diff --git a/gnu/services/guix.scm b/gnu/services/guix.scm
index 81bfe45e4e..8bcce30cde 100644
--- a/gnu/services/guix.scm
+++ b/gnu/services/guix.scm
@@ -365,6 +365,7 @@ (define (guix-build-coordinator-shepherd-services config)
                               #:guile guile))
                      #:user #$user
                      #:group #$group
+                     #:directory "/var/lib/guix-build-coordinator"
                      #:pid-file "/var/run/guix-build-coordinator/pid"
                      ;; Allow time for migrations to run
                      #:pid-file-timeout 60