Free Production Coordinator Job Description Templates
Free production coordinator job description templates for film and TV, manufacturing, event, and media, with FLSA and salary notes. Copy-paste or DOCX.
6 free templates for film and TV, manufacturing, event, media, and small production companies, with the FLSA and salary guidance generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
A production coordinator is the organized hub that keeps a production running: coordinating schedules, paperwork, communication, and logistics, tracking progress, and keeping everyone aligned. The same title spans very different industries, from a film set to a factory floor to a live event, which is the first thing a good job description has to get right. And in most of those industries, the role comes with one detail generic templates ignore: it is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses without HR departments, and most production companies are small: the film and TV industry alone is built from more than 122,000 small businesses, the large majority employing fewer than ten people. The six templates below cover the role across industries, a general version plus film and TV, manufacturing, event, media, and a small-company version, each with the FLSA and salary guidance built in.
A production coordinator keeps a production on schedule by coordinating schedules, paperwork, logistics, and communication. The title spans film and TV, manufacturing, event, and media, which are different jobs. The role is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime, and in film and TV may be union-covered. Pay runs roughly $50,000 to $70,000 depending on industry. Six templates, downloadable as DOCX.
What a Production Coordinator Does
A production coordinator coordinates the schedules, paperwork, communication, and logistics that keep a production running on time. The emphasis shifts by industry, from running a film production office to expediting materials through a plant, but the coordinating, tracking, and problem-solving core holds across all of them.
There is no single federal occupation for production coordinator; the role splits by industry. The manufacturing version maps to production, planning, and expediting clerks (43-5061), which lists materials coordinator and production scheduler as sample titles, while the film and TV version is an administrative below-the-line role that may be union-covered. That split is why pay and duties vary so widely, and why a job description has to name the industry rather than describe a generic coordinator.
Production Coordinator Duties and Responsibilities
Production coordinator duties cluster into four areas: scheduling and logistics, materials and resources, communication and coordination, and paperwork and reporting. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match your industry rather than listing every possible task.
Scheduling and logistics
Coordinate production schedules and timelines
Track progress and keep production on schedule
Coordinate travel, crew, vendors, or materials
Materials and resources
Order and track supplies, materials, or assets
Expedite resources and resolve delays
Track inventory or production records
Communication and coordination
Communicate updates across departments
Coordinate with vendors, clients, and crew
Be a central point of contact for the production
Paperwork and reporting
Prepare and distribute production paperwork
Compile reports on progress and status
Maintain documents and production files
The weighting shifts by industry: a film role leans into call sheets and crew logistics, a manufacturing role into scheduling and materials, an event role into vendors and load-in. For a structured way to scope the role, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by industry. The core structure is the same across all six, but each emphasizes the duties, software, and context that fit a specific kind of production. Use this guide to choose the closest fit, then adjust.
Production Coordinator (General)
Any industry
The universal version: schedules, paperwork, communication, and logistics across the production process. The starting point for most companies.
Film & TV
Studios and productions
For a film, TV, or commercial production: running the production office, call sheets, crew and cast logistics, and a note on union coverage.
Manufacturing
Shops and plants
For a plant or shop: production scheduling, expediting the flow of work and materials, inventory tracking, and ERP or MRP software.
Event
Events and live production
For events: run-of-show timelines, vendors and venues, permits, and coordinating load-in, show, and load-out under live pressure.
Media / Content
Agencies and studios
For content and media production: schedules and deliverables, assets, shoots and post-production, and coordinating freelancers and teams.
Small Company / No HR
Owner-run
The ICP version: for a small production company, studio, or shop hiring a coordinator and onboarding without an HR department. Honest that the role is non-exempt.
Match the Template to the Industry
A film, TV, or commercial production: Film & TV. A plant or shop: Manufacturing. Live events: Event. Content, agency, or studio work: Media / Content. A small production company, studio, or shop hiring and onboarding without HR: Small Company. When the industry is mixed or unclear, start with the general version and adapt.
6 Free Production Coordinator Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company and job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, an FLSA note, compensation, and how to apply, with an EEO statement, and the industry, pay, and schedule carried as fill-in fields. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General, film and TV, manufacturing, event, media, and small-company production coordinator. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Production Coordinator (General)
The universal version: schedules, paperwork, communication, and logistics across the production process. The starting point for most companies, with the FLSA note built in.
Production Coordinator Job Description (General)
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: __ (Production Manager / Owner / Operations)
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Confirm by actual duties; coordinator roles can be exempt or non-exempt
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour]
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[One or two sentences about your company, what you produce, and the team the
production coordinator will support.]
