A business or a company is not only successful because of the hard work of its employees, or the ideas of execution. But also, the organized structure of a firm deals with different domains, and every domain plays an important role. Have you heard of the hierarchy of job titles in a company? Let’s talk about it here- Director Vs Coordinator.
The hierarchy of job titles is a structured set of job positions. That clarifies the direction, management, and work of a company. You must’ve experienced, or should have an idea that the job position decides your salary and responsibilities, right? The higher the title, the higher the pay. This is the basic thing a person knows when he/she is entering the corporate world (or basically any 9-5 job). But what comes after what? Which position is higher, and which is lower? What qualifications can put you into a good job title?
The knowledge of these things comes in handy when you are looking for a job. A common business hierarchy includes three main positions; coordinator, manager, and director. Of course, hierarchy means one position is above the other. It’s like playing a video game, you win and go to the next level. In the same way, one can get to a level and can climb to the top as one progresses in their career. Here, our focus is on the coordinator and director positions. Because most people have asked repeatedly, what is the difference between director and coordinator? Is coordinator higher than director, or vice-versa?
Let’s now discuss the roles of director and coordinator. The difference between the director and coordinator is that they have different skill sets, have different work processes and purposes.
DIRECTOR
The one who directs all. As the name suggests, directors take the burden of directing the business traffic. And make sure the work is done by the employers in time. This position takes a huge responsibility. Because they are answerable to the upper board or chief executive officers. Different directors include roles according to the field they operate in. Like a marketing director takes the responsibility to rebrand or expand when needed. They direct the company to other prospects in the market. Making the company’s presence out there. In a way, directors are the medium of communication, where they serve as both inter-communication and intra-communication agents.
That sounds tough, doesn’t it? Now look into the job responsibilities of a director and try to understand the position precisely.
Director’s responsibilities are:
- To mentor freshers
- Focus on moving forward the employees, and hence the company
- Enforce regulations
- Aiming for sales goals via customer service
- Developing workforce
- To collaborate with other directors and executives
So, it is not an easy job to do all things simultaneously. Surely, the job demands certain skills. And especially experience because directors work with people from all job titles, and are answerable to much higher titles.
Skills of a director:
- Budgeting – The directors supervise the budget of a company, including the figures of salaries, bonuses, and expenditures of the company.
- Insightful – The director works on top of the manager and coordinator. And they create the strategies and objectives the manager establishes for the coordinator to follow. The essential role is to balance the needs and goals of the company and the customers.
- Accountability – The director position holds the leadership level among coordinators and managers. Thus, have the highest pay among the three. The position of director is rather an embodiment of responsibilities than the workload. Their strategy and decisions can make the company rise or fall.
If the director is on the top of coordinator and manager, what is beyond this? Well, directors may get promoted to vice president and executive director.
COORDINATOR
By the name, you can say the one who coordinates others. And the first step to management is to coordinate and step forward together. The coordinators work to regulate and lead programs and events. They work to have coordination among various departments, hence the name. Coordinators follow strict instructions from above to complete a task or project. If simply put, the coordinator assists the manager and helps managers to share the workload.
The coordinator works under the manager and is often advised to get a second opinion on decisions he/she isn’t sure about. The coordinators may work in teams or alone. The work of the coordinator may not directly influence the working of the company but, completing all necessary work to reach the goal for a department is a must.
The coordinator’s responsibilities are:
- Keeping the facility and equipment up-to-date
- Evaluating data and surveys
- Design appropriate goals
- Settings outcomes for local facilities
- In charge of promotional content
- Explaining changes and passing new information to everyone
- Introducing new tools and technologies in the company
In the aspect that as a coordinator you are working under a manager. You should reflect your skills to the manager. Let’s discuss the skills a good coordinator should have.
Skills of a coordinator:
- Creativity – As the role needs promotions, campaigns, and designing things. Creativity should be your best tool. The sky’s the limit, my friend. Creativity also gets reflected in a dynamic portfolio which represents you can work on projects with that imagination.
- Good communication skills – Usually coordinators work in teams so, it is a plus point if you are a team player. In projects, communicating with your fellow mates is crucial to reflect your understanding and engagement. For which the company’s innovative ideas and great verbal & written communication skills are promoted.
- Learning enthusiast – A Day of a coordinator is indeed demanding to ask questions, learning new things. To adapt to new changes and try to encourage others to do the same. When specific projects are given, you should do it with zeal.
- Reliability and management – The coordinator works under a manager which makes the manager depending on it. Thus, represent yourself as reliable. And make them put their trust in you that won’t disappoint them. This skill is essential to be a successful coordinator. Also, the ability to manage time and dividing the workload always comes in handy.
Now, the work of the coordinator includes more engagement in the company and hence, plays one of the crucial parts in a department. When you gain a proper set of skills and are consistent with the workforce. You can get promoted to the manager position.
THE FACE-OFF
Both the directors and coordinators operate the business by getting involved in programs and employees. And can be considered a management job according to the responsibilities held. The main difference is, the Coordinators are focused on projects, campaigns and are in charge of facilities & materials in a department. On the other hand, directors work over a particular facility, field, or office. They direct people to work and directly enhance the overall business of the company.
Numerous questions are raised; what is the baseline of the hierarchy of job titles? The answer is, we got the three baselines including director, manager, and coordinator. When all roles are played well, then the business prospers in the company.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the director is above the coordinator. And hence, takes more responsibility for numerous things. Both positions are valuable at their place yet, on the salary note obviously, directors have more pay. It is interesting how both the positions are widely different and yet make the most of running a business in a company.
On a note, we can say both positions may have a common ground. Where the positions make use of the common skills and thus reflect one emerging from the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What qualifications do you need to be a coordinator?
Coordinators are entry-level jobs who don’t need much experience in comparison to other management or marketing job titles. The basic requirement is to have a bachelor’s degree in management or marketing or any concerned field. Experience will be preferred but freshers are also fine. The salary of coordinators varies from company to company and location. The average salary is $47,538. And can range from $45,000 to $62,000.
- What qualifications do you need to be a director?
The director position is a high-level job that only accepts applicants who have at least an experience of 10 years. And the only requirement is to have a bachelor’s degree in a concerned subject. But the role and the company demand a lot from a director. Thus, people who are in the field for over 10 to 15 years and are experts in the skillset for a director can get a job through an application. The work will be on your shoulders. The salary of directors in the US starts from $60,000 and goes up to $157,926. The average annual income is $97,786.
- What is the difference between coordinator and manager?
Coordinators work under the managers. Though they have different sets of works. Coordinators don’t work for the managers but are advised to be consulted by them. The coordinators are professionals who bring together the projects and programs of a company in deadlines to reach a set goal. Whereas, the managers plan and deploy raw materials, equipment for the programs and projects or other tasks.