Most people associate the term “office administration” with office support positions. There are a variety of positions with varying levels of responsibility within this area. While some office administration jobs focus on providing administrative support to specific executives, managers, or departments, others help the entire office. Many job titles are interchangeable and vary from workplace to workplace as the definition of administration and the need for administrative assistance grows.
At the entry level, office administration jobs typically entail opening, sorting, and distributing mail, as well as filing, typing, collating, and printing documents. An entry-level job description may also include answering phones, greeting incoming visitors, and obtaining refreshments for meetings and lunches. Data entry and customer service call center jobs are also included in this category on occasion. Front desk clerk, receptionist, junior administrative assistant, or file clerk are examples of job titles.
Answering email and phone inquiries on behalf of the organization, scheduling meetings and travel for staff, taking minutes during meetings, and ordering office supplies are all common responsibilities for mid-level admins. Depending on the size of the company, some offices may assign a mid-level administrative professional to each department, who then serves as the coordinator for that department. Administrative assistant, administrative coordinator, or office manager are examples of job titles.
Senior office administration jobs involve working closely with executives or other members of senior management and carry the highest level of responsibility in office administration. In small businesses, a senior office administrator may even take on tasks that would normally require an entire department, such as marketing, HR, or accounting. Management of executive itineraries, creation of meeting manuals and documents, approval of office supply orders, attending meetings in place of executives when necessary, creation of executive expense reports, and acting as “gatekeeper” and sometimes spokesperson for one or more executives are all common responsibilities. Senior professionals may supervise and delegate tasks to entry-level administrative staff in addition to working closely with management. Executive assistant, executive coordinator, or senior administrative assistant are examples of job titles.