JOB SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Production Coordinator to keep our production running
on schedule. You will coordinate schedules, paperwork, communication, and
logistics across the production process, track progress, and keep everyone aligned.
An organized, calm, detail-oriented person who keeps a busy production moving is
ideal.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Coordinate production schedules, timelines, and logistics
•Track progress and keep production on schedule
•Prepare and distribute production paperwork and reports
•Communicate updates and coordinate across departments
•Manage documents, files, and production records
•Order and track supplies, materials, or resources
•Solve day-to-day problems and bottlenecks
•Support the production manager and team as needed
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[1-2+] years coordination, production, or admin experience
•Strong organization, communication, and follow-up
•Comfortable with scheduling and office or production software
•Calm and effective juggling competing priorities
•Reliable and detail-oriented under deadline pressure
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
Classification depends on actual duties and pay. A production coordinator who
mainly executes schedules and follows established procedures is usually NON-EXEMPT
(hourly) and owed overtime. The administrative exemption requires a salary of at
least $684/week plus the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters
of significance; the title alone does not make the role exempt. Classify by actual
duties. This is general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Film & TV Production Coordinator
For a film, TV, or commercial production: running the production office, call sheets, crew and cast logistics, and a note on union coverage.
Film & TV Production Coordinator Job Description
FILM & TV PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([production company / studio], [City, State])
Reports to: Producer / Content Lead / Production Manager
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Confirm by duties; may be non-exempt or exempt
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year
JOB SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Production Coordinator to keep our content and media
production on track. You will coordinate production schedules and deliverables,
manage assets and paperwork, support shoots and post-production, and keep projects
moving from brief to delivery. An organized coordinator who keeps creative
production on schedule is ideal.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Coordinate content and media production schedules
•Track deliverables, deadlines, and project status
•Manage production assets, files, and documentation
•Support shoots, sessions, and post-production logistics
•Coordinate freelancers, vendors, and internal teams
•Process production paperwork and purchase orders
•Communicate timelines and updates across the team
•Help keep projects on time and on budget
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[1-2+] years media, content, or production coordination
•Strong organization and communication
•Comfortable with project management and production software
•Detail-oriented and able to juggle multiple projects
•Reliable under deadline pressure
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
Classification depends on actual duties and pay. A media production coordinator
focused on scheduling, assets, and logistics is usually non-exempt; a more senior
role exercising real discretion on significant matters above $684/week may qualify
as exempt. Classify by actual duties, not the title. This is general information,
not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 6: Production Coordinator (Small Company, No HR)
The ICP version: for a small production company, studio, or shop hiring a coordinator and onboarding without an HR department. Honest that the role is hands-on and non-exempt.
Production Coordinator Job Description (Small Company, No HR)
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JOB DESCRIPTION (SMALL COMPANY, NO HR DEPARTMENT)
Company: __ ([small production / studio / shop], [City, State])
Reports to: Owner / Founder / Production Manager
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Non-exempt (hourly) in most cases; confirm by duties
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour]
ABOUT US
We are a small, growing [production company / studio / shop] hiring a Production
Coordinator to keep our productions organized and on schedule. This is a hands-on,
do-a-bit-of-everything role on a small team: coordinate schedules, paperwork,
vendors, and logistics, and become the person who keeps things moving. Right for
someone who likes ownership, variety, and being in the middle of the action.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
•Coordinate production schedules, logistics, and paperwork
•Track progress and keep productions on schedule
•Manage vendors, supplies, and resources
•Handle documents, files, and production records
•Communicate across the team and with clients or vendors
•Solve day-to-day problems as they come up
•Be the go-to person for keeping production organized
•Pitch in wherever a small, busy team needs help
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
•[1-2+] years coordination, production, or admin experience
•Organized, reliable, and comfortable wearing many hats
•Calm and effective under deadline pressure
•Comfortable with scheduling and office software
•Good communicator who keeps everyone aligned
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
In a small company, a production coordinator doing hands-on scheduling, logistics,
and paperwork is NON-EXEMPT (hourly) and owed overtime, even on a salary and even
with the coordinator title. The administrative exemption needs a salary of at least
$684/week plus discretion and independent judgment on significant matters, which a
hands-on coordinator usually does not meet. Classify by actual duties. This is
general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour]
To apply, send your resume to __ or call ____.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
FLSA, Industry, and Pay Benchmarks
This is the part the generic templates skip, and for a production coordinator it matters: the role is a borderline FLSA case, the title hides two different worlds, film and TV may be union-covered, and pay varies by industry. Here is what to get right.
