Post job

What does an educational administrator do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Dennis Frey Ph.D.

An educational administrator oversees the daily operations of a learning institution, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They have the responsibility to supervise the hiring and training of teaching and non-teaching staff, develop educational programs and projects, conduct research and analysis to enhance existing facilities, set budgets and goals, establish guidelines and timelines, and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Moreover, an educational administrator implements the institution's policies and regulations, maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for the students.

On this page

Educational administrator responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real educational administrator resumes:

  • Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
  • Render correct concepts/meanings between source and target languages conveying clarity, tone, and style from one language into another.
  • Lead and develop the technical strategy for improving architectural and design elements of SharePoint to enhance utilization and drive user functionality.
  • Ensure up-to-date ACLS credentials of all medical group providers to practice under JCAHO guidelines.
  • Lead and develop the technical strategy for improving architectural and design elements of SharePoint to enhance utilization and drive user functionality.

Educational administrator skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of Educational Administrators are proficient in Professional Development, Curriculum Development, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Decision-making skills, Problem-solving skills, and Leadership skills.

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

  • Professional Development, 12%

    Systematized and evaluated professional development, graduate and undergraduate courses to include course content, accreditation, as well as registration.

  • Curriculum Development, 11%

    Supervised teachers and aides in curriculum development.

  • Rehabilitation, 10%

    Directed PK-12 Curriculum and Instruction * Director of all PK-12 Special Education and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

  • K-12, 6%

    Accomplished career demonstrating consistent success as an educator at the public school K-12 levels as well as higher education.

  • Medical Education, 5%

    Enhanced professional growth and development by implementing an education plan devised from the Medical Education Strategic Planning meetings.

  • Syllabus, 5%

    Redesigned the course syllabus and the scope of study for classes taught Managed various sport/activity programs with human resource duties

"professional development," "curriculum development," and "rehabilitation" are among the most common skills that educational administrators use at work. You can find even more educational administrator responsibilities below, including:

Decision-making skills. One of the key soft skills for an educational administrator to have is decision-making skills. You can see how this relates to what educational administrators do because "because principals are responsible for students, staff, and the overall operation of the school, they consider many factors when making decisions." Additionally, an educational administrator resume shows how educational administrators use decision-making skills: "used data to make decisions about professional development for staff members focusing on increasedstudent achievement. "

Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling educational administrator duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "teachers, students, and other staff report problems to the principal." According to an educational administrator resume, here's how educational administrators can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "trained in conflict resolution and developmental mentoring techniques. "

Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of educational administrators is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday educational administrator duties, as "principals set educational goals and establish policies and procedures for the school." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide leadership and coordination of program development, refinement, and implementation to support effectiveness and increase alternative programming options k-12. "

Interpersonal skills. A big part of what educational administrators do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to educational administrator responsibilities because "principals work with teachers, parents, and superintendents and must develop positive working relationships with them." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical educational administrator tasks: "use of interpersonal skills' abilities to support clients/customer service requirements. "

Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in educational administrator job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what educational administrators do. Educational administrator responsibilities rely on this skill because "principals must communicate effectively with students, teachers, and parents." You can also see how educational administrator duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "advocated for and publicized the religious education program through the newsletter, website, and other means of communication. "

Most common educational administrator skills

Choose from 10+ customizable educational administrator resume templates

Build a professional educational administrator resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your educational administrator resume.
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume
Educational Administrator Resume

Compare different educational administrators

Educational administrator vs. School business manager

A school business manager is responsible for providing leadership and management of all teaching and non-teaching staff in a school setting and ensuring they perform their duties accordingly to achieve the required standards of learning. The duties and responsibilities include attending senior managerial meetings and taking the lead of all school responsibilities in the absence of the headteacher.

