Program Coordinator Job Description Templates
Free program coordinator job description templates: standard, nonprofit, healthcare, education, senior, and small organization. With FLSA guidance. DOCX.
Program Coordinator Job Description Templates
6 free templates by sector, with FLSA and pay-transparency guidance. Download as DOCX.
The program coordinator job description is one most organizations copy from a generic recruiting template that lists "coordinate program activities" and stops, missing the two things that actually shape this hire: whether the role is exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA, which depends on the real duties and not the title, and whether your state now requires a salary range in the posting. A small nonprofit, clinic, or school copying a thin template often misclassifies a clerical coordinator as exempt and leaves out a pay range, both of which are avoidable and costly.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the nonprofits, clinics, schools, and community organizations that do most of this hiring. The six templates below cover the role by sector and level: standard, nonprofit, healthcare, education, senior, and small organization. Each prompts the FLSA decision and includes a salary-range field. Fill in the brackets and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Does a Program Coordinator Do?
A program coordinator keeps a program running by handling its day-to-day coordination: schedules, logistics, communication, records, and reporting. There is no single federal occupation for the exact title, but the closest match is social and community service managers, who coordinate and supervise programs that support public well-being, though many coordinator roles sit below that in seniority.
For the organization writing the posting, the useful frame is that the coordination core stays constant while the sector shifts the specifics: general program coordination in the standard version, volunteers and grants for a nonprofit, patient logistics for healthcare, student programs for education, program ownership for a senior role, or a many-hats version at a small organization. That is why the templates below differ by sector, and why the FLSA and pay-range decisions matter regardless of which one you pick.
Program Coordinator Duties and Responsibilities
Program coordinator duties center on coordination and logistics, communication and support, records and documents, and data and reporting. The sector shifts the weights, a nonprofit's grant reporting versus a clinic's patient logistics, but the categories hold. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in the sector with specifics: the program, the people served, the systems used, and the reporting required. Candidates read postings for the sector, the scope, the pay, and the level, before applying. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Program Coordinator vs Program Manager
These two roles are often confused, but they sit at different levels, and naming the role correctly matters for pay, classification, and who applies. Here is how they compare.
| Program Coordinator | Program Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Day-to-day execution and logistics | Strategy, budgets, and outcomes |
| Authority | Coordinates and supports | Decides and is accountable |
| People | Usually no direct reports | Often supervises coordinators and staff |
| FLSA | May be non-exempt if clerical | More likely exempt |
The coordinator keeps the program running; the manager decides where it is going. If the role you are filling genuinely owns strategy and people, it may be a program manager rather than a coordinator, and naming it correctly attracts the right candidate. The closely related project coordinator role focuses on projects rather than ongoing programs.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your sector and the level of the role. The coordination core runs through all six, but the language, the duties, and the seniority differ enough that the matched version always reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Program Coordinator Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: organization overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, salary, and how to apply, with the FLSA prompt and a salary-range field built in. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: Program Coordinator (Standard)
The base version: coordinating schedules, logistics, communication, records, and reporting for a program. Start here if no sector-specific version fits.
Template 2: Nonprofit Program Coordinator
For a nonprofit or community organization: coordinating services and events, supporting volunteers, and helping with grant reporting and outreach.
Template 3: Healthcare Program Coordinator
For a clinic or healthcare organization: coordinating patient program logistics, supporting clinical staff, and handling confidential information per HIPAA.
Template 4: Education Program Coordinator
For a school, college, or education program: coordinating academic logistics, supporting students and faculty, and managing program calendars and records.
Template 5: Senior Program Coordinator
For an experienced coordinator who leads program coordination, mentors juniors, owns budgets and planning, and exercises judgment on program decisions.
Template 6: Program Coordinator (Small Organization)
For a small nonprofit, clinic, or organization hiring a coordinator to run the program directly with the leader: a hands-on, many-hats role with real ownership.
FLSA: Is a Program Coordinator Exempt or Non-Exempt?
The most important and most-missed decision on a program coordinator posting is the FLSA classification, because it depends on the actual duties, not the title. A coordinator can qualify as exempt under the administrative exemption only if three things are all true: they are paid on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold, their primary duty is office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and they exercise discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance.
The trap is that many coordinator roles are primarily clerical: scheduling, data entry, record-keeping, and following set procedures. Those roles are generally non-exempt and owe overtime, even with a salary and an important-sounding title, and misclassifying a clerical coordinator as exempt is a common and costly error. Look honestly at the duties: if the role mostly executes set processes, treat it as non-exempt and hourly; if it genuinely involves independent judgment and program ownership, it may be exempt. The current federal salary threshold follows the 2019 rule, since a 2024 rule raising it was vacated by a federal court. Keep the posting job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm the classification with a payroll professional or attorney.