Production coordinator is a borderline FLSA role, so classify by duties
Coordinator is one of the titles that can fall on either side of the FLSA line, so the classification turns on what the person actually does. The administrative exemption requires three things together: a salary of at least the federal threshold of $684 a week, office work directly related to business operations, and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. A production coordinator who mainly executes schedules, processes paperwork, and follows established procedures often clears the first two but fails the third, which makes the role non-exempt and owed overtime. A more senior coordinator who genuinely runs a function and exercises independent judgment may qualify as exempt. The Department of Labor lists coordinator as a possible example of the exemption, but it is the duties, not the title, that decide. Default to non-exempt when in doubt. This is general information, not legal advice.
The role splits across two very different worlds: manufacturing and film/TV
Production coordinator means two largely different jobs depending on the industry, and that changes the duties, the software, and the candidate. In manufacturing, the role coordinates and expedites the flow of work and materials through a plant, maps to the federal production, planning, and expediting clerks occupation, and lives in ERP or MRP scheduling. In film and TV, the role runs the production office, handles call sheets, crew logistics, and paperwork, and is an administrative below-the-line role that may be union-covered. Event and media versions sit between the two. Decide which world you are hiring for before you write the job description, and use the matching template, so you attract someone who understands your production rather than a different one. This is general information, not legal advice.
In film and TV, check whether a union agreement applies
Film and TV production roles are frequently covered by collective bargaining agreements that set pay rates, overtime, and working conditions, and a production coordinator can fall under one. A small or independent production that is signatory to an agreement, or that hires in a market where these roles are typically union, needs to account for those terms in the offer rather than discovering them later. Even outside a union, the long and irregular hours of production make accurate time tracking and overtime important. If your production touches a union environment, confirm what applies before you post and before you set pay, and build the correct terms into the offer. This is general information, not legal advice.
Benchmark pay to your industry, since the same title pays differently across sectors
Pay for a production coordinator varies widely by industry, which makes benchmarking to a single number a trap. The closest federal occupation, production, planning, and expediting clerks, anchors the manufacturing version, with a mean reported near $50,640 and national compensation surveys placing the role roughly in the $50,000 to $70,000 range depending on sector and seniority. Film and TV pay is often quoted weekly or daily and varies by market and union status; event and media pay sits in a similar band. Benchmark to your specific industry and local market rather than a blended average, note whether the role is hourly with overtime, and post a pay range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
Borderline FLSA, and Industry-Dependent Pay
Many production coordinators are non-exempt: the administrative exemption (DOL Fact Sheet 17C) needs a salary of at least $684/week plus discretion and independent judgment on significant matters, which schedule-and-paperwork roles often lack. The closest federal occupation for the manufacturing version, production, planning, and expediting clerks, reports a mean near $50,640, with the role running roughly $50,000 to $70,000 by industry.
For the underlying rules, the exempt versus non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act overview explain the duties tests and overtime. The practical rule: default a schedule-and-logistics production coordinator to non-exempt, benchmark pay to your industry, and check union coverage in film and TV.
Skills and Requirements
Production coordinator requirements center on organization, communication, calm under pressure, and software fluency, scaled to the industry. Add call-sheet familiarity for film, ERP or MRP for manufacturing, and vendor coordination for events.
Requirement
What to look for
Experience
1-2+ years coordination, production, or admin experience
Organization
Strong scheduling, tracking, and follow-up under deadlines
Software
Comfortable with the relevant production or scheduling software
Communication
Clear communicator across departments, vendors, and crew
Industry
Call sheets for film, ERP/MRP for manufacturing, vendors for events
Classification
Often non-exempt; confirm by actual duties and any union terms
Keep every requirement job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on a protected characteristic, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
Production Coordinator Pay
Production coordinator pay varies widely by industry, so benchmark to your sector rather than a blended average. Use government data as a baseline for the manufacturing version and adjust for your local market and industry.
Roughly $50,000 to $70,000, Varying by Industry
The closest federal occupation for a manufacturing production coordinator, production, planning, and expediting clerks, reports a mean wage near $50,640, with national compensation surveys placing the role roughly in the $50,000 to $70,000 range depending on sector and seniority. Film and TV pay is often quoted weekly or daily and varies by market and union status.
