skip to Main Content

Office Administration Job Descriptions

Recruiting candidates to fill your administration job vacancies is an essential and high-priority task if you are to maintain the smooth running of a busy and dynamic office. Your administration job descriptions will directly affect the calibre and compatibility of candidates, so it pays to get this part of the recruitment strategy right.

To attract the ideal candidates, an effective approach is to begin with a job description template, which will ensure you hit the core responsibilities, skills, and experience for the role. You can then adapt and refine this primary outlay to relay the unique intricacies of your job vacancy, your company culture, and industry proficiencies.

Quick Links

What Do Office Administration Professionals Do?

Your office administrator job description should detail the admin functions and how they fit in your company culture. The administrator job description should detail the business administration duties you need to keep your office running smoothly.

Depending on the company type and size, administration professionals oversee:

  • Ordering office supplies and office equipment
  • Answering incoming phone calls
  • Maintaining databases and office operations
  • Creating financial reports
  • Recording office expenses
  • Common scheduling tasks
  • Bookkeeping tasks
  • Greeting office visitors
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Word processing and data entry
  • Drafting various documents
  • Delivering mail
  • Reporting to upper management
  • Distributing employee handbooks and updating job files

Office Administration Role

A few of the different office administration roles include:

  • Office Administrator
  • Administrative Professional
  • Office Managers
  • Executive Assistants
  • Office Staff

Office Administration Responsibilities And Duties

Administration duties are the must-do and high-priority responsibilities of the role. Office administrator duties and responsibilities are the job aspects that you will likely govern the individual’s performance on, and as you can imagine, supporting the leadership team, answering incoming calls, and maintaining databases are high on the list.

Office Administrator responsibilities and duties include:

  • Ordering office equipment and business supplies
  • General bookkeeping, following basic accounting principles
  • Organising general office files
  • Maintaining presentable office facilities
  • Delivering mail
  • Recording office expenses/budget tracking
  • Creating financial reports
  • Handling clerical duties and providing clerical and administrative support for upper management
  • Answering phones and responding to email enquiries
  • Data entry and word processing
  • Drafting office correspondence
  • Welcoming visitors
  • Scheduling appointments/managing appointments
  • Coordinating meetings
  • Office management
  • Updating office procedures
  • Monitoring accounts receivable
  • Handling multiple tasks
  • Maintaining confidential information
  • Other relevant duties related to the company’s operations

These duties are pretty generic, but you can make the job’s duties more engaging and meaningful by saying how the responsibility should be accomplished. For example, ‘Providing clerical support for the Chief Executive by drafting various documents and making travel arrangements.

Office Administration Skills

To ensure your company meets it objectives, complies with regulations, and supports other departments effectively, you need individuals with good office administrator skills.

The necessary skills or personal traits an office administrator should demonstrate include:

  • Excellent customer service skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Time management skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Polite manner
  • Typing skills
  • Numeracy skills
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Active listening
  • Multitasking
  • Trustworthiness
  • Organisational skills
  • Adaptable
  • Openness
  • Leadership and motivational (office manager)
  • Data entry and typing skills
  • The ability to work in a team
  • Flexibility and openness to change
  • Sensitivity and understanding
  • Good interpersonal skills
  • Knowledge of office functions

Office Administration Qualifications And Education

Your office administrator job description should include technical skills and qualifications, such as:

  • A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (office manager)
  • High School Diploma such as Level 2 or 3 Business Administration
  • Additional qualifications such as completing secretarial courses
  • Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite (MS Office) and computer software applications such as content management systems

Required Office Administration Experience And Office Administration Training

The administrative experience required for administrative roles depends on the office activities. Senior administrative roles might require many years office administration experience. Written communication skills, word processing, and bookkeeping skills are beneficial for most roles. Employers should look for individuals with qualifications such as T Level in Management and Administration, Level 2 or 3 Business and Administration, and Level 2 International Computer Driving Licence Certificate in IT User Skills (ICDL or ECDL).

Office Administration Job Description FAQs

Here we answer your questions on hiring office administrators.

