Yard Coordinator Job Description (Warehouse / DC Yard)
A yard coordinator job description for a warehouse or distribution center, five interview questions, and a first-week training checklist. Free, no email.
The yard coordinator decides what moves next: which trailer goes to which door, which empty gets pulled, which load is staged for pickup. They sit between the gate, the dock and the yard driver, and they own the yard list. At a smaller site the role is often part of a shipping supervisor's job. Edit the parts in [brackets].
01Job description (copy and paste)
Yard Coordinator
About the role
The Yard Coordinator plans and directs trailer activity in our [site name] yard. You keep the yard list accurate, assign doors and parking spots, send moves to the yard driver in the right order, and work with the gate, the dock and carriers so trailers arrive at the door when the dock is ready and leave on time.
What you will do
- Keep the yard list accurate: every trailer on site, its spot or door, loaded or empty, and how long it has been there.
- Assign dock doors and parking spots to arriving trailers with the gate and the dock leads, based on the appointment schedule and door availability.
- Plan and send trailer moves to the yard driver in priority order, and follow up on moves that are not done.
- Run or check the yard check each shift and fix any trailer that is not where the list says.
- Watch dwell time: flag trailers that have been on site too long, and loads at risk of missing their pickup.
- Talk with carriers and dispatchers about pickups, drop trailers and empties, and keep a record of what was agreed.
- Hand over the yard at shift change: open moves, trailers waiting for a door, problems.
- Prepare daily and weekly yard reports for the supervisor: trailers on site, dwell, moves, late pickups.
What we are looking for
- [1 to 2 years] in shipping, receiving, gate or yard work at a warehouse, DC or terminal.
- Organized under pressure: several requests at once, all of them urgent.
- Accurate with trailer numbers, appointments and times.
- Comfortable with spreadsheets, a yard or warehouse app and a two-way radio.
- Clear communication with drivers, dock leads, carriers and supervisors.
- [Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.]
Schedule and pay
[Full time]. [Shift: days, nights, weekends]. [Pay: $XX to $XX per hour]. Reports to the [Transportation Manager / Shipping Supervisor].
02Five interview questions
- The dock has three doors free and five trailers waiting. How do you choose the order?
- A carrier calls asking where their trailer is and the yard list says it left yesterday. What do you do?
- How would you find out how long trailers are sitting in our yard?
- The yard driver is behind and two dock leads are asking for moves. What do you say to each?
- Tell me about a time you fixed a recurring problem in a process, not just the single case.
03First-week training checklist
Tick each line when the new hire has done it with the trainer watching, not just heard about it. It prints with the posting above.
| Done | Day | What | Trainer initials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Site walk with the supervisor: gate, doors, parking rows, staging, yard rules. Meet the gate clerks, dock leads and yard drivers. | ||
| Day 1 | Learn the yard list: where it lives, who updates it, how often. Read the last week of gate and move records. | ||
| Day 2 | Shadow the current coordinator for a full shift. Watch how doors are assigned and moves are sent. | ||
| Day 2 | Ride along with the yard driver for two hours. Learn how long typical moves take. | ||
| Day 3 | Do the yard check with the yard list. Fix every trailer that is not where the list says, and note why. | ||
| Day 3 | Appointments and carriers: how the schedule is built, who to call for pickups and empties. | ||
| Day 4 | Run door assignment and moves for part of the shift with the trainer nearby. | ||
| Day 5 | Run the shift handover. Prepare the daily yard report: trailers on site, oldest trailers, open moves. | ||
| Day 5 | Sign off: review the week with the supervisor and list the three yard problems to fix first. |
04Where the duties and pay figure come from
O*NET, the US Labor Department's occupation database, describes the closest occupation group, Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance (43-5032.00), like this:
Schedule and dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles for conveyance of materials, freight, or passengers, or for normal installation, service, or emergency repairs rendered outside the place of business.O*NET OnLine, 43-5032.00 Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance (onetonline.org, opened October 10, 2026)
The same page gives a median wage of $24.20 an hour for 2025. O*NET has no separate yard coordinator occupation; dispatchers are the closest group, so treat the wage as a rough guide. The duties above are written for a warehouse or DC yard and are ours, not O*NET's.
Day one for the new hire
Training goes faster when the record the new hire writes is the same one the dock and the office read. Vantage keeps the gate log and the yard list on one phone: each trailer is logged in and out at the gate with a timestamp, and the live yard map and door board show which trailer is at which door.
Give your coordinator one live yard list.
Vantage is a yard management app that runs on a phone. The trailer number is read from a photo on the device in the iPhone app (typed in a browser), and every record gets a timestamp, plus a photo whenever the camera is used. No hardware, no installer.
Start on the Free plan: $0 for up to 3 users, 1 yard and 100 gate transactions a month, with 30 days of history. No card, and it never expires.
Start free in your browser → Get Vantage on the App Store → Free plan: up to 3 users, 1 yard, 100 gate transactions a month, no card.FAQ
What does a yard coordinator do?
A yard coordinator plans trailer activity in a warehouse or distribution center yard: keeps the yard list accurate, assigns doors and parking spots, sends moves to the yard driver in priority order, watches how long trailers sit, and works with carriers on pickups and empties.
What is the difference between a yard coordinator and a yard jockey?
The yard coordinator decides which trailer moves where and when. The yard jockey (yard driver) makes the move with the yard truck. At small sites one person may do both, or the coordinator role is part of a shipping supervisor's job.
How much does a yard coordinator make?
O*NET has no separate yard coordinator occupation. The closest group, Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance (43-5032.00), had a median wage of $24.20 an hour in 2025. Local pay varies; check postings in your area.
Is this template free?
Yes. No email or signup. Copy the text, edit the parts in brackets, and post it.