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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Document Coordinator

💰 $40,000 - $65,000

AdministrationRecords ManagementDocument Control

🎯 Role Definition

The Document Coordinator is responsible for the centralized management, control, and distribution of project and operational documentation across the organization. This role establishes and enforces document control procedures, maintains the document management system (DMS), ensures version control and auditability, supports regulatory and quality audits, and partners with project teams to enable timely access to accurate documents. The Document Coordinator plays a critical role in compliance, records retention, and knowledge management to reduce risk and improve operational efficiency.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant with document management duties
  • Document Control Clerk or Records Clerk
  • Project Administrator or Office Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Document Control Manager / Lead
  • Records Manager or Information Governance Manager
  • Quality Assurance Manager or Compliance Manager
  • Project Controls Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Coordinator
  • Records Analyst / Archivist
  • Compliance Specialist
  • Office Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Administer and maintain the organization’s Document Management System (DMS), including user accounts, folder structures, metadata schemas, permissions, and audit trails to ensure secure, searchable, and compliant document storage.
  • Implement and enforce document control procedures and workflows (creation, review, approval, revision, distribution, and obsolescence) in accordance with company policy and applicable standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 13485, FDA guidance).
  • Perform version control and change history tracking for engineering, project, legal, and quality documents to ensure the latest authorized versions are published and previous versions are archived with traceability.
  • Receive, classify, index, and tag incoming documents (electronic and physical) using standardized metadata to enable rapid retrieval and consistent recordkeeping across projects and departments.
  • Coordinate document transmittals, submittals and distribution lists for project stakeholders, contractors, and clients, ensuring delivery deadlines and regulatory submission requirements are met.
  • Prepare, manage and maintain controlled document registers, logs, and retention schedules; schedule and execute regular purge and archival activities in compliance with the records retention policy.
  • Support internal and external audits by preparing documentary evidence, generating reports from the DMS, answering auditor queries, and remediating non-conformances related to documentation.
  • Process and control engineering drawings, specifications, manuals, and technical data by converting formats, applying markups, merging revisions, and ensuring conformance to drawing control standards.
  • Coordinate cross-functional document reviews and approvals, establishing reviewer timelines, sending reminders, tracking responses and escalating overdue approvals to meet project milestones.
  • Scan, index, and OCR paper records into the DMS, ensuring high-quality imaging, correct metadata assignment, and secure disposition of original documents when required.
  • Create and maintain standardized templates, naming conventions, and document control checklists to improve consistency and reduce processing errors across the organization.
  • Configure and run periodic reports and dashboards (document status, overdue reviews, pending approvals, retention milestones) to inform management and project teams of documentation health and risks.
  • Manage access control and confidentiality of sensitive records (HR, legal, contracts) by applying appropriate security settings, encryption and user-role permissions in collaboration with IT and legal.
  • Provide DMS user support and training for new hires and existing staff, develop quick-reference guides, and conduct refresher sessions to improve self-service adoption and reduce support tickets.
  • Coordinate the electronic transmittal of documents to clients, regulatory bodies and partners, maintaining evidence of delivery and receipt confirmations for contractual and compliance purposes.
  • Validate metadata accuracy and perform routine quality checks on document uploads to prevent duplicate records, incorrect classifications and broken links.
  • Support contract and legal teams by retrieving historical records, compiling document packages for discovery, and preparing certified copies and logs as requested.
  • Assist project controls and project managers with document baselines for scope changes, ensuring that revisions are reflected in project schedules and cost control documentation.
  • Manage physical records storage when required — arranging transfers to offsite archives, tracking box inventories, and coordinating retrievals and returns in accordance with retention schedules.
  • Maintain and continuously improve the document control SOPs and guidelines, capture process improvement opportunities, and participate in Kaizen or process-improvement initiatives.
  • Liaise with IT for system upgrades, integrations (e.g., SharePoint, ERP, PLM systems), backups, and disaster recovery planning to ensure document availability and resiliency.
  • Monitor and enforce regulatory and contractual documentation requirements (e.g., audit trails, signatures, sealed documents) to minimize compliance risk and support certification efforts.
  • Facilitate cross-functional communication between engineering, quality, legal and operations to resolve discrepancies, reconcile divergent document versions and ensure single-source-of-truth.
  • Manage urgent document requests and expedited transmittals during project-critical periods, coordinating resources to meet aggressive deadlines while maintaining accuracy.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests and compile customized document packages for senior leadership, clients, or regulatory submissions.
  • Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for questions about document status, where to find controlled documents, and how to follow document control procedures.
  • Contribute to user acceptance testing (UAT) for new DMS features and integrations and document test results and feedback for IT and vendors.
  • Provide input to the organization’s records retention policy and participate in periodic reviews to reflect business and regulatory changes.
  • Assist in onboarding vendors and contractors with document submission requirements and DMS access procedures.
  • Support business continuity planning by ensuring critical documents are included in recovery plans and that backups are validated on schedule.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects to implement document-related improvements (naming conventions, taxonomy updates, automated workflows).
  • Maintain a training log for document control processes and help track staff competency in records management practices.
  • Coordinate periodic cleanup activities to remove obsolete files, fix metadata, and consolidate duplicate records.
  • Escalate recurring document control issues and propose corrective actions to management to reduce process bottlenecks.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Expertise with Document Management Systems (DMS) such as SharePoint, Documentum, M-Files, Aconex, OpenText or similar enterprise solutions.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and advanced use of Excel for reporting and reconciliation.
  • Experience with scanning, indexing, OCR technologies and high-volume digitization workflows.
  • Strong understanding of version control, change management, and revision tracking for technical and contractual documents.
  • Familiarity with records retention policies, archival procedures and legal hold processes.
  • Knowledge of document control standards and quality frameworks (ISO 9001, ISO 13485, Good Documentation Practices).
  • Experience producing and analyzing document control reports and dashboards; familiarity with basic reporting tools or Power BI is a plus.
  • Competence in configuring user permissions, security settings and role-based access in DMS platforms.
  • Basic understanding of metadata schemas, taxonomy design and information architecture to support document discoverability.
  • Ability to prepare and maintain transmittal logs, register tables, drawing status and certificate repositories.
  • Experience integrating DMS with other enterprise systems (ERP, PLM, CRM) and supporting UAT for integrations.
  • Familiarity with regulatory and contractual compliance requirements for document retention and submission (industry-specific).

Soft Skills

  • Meticulous attention to detail and strong focus on data accuracy and completeness.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills for coordinating reviews, approvals and clarifying requirements.
  • Strong time management and prioritization skills to handle competing deadlines and high-volume document flows.
  • Customer-service mindset with the ability to support internal stakeholders and external partners professionally.
  • Problem-solving orientation with the ability to identify root causes and propose process improvements.
  • High level of discretion and commitment to confidentiality when handling sensitive records.
  • Collaborative team player who can work cross-functionally with engineering, quality, legal and IT teams.
  • Adaptability and willingness to learn new systems, processes and regulatory requirements quickly.
  • Initiative to drive continuous improvement and contribute to SOP and process updates.
  • Effective training and user-support skills to onboard and assist colleagues in correct document practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; relevant certifications in records management or document control preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Management, Library Science, Records Management, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Information Management / Records Management
  • Business Administration
  • Library and Information Science
  • Office Management
  • Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1 to 5 years in document control, records management, administrative support or a related role; experience may vary by industry and project complexity.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of direct document control or records management experience supporting engineering, construction, manufacturing, or regulated industries with demonstrated DMS administration experience and familiarity with compliance frameworks.
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