Pay Transparency: Include a Salary Range
A growing number of states require employers to include a good-faith salary range in job postings, and the thresholds reach small organizations. One state applies its rule to employers with as few as five employees, and others set thresholds at ten, fifteen, twenty-five, or thirty employees, each with its own rules and effective dates.
Because a program coordinator is exactly the kind of role organizations post publicly, you often need to include a pay range to comply where you hire. Beyond compliance, candidates increasingly expect a range and screen on it, so including one tends to strengthen your applicant pool. Add a real, good-faith salary range to the posting, which is why the templates include a salary-range field rather than a single number. Because these laws and their thresholds change, confirm the current requirement for your state and locality before posting rather than relying on a fixed list. This is general information, not legal advice.
Skills and Qualifications
Program coordinator qualifications center on organization, communication, and the ability to keep many moving parts aligned, with education and sector experience varying by role, which makes the posting's job naming what you actually require.
| Weak requirement | Strong requirement |
|---|---|
| Organized | Proven ability to coordinate schedules, logistics, and deadlines |
| Good communicator | Clear communication with participants, staff, and partners |
| Degree | [Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience] |
| Sector knowledge | [Nonprofit, healthcare, or education program experience] |
| Detail-oriented | Accurate record-keeping, data tracking, and reporting |
Many roles ask for a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, and sector experience matters more than a specific credential for most coordinator work. Keep every line job-related, and for the standard sections of a posting, the SHRM job description tools describe a good job description as a plain-language summary of a position's tasks, duties, and responsibilities.
How to Write a Program Coordinator Job Description
A strong program coordinator posting takes about 20 minutes and gets two things right that most templates miss: the FLSA classification and the salary range. Here is the process the templates are built around. If this is among your first hires, the guide to hiring your first employee covers the steps around the posting.
Program Coordinator Pay
Program coordinator pay varies by sector, region, and seniority, and there is no single federal figure for the exact title, which makes setting a range to your role more useful than chasing a national number.
Because that proxy leans managerial, market pay for the program coordinator title commonly runs lower, especially in nonprofits and entry-level roles, and it varies widely by sector and source. The most useful approach for a posting is to set a salary range based on your sector, region, and the actual scope of the role rather than anchoring to a single national figure, and many states now require you to include that range. National compensation surveys can help you benchmark for your specific sector and market.
Hiring at a Small Organization
Most program coordinators are hired by small, mission-driven organizations, often with the executive director or owner doing the hiring rather than a dedicated HR team. That means getting the classification, the pay range, and the onboarding right falls to them. Here is what actually matters.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and onboarding a program coordinator matters because this person will keep a program running and often touches participants, data, and funder reporting from early on. Send the offer with the salary and the correct FLSA classification, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms. For a healthcare program, confirm HIPAA training and any required credentials.
Then set up context and access: the program's systems, records, calendars, and partners, the data and reporting they will own, and introductions to the people they will support, alongside the usual onboarding documents. Because this role keeps a program running, a structured first 90 days matters, and a 30-60-90 day plan helps: learn the program, then start managing logistics and relationships, then own the coordination and clear outcomes, the kind of structured start the employee onboarding guide describes. Once terms are agreed, the offer letter template handles the core terms with the FLSA classification. FirstHR handles the offer with e-signature, the onboarding workflow with training assignments, and document storage for the I-9, W-4, and program records. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with your payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a program coordinator do?
A program coordinator keeps a program running by handling its day-to-day coordination. The core work is consistent: coordinating schedules, logistics, and activities, serving as the point of contact for participants and partners, maintaining records and data, preparing materials and reports, communicating with staff and stakeholders, and tracking program outcomes. It is an organizing and execution role that keeps the moving parts of a program aligned. Program coordinators work most often in nonprofits, healthcare, education, and community organizations, and the sector shapes the specifics: a nonprofit coordinator supports volunteers and grant reporting, a healthcare coordinator handles patient program logistics and confidential information, an education coordinator manages academic and student programs, and a senior coordinator owns planning and mentors others. This page offers a template for each of these versions plus a small-organization version.
What is the difference between a program coordinator and a program manager?