We looked at the average educational administrator salary and compared it with the wages of a school business manager. Generally speaking, school business managers are paid $5,028 lower than educational administrators per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both educational administrator and school business manager positions are skilled in professional development, k-12, and training programs.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an educational administrator are more likely to require skills like "curriculum development," "rehabilitation," "medical education," and "syllabus." On the other hand, a job as a school business manager requires skills like "payroll," "financial reports," "cash control," and "food service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

School business managers earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $62,552. On the other hand, educational administrators are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $80,904.school business managers tend to reach similar levels of education than educational administrators. In fact, school business managers are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Educational administrator vs. High school principal

A High School Principal oversees and supervises the daily operations of a high school. They are typically in charge of setting goals and objectives, establishing budgets and guidelines, creating schedules, spearheading academic programs, developing strategies to accomplish objectives, and conducting regular workforce assessments, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is also their responsibility to address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Moreover, a High School Principal implements policies and regulations to maintain a healthy and safe learning environment for everyone.

A career as a high school principal brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an educational administrator. In fact, high school principals salary is $29,077 higher than the salary of educational administrators per year.A few skills overlap for educational administrators and high school principals. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "professional development," "curriculum development," and "k-12. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, educational administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "rehabilitation," "medical education," "syllabus," and "training programs." Meanwhile, a high school principal has duties that require skills in areas such as "professional growth," "student learning," "learning environment," and "board policies." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, high school principals earn a higher salary than educational administrators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, high school principals earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $85,046. Whereas educational administrators have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $80,904.Average education levels between the two professions vary. High school principals tend to reach higher levels of education than educational administrators. In fact, they're 14.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for educational administrators in the next 3-5 years?

Dennis Frey Ph.D.Dennis Frey Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean of Curricular Integration, Director of RoseMary B Fuss Teaching and Learning Center, Professor of History, Lasell University

This is a tough question for historians because we spend so much time in the past that looking to the future, even the very near future, feels awkward. In my professional lifetime, the most significant technological change has been the digitalization of archival materials. So, for historians, the most influential technologies in the field have to do with accessing and retrieving those artifacts. Here, then, historians need to know digital database search engines. One of the earliest lessons I learned as a historian was that even the best catalogs of collections have gaps and errors. Sometimes, a researcher needs to go into the physical stacks and groups to find “missing” documents/artifacts. While digital databases are becoming more and more accurate, there will always be the possibility of gaps and mislabeled items.

Educational administrator vs. Elementary school principal

An Elementary School Principal is responsible for managing public and private schools from kindergarten to middle school. They implement elementary curriculums, set performance goals, prepare budget reports, and perform other duties, as necessary.

An average elementary school principal eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of educational administrators. The difference in salaries amounts to elementary school principals earning a $25,120 higher average salary than educational administrators.By looking over several educational administrators and elementary school principals resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "professional development," "curriculum development," and "k-12." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from educational administrator resumes include skills like "rehabilitation," "medical education," "syllabus," and "training programs," whereas an elementary school principal is more likely to list skills in "elementary schools," "professional growth," "student learning," and "continuous improvement. "

Elementary school principals make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $83,424. On the other hand, educational administrators are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $80,904.elementary school principals typically earn higher educational levels compared to educational administrators. Specifically, they're 19.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Educational administrator vs. Principal

A principal is responsible for maintaining the orderliness of the school premises and supervising school operations, enforcing strict safety standards, and reiterating regulatory procedures. Principals' duties also include managing and monitoring school budget and expenses, improving security plans, conducting regular meetings and sharing updates with teachers and other school personnel, creating reports for school funding, and setting academic goals for everyone's compliance. A principal must administer excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to handle major administrative tasks in maintaining the school's growth.

Principals tend to earn a higher pay than educational administrators by an average of $44,467 per year.While their salaries may vary, educational administrators and principals both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "professional development," "curriculum development," and "k-12. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between educational administrators and principals, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an educational administrator might have more use for skills like "rehabilitation," "medical education," "syllabus," and "training programs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of principals require skills like "crm," "project management," "excellent presentation," and "financial services. "

The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for principals, with average annual pay of $130,964. Comparatively, the highest educational administrator annual salary comes from the health care industry.The average resume of principals showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to educational administrators. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.5%.

Types of educational administrator

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.

Browse executive management jobs