Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Word Program Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Word Program Coordinator is responsible for day-to-day program administration, operational delivery, and stakeholder engagement to ensure the program meets its strategic objectives, timelines, and budget. This role partners with program managers, external partners, finance, communications, and monitoring & evaluation teams to coordinate activities, manage data and reporting, support grant and budget administration, and drive high-quality participant and partner experiences. The ideal candidate blends administrative rigor with project management discipline and strong interpersonal skills to translate strategy into well-executed operational plans.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Program Assistant or Administrative Assistant
Project Coordinator or Events Coordinator
Outreach or Community Engagement Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior Program Coordinator or Program Manager
Grants or Partnerships Manager
Director of Programs or Operations Lead

Lateral Moves:

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Operations or Office Manager
Communications or Outreach Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end-to-end coordination of program activities, including planning, scheduling, vendor management, and on-time execution of deliverables to meet program goals and milestones.
Serve as the operational point of contact for internal teams and external partners, ensuring clear, timely communication and alignment on objectives, roles, and deadlines.
Develop, maintain and update program workplans, Gantt charts and task trackers to monitor progress, identify risks, and escalate issues with recommended mitigation strategies.
Oversee participant recruitment, onboarding, and retention logistics, including application processing, scheduling orientations, maintaining participant records, and coordinating follow-ups.
Manage the program budget on a day-to-day basis: process purchase orders, track expenditures, reconcile invoices, and prepare variance reports in collaboration with finance.
Support grant and contract administration: prepare required documentation, manage compliance calendars, and coordinate reporting to funders and stakeholders.
Produce regular and ad-hoc program reports: compile quantitative and qualitative data, populate dashboards, prepare narrative updates, and present findings to leadership and funders.
Design and maintain program databases and CRMs (e.g., Salesforce, Airtable, or database spreadsheets) to ensure accurate, actionable program data and records.
Coordinate logistics for events, workshops, and training sessions, including venue booking, catering, materials, agendas, travel arrangements, and on-site support.
Implement monitoring and evaluation activities: collect and clean program data, support survey administration, and assist with outcome measurement and impact analysis.
Create and update program documentation: SOPs, process maps, onboarding guides, toolkits, and templates to standardize delivery and enable scaling.
Draft and edit participant communications, partner letters, meeting minutes, and external-facing materials to ensure consistency and professionalism.
Facilitate regular cross-functional meetings, prepare agendas, capture action items, and track follow-through to ensure accountability and momentum.
Conduct risk assessments for program activities, maintain issue logs, and coordinate corrective actions with program leadership and partners.
Manage vendor relationships and contracts: solicit quotes, coordinate procurement processes, track deliverables, and ensure service-level compliance.
Maintain participant confidentiality and data protection practices in line with organizational policies and applicable regulations.
Support recruitment, onboarding and supervision of temporary program staff, interns, and volunteers; prepare role descriptions and provide operational training.
Coordinate program evaluation activities, liaise with external evaluators, and ensure timely provision of documentation and data for independent reviews.
Continuously identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve participant experience across program operations.
Prepare and present materials for board briefings, funder meetings, and stakeholder check-ins that summarize progress, risks and resource needs.
Track and report on KPIs and performance metrics, using Excel or visualization tools to highlight trends, outcomes and areas requiring leadership attention.
Manage program archives and ensure accurate, auditable records for compliance, evaluation and knowledge transfer.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory analysis to inform program decisions and grant proposals.
Contribute to the organization's program strategy by providing operational insights, resource estimates, and feasibility input for new initiatives.
Collaborate with communications to draft program newsletters, social media copy, and impact stories for external audiences.
Assist with procurement planning, vendor onboarding, and maintaining purchase order and contract documentation in the finance system.
Participate in agile planning ceremonies or regular sprint reviews when the program uses iterative project management methods.
Provide technical support for basic dashboard creation (Excel, Google Data Studio, Power BI Lite) and maintain routine automation (e.g., macros, scripts) to reduce manual work.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program coordination and project management — experience building workplans, schedules and tracking deliverables.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, conditional formatting) and comfortable building reports from raw data.
Experience with CRM and database tools (Salesforce, Airtable, Raiser’s Edge or custom databases) for participant and partner management.
Budget administration and basic accounting skills — PO creation, invoice reconciliation and budget variance reporting.
Familiarity with monitoring & evaluation concepts, survey tools (Qualtrics, Google Forms) and basic data cleaning.
Event planning and logistics management for in-person and virtual events; vendor coordination and contract oversight.
Reporting and dashboarding — ability to produce clear data visualizations and narrative summaries for stakeholders.
Strong written communication and documentation skills: SOPs, participant materials, donor reports.
Experience with project management tools (Asana, Trello, Monday.com, Smartsheet) to manage tasks and workflows.
Basic familiarity with data visualization tools (Google Data Studio, Tableau, Power BI) or ability to collaborate with analysts on dashboards.
Knowledge of data privacy and secure record-keeping practices (PII handling, consent forms, data retention policies).

Soft Skills

Exceptional written and verbal communication tailored to diverse stakeholder audiences (funders, partners, participants).
Highly organized with superior attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Strong stakeholder and relationship management — ability to build trust and collaborate across teams.
Proactive problem-solver with a bias for action and continuous improvement mindset.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance competing deadlines and rapidly changing priorities.
Cultural competence and sensitivity when working with diverse populations, partners, and communities.
Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced, dynamic program environment.
Critical thinking and analytical mindset to synthesize data into clear recommendations.
Team-oriented collaborator who can also work independently with minimal supervision.
Professional demeanor and discretion when handling confidential or sensitive information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Public Administration, Education, Social Sciences, Business, Communications) or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's plus professional certification in project or program management (PMP, CAPM, Agile) or a Master’s degree in a related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Public Administration
Nonprofit Management
Education
Social Sciences
Business Administration
Communications
Monitoring & Evaluation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of progressive experience coordinating programs, projects, events or operations in nonprofit, education, government, or corporate program teams.

Preferred:

3+ years of program coordination with responsibility for budgets, donor reporting, and CRM/database management.
Demonstrated experience supporting grant-funded programs, outcome tracking, and preparing funder deliverables.
Experience supervising temporary staff or volunteers and coordinating cross-functional project teams.