Manufacturing and event versions tend to be hourly and sit toward the lower-to-middle of that band; media and senior coordinator roles run higher and may be salaried; film and TV pay depends heavily on the market and union status. Benchmark to your industry and the specific scope of the role, account for whether it is hourly with overtime, and post a pay range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
Hiring for a Small Production Company
A large studio or manufacturer hires a production coordinator through a production department with HR support. A small production company, shop, event company, or studio does not. The owner or a producer writes the posting, makes the hire, and onboards the coordinator. The adjacent first hires, a production assistant or a operations coordinator, follow the same logic. Here is what that means for the posting.
Most production companies and shops are small, and no generic template is written for them
The published production coordinator templates model a large studio or a big manufacturer with a full production department and HR support. The reality of the industry is the opposite. The film and TV business is built from more than 122,000 small businesses, the large majority of which employ fewer than ten people, and most manufacturing shops, event companies, and media studios are small too. At a 5 to 50 person production company, the owner or a production manager writes the posting, makes the hire, and onboards the coordinator, often between everything else. The small-company template here is written for exactly that reality: ready to fill in, honest about the hands-on nature of the role, and built around how a small production actually makes this hire rather than how a large studio backfills a department seat.
Classification and industry pay are where small producers go wrong
Two mistakes recur on this hire at small companies. First, classification: a production coordinator doing hands-on scheduling, logistics, and paperwork is usually non-exempt and owed overtime, so putting them on a salary with no overtime is a common misclassification, and the coordinator title never changes that, which matters especially given the long hours production work involves. Second, pay: the role pays differently across film, manufacturing, event, and media, so benchmarking to a single blended figure misleads. The templates here build the non-exempt default and an industry-specific pay framing in, so a small producer starts from a posting that reflects how the role actually works in their sector.
After you hire the coordinator, the onboarding still has to get done, with or without HR
Whichever version you hire, the work after the offer is ordinary people operations made specific by production: a signed offer with the correct classification, Form I-9 and tax forms, any union or project paperwork, and a first-week plan that gets the coordinator productive fast. FirstHR fits this for a small production company, studio, or shop without an HR department: e-signature for the offer and acknowledgments, an AI onboarding wizard and task workflows to run each new hire, document management for I-9s, deal memos, and records, and an HRIS and self-service portal that keep employee data organized. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform; it does not run payroll, administer benefits, or replace a production-management or scheduling system, so pair it with those tools. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and onboarding, and a production coordinator needs to be productive fast, since they are often the person keeping the whole production organized. A clean, documented onboarding gets them there sooner.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, pay, and the FLSA classification in writing, based on actual duties, plus any union or project terms. An offer letter template makes this fast.
Collect the paperwork
Form I-9, tax forms, deal memos, and policy acknowledgments, signed electronically and stored in one place.
Run the onboarding workflow
A repeatable first-week plan that gets the coordinator productive on your production fast.
Store the records
Keep signed forms, the classification basis, and production records organized for compliance.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and an onboarding template gives the new hire a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, document storage, and the onboarding workflow in one place so a small production company can run the people side from one system, with the coordinator's classification recorded from day one. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform; it does not run payroll, administer benefits, or replace a production-management or scheduling system, so pair it with those tools. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
A production coordinator keeps a production on schedule by coordinating schedules, paperwork, logistics, and communication.
The title spans different jobs by industry: use the template that matches film and TV, manufacturing, event, media, or a small company.
Many production coordinators are non-exempt and owed overtime, since executing schedules and paperwork is not independent judgment on significant matters.
In film and TV, check whether a union agreement applies before setting pay, and track the long, irregular hours production work involves.
Pay varies by industry, running roughly $50,000 to $70,000, with the manufacturing version near the federal production-clerk mean of $50,640.
Most production companies are small, so the owner makes the hire and onboards the coordinator directly, which a documented process makes far easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a production coordinator do?
A production coordinator keeps a production running on schedule by coordinating schedules, paperwork, communication, and logistics. The core work is consistent across industries: coordinating timelines and logistics, tracking progress, preparing and distributing production paperwork, communicating across departments, managing documents and records, ordering and tracking materials or resources, and solving day-to-day problems. The specifics shift by industry. In film and TV, the coordinator runs the production office, distributes call sheets, and handles crew and cast logistics. In manufacturing, the role coordinates and expedites the flow of work and materials through a plant. In events, it manages timelines, vendors, and load-in and load-out. In media, it tracks deliverables and supports shoots and post-production. The common thread is being the organized hub that keeps a busy production moving. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a production coordinator exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, and many production coordinators are non-exempt and owed overtime. The administrative exemption requires three things together: a salary of at least $684 a week, office work directly related to business operations, and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. A production coordinator who mainly executes schedules, processes paperwork, and follows established procedures often clears the first two but fails the third, which makes the role non-exempt and overtime-eligible. The Department of Labor lists coordinator as a possible example of the exemption, but it is the duties, not the title, that decide, so a more senior coordinator who genuinely runs a function with independent judgment may qualify as exempt. Classify by actual duties, default to non-exempt when uncertain, and in film and TV check whether a union agreement also applies. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a production coordinator make?
