males.
• Grant program coordinators has a percentile female to male ratio of 84% to 16% and the average annual salary range falls between $ 34,781 and $ 50,113 for females and $ 38,384 and $ 50,957 for males.
• Direct care program coordinators has a percentile female to male ratio of 74% to 26% and the average annual salary range falls between $ 30,310 and $ 53,470 for females and $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 for males.

Program coordinators get the usual benefits and perks prevalent in the industry such as 401 (k), 403 (b), paid vacation and holidays, paid sick leave, reimbursement towards education such as training, tuition certification, disability and life insurance, etc.

They also get the common health benefits towards medical, dental, and vision.