Event Coordinator

An event coordinator plans and runs events — conferences, trade shows, awards dinners, product launches, fundraising galas, graduation ceremonies, internal company away-days — handling the logistics that make them happen. The work splits between desk-based organising (booking venues and suppliers, tracking budgets, managing registration lists, chasing speakers) and being on site when the event runs. Employers range from specialist event agencies and venues to in-house teams in charities, universities, professional bodies, hotels and large companies.

Starting salary: £22k–£28k
Live graduate jobs: 13 open now
Main way in: Direct entry into a junior or assistant role (event assistant…
They usually ask for: A degree is commonly asked for but the subject usually does not…

Approximate graduate salary

Roughly around £22,000–28,000 to start as an approximation, with London and large agency or corporate roles at the upper end and charity, higher education and regional roles often lower. This varies widely by sector and employer, and some roles add commission or event-season bonuses.

What you'd actually do

Emailing and calling suppliers — venues, caterers, AV (audio-visual) companies, printers, furniture hire, security — getting quotes, comparing them and chasing confirmations
Maintaining the event budget in a spreadsheet: logging quoted costs, actual invoices and what's still outstanding, and flagging when something is drifting over
Running delegate registration — setting up booking pages, answering attendee queries about dietary requirements, accessibility and travel, and producing name badges and attendee lists
Liaising with speakers, sponsors or exhibitors: collecting their slides, bios, logos and stand requirements by a deadline, then chasing the ones who miss it

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Building and updating the running order or 'event spec' — a minute-by-minute document saying who does what, when, and where everything is placed
Being on site on event days, often early mornings and late finishes, directing set-up crews, briefing volunteers or temporary staff, and solving problems in real time when a speaker's flight is delayed or a screen won't work
Post-event wrap-up: reconciling invoices, sending feedback surveys, writing a short report on what went wrong and what to repeat

How graduates get in

Direct entry into a junior or assistant role (event assistant, events administrator, conference coordinator) and promotion to coordinator — this is the most common route, and many employers recruit on experience rather than degree subject
Internships, summer placements or a sandwich-year placement with an agency, venue or in-house team; these convert to jobs fairly often because employers value someone who has already survived an event week
Volunteering and casual work — festivals, student union societies, university open days, conferences, charity fundraising events, hospitality agency shifts. This is genuinely how a lot of people build the CV that gets them the first paid job, more so than in most graduate careers
Formal graduate schemes exist but are relatively unusual and mostly sit inside large hotel groups, venue operators, membership bodies or big marketing/communications agencies where events is one rotation among several

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Sideways moves from hospitality, hotel front-of-house, catering or box-office/front-of-house arts roles into event coordination — very common and well respected
Related degree or apprenticeship routes: event management degrees exist, as do events assistant apprenticeships, but neither is required and plenty of coordinators come from unrelated subjects

What employers ask for

A degree is commonly asked for but the subject usually does not matter. Event management, hospitality, tourism, marketing and business are common; English, history and languages are equally well represented
Demonstrable hands-on experience of organising something real — a society ball, a charity fundraiser, a conference you volunteered at. This often carries more weight than classification, and a lack of it is the main reason graduate applications fail here
Grade requirements are usually modest or absent; a 2:2 or 2:1 is typical where any bar is set at all. Strict 2:1-plus filtering is rarer than in finance or law
Strong practical spreadsheet skills, plus comfort with event software — registration/ticketing platforms, CRM (customer relationship management) systems and project management tools. You'll usually be trained on specific systems, but being obviously capable with software helps

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A driving licence is useful and sometimes required for roles involving site visits or transporting kit; willingness to travel and work evenings and weekends is near-universal
Some roles ask for or will fund qualifications like a personal licence (alcohol), first aid, IOSH/NEBOSH health and safety awareness, or membership of a professional body — usually picked up on the job rather than needed upfront

Skills that matter

Logistical sequencing — thinking backwards from a fixed date

An event has an immovable deadline, so you have to work out what must be ordered, printed or confirmed by when, and spot the dependency that will bite you three weeks out.

Budget tracking and supplier negotiation

You are constantly comparing quotes, pushing back on costs and keeping a running total, because overspend on an event is visible and immediate.

Chasing people without irritating them

Much of the job is extracting slides, headcounts, logos and approvals from busy senior people and suppliers who have no particular incentive to reply to you.

Composure and improvisation under pressure

On the day something always breaks — a no-show speaker, a catering shortfall, a power cut — and the coordinator is expected to fix it quietly while attendees notice nothing.

Attention to detail on the unglamorous stuff

Allergens, accessibility, fire exits, badge spellings and delegate lists are where events actually go wrong, and most of it is checked by one person reading carefully.

Basic health, safety and risk awareness

You'll be asked to produce or contribute to risk assessments and check supplier insurance and certification, and venues won't let you proceed without them.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Event assistant or administrator first in many cases, then coordinator — often within a year or two, though it depends entirely on team size and turnover
Event manager or senior coordinator: owning events end to end, holding the budget, and briefing or supervising coordinators and freelancers. Typically a few years in, but timelines vary a lot between a small charity and a large agency
From there the paths diverge — head of events or events director in-house; account director or producer in an agency; or specialising in a niche such as exhibitions, conference production, sponsorship sales, venue management or incentive travel
Lateral moves are common and genuinely useful: into marketing, communications, PR, fundraising, membership, partnerships or operations, because event coordinators accumulate budget, supplier and stakeholder experience that transfers well
Freelancing or contracting is a well-established route for experienced coordinators and managers, particularly around exhibitions, festivals and conference seasons, and some set up their own small event businesses

What people get wrong

“It's a glamorous, creative job about picking themes, décor and canapés.”

The creative concept is often decided by someone else or by the client, and the coordinator's work is overwhelmingly spreadsheets, contracts, logistics, chasing emails and compliance paperwork. The visible, fun part is a small slice at the end.

“It's all about being outgoing and sociable — a people person's job.”

Being approachable helps on the day, but the skills that actually determine whether you're good are administrative: accurate budget tracking, methodical checklists and not losing details. Quietly organised people often outperform naturally gregarious ones.

“An event management degree is the standard way in.”

It's one route among many and is not required by most employers. Practical experience from volunteering, student societies or hospitality work frequently beats a relevant degree with no hands-on track record.

“You'll be running big flagship events early on.”

Junior coordinators usually own small internal meetings, webinars and one strand of a larger event, while a manager holds the overall budget and client relationship. Ownership of a major event normally comes after several cycles of supporting one.

Where this varies

The job differs a lot by setting. In an event agency you work to external clients across many simultaneous projects, with tight deadlines, pitching and a fast pace. In-house at a company, charity, university or membership body you serve internal stakeholders, often on a predictable annual calendar of the same recurring events, and the role may blend into marketing, fundraising or communications. At a venue or hotel the role is closer to operations and sales — coordinating other people's events in your building, with more focus on bookings, room layouts and catering. Hours also vary: some roles are broadly office-hours with occasional event weeks, others involve regular evenings, weekends and travel. Charity and public-sector events teams tend to pay less but often offer broader responsibility earlier because teams are small.

See all 13 live Event Coordinator jobsFrom employers' own careers sites, updated daily Tailor your CV for this roleFree with an account, 3 a month

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.