The difference is scope and authority. A program coordinator focuses on the day-to-day execution and logistics of a program: scheduling, coordination, records, communication, and reporting. A program manager sits a level up, owning program strategy, budgets, outcomes, and often supervising coordinators and staff. The coordinator keeps the program running; the manager decides where it is going and is accountable for results. In smaller organizations the line blurs and one person may do both, while larger organizations separate them clearly. For hiring, the distinction matters for the title, the pay, and the FLSA classification, since a manager role with real decision authority is more likely to be exempt while a coordinator role focused on execution may be non-exempt. If the role you are filling genuinely owns strategy and people, it may be a program manager rather than a coordinator, and naming it correctly attracts the right candidate.
Is a program coordinator exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, not the title, and this is where employers most often go wrong. A program coordinator can qualify as exempt under the FLSA administrative exemption only if three things are true: they are paid on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold, their primary duty is office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and they exercise discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. Many coordinator roles are primarily clerical, focused on scheduling, data entry, record-keeping, and following set procedures, and those are generally non-exempt and owe overtime, even with a salary and an impressive title. Misclassifying a clerical coordinator as exempt is a common and costly error. Look honestly at the duties: if the role mainly executes set processes, treat it as non-exempt and hourly; if it genuinely involves independent judgment and program ownership, it may be exempt. Confirm the classification with a payroll professional or attorney. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I need to include a salary range in a program coordinator posting?
Increasingly, yes, depending on where you operate. A growing number of states have pay-transparency laws requiring a good-faith salary range in job postings, and the employee-count thresholds reach small organizations, with one state applying its rule to employers with as few as five employees and others setting thresholds at ten, fifteen, twenty-five, or thirty employees. Because a program coordinator is exactly the kind of role organizations post publicly, you often need to include a pay range to comply in the states where you hire. Beyond the legal requirement, candidates increasingly expect a range and screen on it, so including one tends to strengthen your applicant pool. The practical move is to add a real, good-faith salary range to the posting. Because these laws and their thresholds change, confirm the current requirement for your state and locality before posting rather than relying on a fixed list.
What qualifications does a program coordinator need?
A program coordinator typically needs strong organization and communication skills, the ability to juggle multiple priorities, and comfort with the tools and data the program runs on, with formal education varying by employer. Many roles ask for a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, and sector experience matters: nonprofit coordinators benefit from grant and volunteer experience, healthcare coordinators from familiarity with HIPAA and clinical settings, and education coordinators from academic-program experience. The skills that matter most across all versions are coordination, communication, record-keeping, and follow-through, since the role exists to keep the moving parts of a program aligned. For a smaller organization, practical experience and strong organization often matter more than a specific degree, which is why the templates here treat education as a flexible requirement you can adjust to the role and the candidate pool you need.
What should a program coordinator job description include?
A strong program coordinator job description includes an organization overview, a position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, the FLSA classification, a salary range, and how to apply. List the core duties: coordination and logistics, communication and support, records and documents, and data and reporting. State the experience and education you actually need, and tailor the language to your sector, since a nonprofit, healthcare, and education coordinator read quite differently. Critically, get two things right that most templates ignore: decide the FLSA exempt-or-non-exempt status based on the real duties rather than the title, and include a good-faith salary range, which many states now require and candidates expect. Add an equal-opportunity statement. The templates here build in the FLSA prompt and the salary-range field and come in sector-specific versions so you can match the posting to your organization.
How much does a program coordinator make?
Program coordinator pay varies by sector, region, and seniority, and there is no single federal figure for the exact title. The closest federal occupational match, social and community service managers, reported a median annual wage of about $78,240 in May 2024, but that category leans more senior and managerial than many coordinator roles, so it tends to overstate pay for entry-level and mid-level coordinator positions. In practice, market pay for the program coordinator title commonly runs lower than that proxy, especially in nonprofits and entry-level roles, and varies widely by source and sector. The most useful approach for a posting is to set a salary range based on your sector, region, and the actual scope of the role rather than anchoring to a single national figure, and many states now require you to include that range. National compensation surveys can help you benchmark for your specific sector and market.
What happens after I hire a program coordinator?
Run a structured onboarding so the coordinator can take ownership of the program quickly. Send the offer letter with the salary and the correct FLSA classification, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days, and gather tax forms like the W-4. For a healthcare program, confirm HIPAA training and any required credentials. Then set up context and access: the program's systems, records, calendars, partners, and the data and reporting they will own, plus introductions to the participants and staff they will support. Because this role keeps a program running, a structured first 90 days matters: learn the program and current state, then start managing logistics and relationships, then own the coordination and a clear set of outcomes. FirstHR handles the offer with e-signature, the onboarding workflow with training assignments, and document storage for the I-9, W-4, and program records. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with your payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.