Marketing Coordinator Jobs in Chicago, IL
Marketing coordinator jobs in Chicago run well beyond ad agencies. Engineering, architecture and construction firms downtown hire coordinators to build proposals, and trading tech companies hire them to run email and CRM, often at $65,000 to $100,000. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and what it pays.
Current marketing coordinator Openings in Chicago, IL
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Marketing Coordinator Work in Chicago
Chicago's design and building industry is a steady source of coordinator jobs in the city. Firms like Thornton Tomasetti, Clark Construction and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill compete for public and private projects through formal RFQs and RFPs, and their marketing coordinators assemble the proposals: resumes, project sheets, InDesign layouts and presentation decks, often against tight deadlines. Those roles post some of the highest coordinator pay in the metro.
The other big lane is digital. Chicago trading and fintech companies such as Topstep hire coordinators to keep HubSpot clean, build lifecycle email and track campaign results. Most Chicago coordinator postings are hybrid or in-office downtown, which means an L or Metra commute into the Loop from the North Side, the West Side or the suburbs, and Illinois' pay transparency law means nearly every one shows a salary range.
Top Chicago Employers Hiring Marketing Coordinators
These employers have posted marketing coordinator roles in Chicago on their own careers sites:
- Thornton Tomasetti - the engineering firm hires a marketing coordinator for its Midwest offices to run RFQ and RFP responses, posted at $80,000 to $100,000.
- Clark Construction Group - the general contractor posts a Chicago marketing and proposal coordinator role built around InDesign, Illustrator and PowerPoint.
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - the architecture firm founded in Chicago posts senior marketing coordinator roles at its Chicago office.
- Topstep - the futures trading platform hires a CRM and lifecycle marketing coordinator at $33.65 to $40.87 an hour plus bonus.
Marketing Coordinator Salaries in Chicago
- Entry level: about $50,000 to $62,000 a year for coordinators with internship or one to two years of experience.
- Experienced: roughly $62,000 to $85,000, the range most Chicago proposal and CRM coordinator postings fall in.
- Senior: $80,000 to $100,000 for senior and proposal-heavy coordinator roles at engineering and architecture firms.
These are estimates built from federal wage data for Chicago-area marketing specialists (May 2025, metro median about $80,400) and ranges posted by Chicago employers. Pay rises with proposal experience in architecture, engineering and construction, with HubSpot or Salesforce skills, and with a move from a small agency to a large firm's in-house team.
How to Become a Marketing Coordinator in Chicago
There is no Illinois license for marketing coordinators. Most postings ask for a bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, English or business, plus a writing sample and, for proposal roles, two or three years in professional services marketing. DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business in the Loop offers a marketing degree, and City Colleges of Chicago offers a Digital Marketing and Analytics Foundations certificate at Harold Washington College. Free Google Analytics and HubSpot certifications help on CRM and digital roles.
What the Job Involves
Marketing coordinators keep campaigns and pitches moving. Daily work includes drafting and proofreading copy, laying out proposals and sales materials, updating the website and CRM, scheduling email sends and social posts, tracking deadlines across several projects, pulling campaign reports, and coordinating events, award submissions and trade show logistics with designers, vendors and the people who own the client relationship.
Skills Employers Look For
- Clear writing and careful proofreading
- Adobe InDesign and PowerPoint for proposals and decks
- HubSpot, Salesforce or another CRM and email platform
- Project management across competing deadlines
- Basic HTML for email templates
- Campaign reporting and KPI tracking
- Comfort working with engineers, attorneys or executives
Career Path and Advancement
In Chicago the coordinator role usually leads to senior coordinator, then marketing specialist or proposal manager, then marketing manager. At engineering, architecture and construction firms the track often runs to business development manager or regional marketing director, while at tech and fintech companies coordinators move into lifecycle marketing, marketing operations or paid media management.
Related Careers in Chicago
If marketing coordination interests you, these related Chicago roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a marketing coordinator make in Chicago?
Most Chicago coordinator postings fall between about $62,000 and $85,000, with entry-level roles near $50,000 to $62,000 and senior proposal coordinators at engineering firms posted up to $100,000. These are estimates and vary by industry and experience.
Do I need a license or certification to be a marketing coordinator in Illinois?
No. Illinois does not license marketing coordinators. Certifications such as Google Analytics or HubSpot are optional, but they help on digital and CRM roles.
What is a proposal coordinator?
A proposal coordinator is a marketing coordinator who builds responses to requests for qualifications and proposals. In Chicago these jobs are common at engineering, architecture and construction firms, and they reward strong InDesign skills and the ability to hit fixed submission deadlines.
Are marketing coordinator jobs in Chicago remote?
A few are, but most current Chicago postings are hybrid or in-office downtown. Proposal roles in particular tend to be in-office because the team works closely on deadline.
Can I become a marketing coordinator without a marketing degree?
Yes. Employers often accept degrees in communications, English, journalism or business, and they care most about writing samples, organization and software skills. A short certificate such as Digital Marketing and Analytics Foundations at Harold Washington College can fill gaps.
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