WHAT IS AN OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR JOB DESCRIPTION?

An administration job description is a document that sets out the role’s duties, tasks, and skills. Putting these in black and white is crucial and will help you find the right match for a position that directly affects office operations and the smooth running of your business.

The job description should be transparent and clearly set out who you are, who you want, what they will do, and why a potential candidate might want to work for you. It helps tremendously to use language and jargon that engages your audience.

When you get all of this right and include the best words to use when writing administration job descriptions, you will get job applications from qualified candidates that closely match your ideal person profile.

WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN AN ADMINISTRATOR JOB DESCRIPTION?

An administration job profile and job ads might include the following duties; ordering office supplies, answering phone calls, maintaining an organised office environment, booking office facilities, word processing, preparing documents, making travel arrangements, and welcoming visitors.

WHAT SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS SHOULD AN ADMINISTRATOR HAVE?

An office administrator should have proven skills or GCSEs in English and maths. Many further qualifications exist from secretarial to business administration diplomas and degrees.

HOW DO I WRITE AN OFFICE ADMINISTRATION JOB DESCRIPTION?

When writing a job description either for an administration job advert or an internal job specification you need to focus on 5 main criteria.

1. What are the key jobs, tasks, and duties required for administration positions

2. Consider all the job responsibilities required for an administration role

3. What skills the person must have for the job

4. What personality traits the person must have to work in the office environment

5. Appropriate and relevant education and qualifications

These five criteria should help you build a picture of your ideal candidate. Excellent questions to consider that will help you write a concise administration job description that stands apart from others (essential in the current competitive job market), and attract the best administrative professionals, include:

1. What value does this role bring to your company?

2. How does the role align with your company culture, values, and mission?

3. How does this role differ from other company positions?

4. How is this role similar to other company positions?

5. What are the minimum administration skills or transferable skills?

6. What are examples of your business and administration targets?

Suppose you are not hands-on in your administration department or highly familiar with the office administrator responsibilities. In that case, it can help to interview one of your office managers or experienced office assistants to gain a greater understanding.

A word about jargon: The phrase ‘jargon’ has good and bad connotations, and if it isn’t carefully considered, it may deter administrative candidates from applying. Ask yourself if words and phrases are company exclusive or industry recognised.

Furthermore, if you are hiring for senior-level administration positions, you might expect candidates to have a greater vocabulary and understanding of office and business jargon. However, if you are hiring junior-level office administrators or for part-time administrator jobs, consider being as straightforward and transparent as possible.

HOW DO I ENGAGE OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR CANDIDATES?

As a final note for employers and recruiters, it is crucial to remember that while a job description is about what and who you want, describing this alone will not create an inbox full of eager candidates willing to comply. A job advert must go beyond the clerical duties, skills, education, qualifications, traits, and clerical tasks that you want and communicate the position’s value to job seekers.

Your organisation should convey its employee value propositions to engage candidates, highlighting both monetary and other benefits. Benefits that will entice qualified job seekers to apply might include:

1. Stating the administrative positions average salary range

2. Focusing on work-life balance

3. Training opportunities

4. Career path and career progression opportunities

5. The quality of products, services, or your brand

6. Flexible working hours or remote working opportunities

7. How company values align with those of customers and employees

HOW DO I HIRE OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS?

Job advertising for administration will vary depending on the position and administrative tasks you need completing. You will need to implement a recruitment strategy that leverages advertising on general and specialist admin job boards, social media, and word of mouth referrals. Your office administrator hiring strategy might also include having a presence at conferences and online with professional bodies and organisations.

Writing an effective administrator job description and selecting the proper job title is crucial to your hiring success. To create an administrator job advert, your administrator job description should be accompanied by crucial information that attracts candidates, such as the average salary, company culture, benefits, common duties, location, and hours.

Flat fee recruitment solutions continue to deliver the best results when hiring office assistants and office managers.

Office Administration Job Description Examples And Samples

We recommend creating your office administration job description using one of the samples and examples below.

Back To Top