In the age of Internet and electronic documents, hospitals, corporations and government agencies rely on document coordinators to maintain documents in central files for reference and sometimes compliance purposes. Document coordinators also perform many clerical functions such as sorting and distributing mail, scheduling courier pickups and typing. They earned average annual salaries of $42,000 as of 2014, according to the job site Indeed.

Primary Responsibilities

Document coordinators are responsible for labeling, organizing and tracking the flow of documents, including spreadsheets, proposals, marketing and financial reports, and medical records, for their employers. They also train employees on how to properly file documents in folders. For example, they may designate folders for income statements and instruct accountants how to designate these financial documents as pending, in progress or completed. During audits, especially for financial and medical records, document coordinators print and secure documents for viewing and shred them for security purposes. Within corporations or hospitals, they usually serve as gatekeepers, retrieving documents for employees when requested.

Work Environment

A document coordinator usually works in an office during regular business hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Those who work in hospitals or organizations that are open 24 hours per day may work evenings or weekends. Because they also maintain paper files for audits or storage, document coordinators risk musculoskeletal injuries from lifting boxes.

Education and Qualifications

Most document coordinators have at least high school diplomas, although some employers may prefer hiring applications who have some college or an associate degree in business or office management. Some document coordinators are required to have one or more years of experience in an academic, healthcare, legal or industrial administrative office setting. Other important qualifications are attention to detail, integrity and organization, communication, and interpersonal, clerical and computer skills.

Advancement Opportunities

The most direct career path for document coordinators is that of document controllers, who hire coordinators, train them, and oversee the proper maintenance and distribution of all documents. Many document controllers have three or more years of experience as document coordinators before getting promoted. Although salaries vary by experience and geographical location, controllers averaged $67,000 annually in 2014, according to Indeed.

Job Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies document coordinators as information clerks. It estimates a 2 percent increase in employment for information clerks, from 2012 to 2022, which is much slower than the 11 percent national rate for all occupations. Increases in population will generate demand for information clerks in the travel, government services and healthcare industries. On the downside, more companies are automating and consolidating their administrative functions, which will temper job growth for information clerks.