Pay varies widely by industry, which makes a single number misleading. The closest federal occupation for a manufacturing production coordinator is production, planning, and expediting clerks, with a mean reported near $50,640, and national compensation surveys place the role roughly in the $50,000 to $70,000 range depending on sector, seniority, and location. Film and TV production coordinator pay is often quoted weekly or daily and varies by market and union status. Event and media coordinator pay sits in a similar band to the manufacturing figure. The practical approach is to benchmark to your specific industry and local market rather than a blended average, account for whether the role is hourly with overtime, and post a pay range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a film and a manufacturing production coordinator?
They share a title but are largely different jobs. A film or TV production coordinator runs the production office: distributing call sheets and scripts, coordinating crew and cast travel and logistics, processing releases and deal memos, and keeping a shoot on schedule, often as a union-covered, below-the-line administrative role. A manufacturing production coordinator coordinates and expedites the flow of work and materials through a plant: building production schedules, tracking inventory and materials, monitoring progress against the schedule, and working in ERP or MRP systems. The film role lives on a set and a production office; the manufacturing role lives on a shop floor and in scheduling software. The skills, the software, and the ideal candidate differ, so decide which industry you are hiring for and use the matching template. This is general information, not legal advice.
What skills does a production coordinator need?
Production coordinator roles center on organization, communication, calm under pressure, and software fluency, scaled to the industry. The universal skills are strong scheduling and tracking ability, clear communication across departments and vendors, attention to detail under deadline pressure, problem-solving when things go wrong, and comfort with the relevant software. The industry then adds specifics: production and scheduling software plus call-sheet familiarity for film and TV; ERP or MRP and inventory knowledge for manufacturing; vendor, venue, and permit coordination for events; and asset and project management for media. Most roles ask for one to two or more years of coordination or production experience rather than a specific degree. For a posting, list the universal skills plus the few industry-specific ones that match your production, and keep every requirement job-related. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do production coordinators in film and TV need to be union members?
Sometimes, depending on the production and the market. Film and TV production roles are frequently covered by collective bargaining agreements that set pay rates, overtime, and working conditions, and a production coordinator can fall under one. Whether union membership or coverage applies depends on the production's signatory status, the market, and the specific role, so a small or independent production should confirm what applies before posting and before setting pay. Productions that are not union may hire coordinators without any union requirement. The practical guidance for an employer is to determine your production's union status first, account for any applicable agreement terms in the offer, and, union or not, track the long and irregular hours production work involves and pay overtime where it is owed. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does a small production company need a production coordinator?
It often makes sense once the scheduling, paperwork, and logistics of a production become too much for the owner or producer to manage alone. Most production businesses are small, the film and TV industry alone is built from more than 122,000 small businesses, and a growing production company, shop, event company, or studio commonly reaches a point where a dedicated coordinator pays for itself by keeping productions on schedule and the team focused on the work. For a 5 to 50 person company without a dedicated HR department, the owner makes the hire and onboards the coordinator directly. The honest guidance is to hire when the production volume justifies it, classify the role as non-exempt unless the duties clearly support exemption, and pair the hire with a repeatable onboarding process. The small-company template here is written for exactly that situation. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should a production coordinator job description include?
A strong production coordinator job description names the industry up front, whether film and TV, manufacturing, event, or media, since that shapes the duties, the software, and who you attract. Include a job summary that frames the role around keeping the production on schedule, and group responsibilities into scheduling and logistics, materials and resources, communication and coordination, and paperwork and reporting. State the required experience and the industry-specific software, list the schedule honestly including any long or irregular hours, and note the FLSA classification. The most valuable additions that generic templates skip are the FLSA exempt-or-non-exempt guidance with the non-exempt default, any union consideration in film and TV, and an industry-specific salary benchmark rather than a blended average. Post a pay range where your state requires one, and close with an equal opportunity statement and clear apply instructions. This is general information, not legal advice.
