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What does an administrative officer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does an administrative officer do

An administrative officer is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the company's operations and maintain efficient production. Administrative officers should have excellent office management principles, handling various tasks under minimal supervision and strict deadline. They must be detail-oriented, especially on data processing systems, to encode information and update the company's documents. An administrative officer should be highly-communicative to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns, negotiate with suppliers and third-party vendors, scheduling meetings, and creating business transaction reports.

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Administrative officer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real administrative officer resumes:

  • Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
  • Assist veterans during registration and authentication processes.
  • Develop agendas and PowerPoint presentations for c-level executives.
  • Interview patients before surgery/examinations and inform patients of necessary requirements before procedures.
  • Schedule appointments and meetings and oversee all travel logistics for senior management.
  • Communicate with outside vendors for probationer's drug rehabilitation, domestic violence, and education.
  • Evaluate, identify, and resolve operational, administrative, payroll, disciplinary and performance relate issues.
  • Track military leave to include assigning leave control numbers and forward to appropriate military payroll liaison for liquidation.
  • Research information maintain in internal and external databases to prepare written statistical reports and PowerPoint presentations for management.
  • Provide timely support for volunteer activities including safety and security issues, medical evacuations, travel logistics and allotments.
  • Provide cloud base customer relationship management with Salesforce for optimization in coordination of the workforce development program and other community orient events
  • Review process Medicaid applications and renewals by coordinating the start of service date with the Medicaid eligibility data.

Administrative officer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Administrative Officers are proficient in Veterans, Human Resources, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Administrative Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Veterans, 9%

    Major Accomplishments: Co-Management of five Community Based Outpatient Clinics for the Veterans Hospital.

  • Human Resources, 9%

    Managed, led and evaluated a detailed administrative support program that included financial management, human resources and procurement.

  • Rehabilitation, 5%

    Coordinated drug and alcohol education, rehabilitation, identification and enforcement efforts for a command comprised of 325 personnel.

  • Personnel Actions, 5%

    Managed day-to-day operations and maintain communication with the commander, battalion staff and subordinate companies concerning personnel actions.

  • Financial Management, 5%

    Perform duties within a financial management database system such as financial document approval, managing funding resources or initiate financial documents.

  • Patients, 5%

    Interviewed patients before surgery/examinations and informed patients of necessary requirements before procedures.

"veterans," "human resources," and "rehabilitation" are among the most common skills that administrative officers use at work. You can find even more administrative officer responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for an administrative officer to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, an administrative officer resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "learned general concepts of recruiting, office management, and interpersonal interaction. "

Organizational skills. Many administrative officer duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so an administrative officer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways administrative officer responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "prepare organizational charts and briefing slides using word processing, spreadsheets, or presentation software. "

Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of administrative officers is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday administrative officer duties, as "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepare annual budgets and financial reports; assist with grant renewals, writing, and budgets when requested. "

Most common administrative officer skills

The three companies that hire the most administrative officers are:

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Compare different administrative officers

Administrative officer vs. Operations administrator assistant

An operations administrator assistant is primarily in charge of performing support tasks while overseeing the operations within a company or organization. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around answering inquiries within the workplace, responding to clients' calls and questions, managing schedules, arranging appointments, and maintaining accurate records of all transactions among employees, clients, and vendors. There are also instances where one must assist senior administrators with their travel arrangements and help staff with complex issues. Furthermore, as an assistant, it is essential to implement the policies and regulations of the company.

If we compare the average administrative officer annual salary with that of an operations administrator assistant, we find that operations administrator assistants typically earn a $29,378 lower salary than administrative officers make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between administrative officers and operations administrator assistants are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like human resources, administrative functions, and payroll.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, administrative officer responsibilities require skills like "veterans," "rehabilitation," "personnel actions," and "financial management." Meanwhile a typical operations administrator assistant has skills in areas such as "customer service," "data entry," "purchase orders," and "computer system." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Operations administrator assistants tend to make the most money working in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $38,966. In contrast, administrative officers make the biggest average salary, $64,904, in the finance industry.On average, operations administrator assistants reach lower levels of education than administrative officers. Operations administrator assistants are 10.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Administrative officer vs. Officer

An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.

Officer positions earn lower pay than administrative officer roles. They earn a $11,832 lower salary than administrative officers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Administrative officers and officers both require similar skills like "powerpoint," "logistics," and "dod" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that administrative officer responsibilities requires skills like "veterans," "human resources," "rehabilitation," and "personnel actions." But an officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patrol," "customer service," "public safety," and "emergency situations."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Officers tend to reach similar levels of education than administrative officers. In fact, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Administrative officer vs. Administrative support specialist

An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.

On average, administrative support specialists earn lower salaries than administrative officers, with a $26,094 difference per year.administrative officers and administrative support specialists both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "human resources," "personnel actions," and "patients," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an administrative officer is likely to be skilled in "veterans," "rehabilitation," "financial management," and "eeo," while a typical administrative support specialist is skilled in "customer service," "data entry," "office procedures," and "strong customer service."

Administrative support specialists earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $42,241. Comparatively, administrative officers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $64,904.When it comes to education, administrative support specialists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to administrative officers. In fact, they're 8.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Administrative officer vs. Contract administrative assistant

A contract administrative assistant works on a contractual basis at offices where they are in charge of performing support tasks. Among their responsibilities include answering calls and correspondence, filing and organizing documents, coordinating with different departments, arranging appointments and schedules, preparing and processing files, and running errands as needed. They may also monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, a contract administrative assistant must maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.

Contract administrative assistants typically earn lower pay than administrative officers. On average, contract administrative assistants earn a $25,265 lower salary per year.According to resumes from administrative officers and contract administrative assistants, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "administrative functions," "payroll," and "powerpoint. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between administrative officers and contract administrative assistants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an administrative officer might have more use for skills like "veterans," "human resources," "rehabilitation," and "personnel actions." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of contract administrative assistants require skills like "data entry," "purchase orders," "contract administration," and "front desk. "

In general, contract administrative assistants earn the most working in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $53,341. The highest-paying industry for an administrative officer is the finance industry.In general, contract administrative assistants hold lower degree levels compared to administrative officers. Contract administrative assistants are 10.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of administrative officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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