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What does a lead administrator do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
David Groshoff
What does a lead administrator do

Lead administrators are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for managing and troubleshooting departmental computer operations of an organization. These IT professionals must manage and approve access to their online score data as well as create new users directly in the portal to allow access to the score data. They manage the office supplies of the organization while processing salary management and executive payroll every month. Lead administrators must also coordinate with technicians for hardware, printer, and cabling repairs.

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Lead administrator responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead administrator resumes:

  • Manage and coordinate office operations and procedures to include payroll preparation, information management/filing systems, and supply requisitions.
  • Support and troubleshoot all claims questions and provide assistance with more advance issues.
  • Provide initiatives and suggestions for performance tuning of applications, script auto deployment plans, troubleshoot complex production issues.
  • Create and implement migration plans to new SharePoint environments.
  • Provide application training for company's custom provisioning application.
  • Implement SSO configuration and user provisioning on IDM environments.
  • Perform operating system installation and Hadoop version updates using automation tools.
  • Maintain administrative oversight of all service delivery including, quantity and quality of service delivery within all programs in geographical region.
  • Major project includes the implementation of Pardot.
  • Compile the control and audit trail documentation per company and SOX requirements.
  • Perform data extraction and reporting including quarterly Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) pricing controls submit to internal and external auditors.
  • Bill projects utilizing QuickBooks software.
  • Design universes by retrieving data from database, defining the necessary connections and export them to specific universe domains.

Lead administrator skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Lead Administrators are proficient in Payroll, Office Equipment, and Expense Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Multitasking skills, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.

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

  • Payroll, 10%

    Managed and coordinated office operations and procedures to include payroll preparation, information management/filing systems, and supply requisitions.

  • Office Equipment, 8%

    Maintained functionality of office equipment and reported malfunctions to management.

  • Expense Reports, 6%

    Managed all computer/phone/gas card/expense reports/supplies for staff and processed all office accounts payable.

  • Windows, 6%

    Project scope included the migration and conversion of enterprise system applications from the legacy System36 hardware platforms to Windows 2000 servers.

  • Data Entry, 5%

    Processed insurance payments and conducted data entry of accounting records and patient accounts receivables.

  • PowerPoint, 5%

    Assisted development of innovative PowerPoint presentations used by Clinical Group.

Common skills that a lead administrator uses to do their job include "payroll," "office equipment," and "expense reports." You can find details on the most important lead administrator responsibilities below.

Multitasking skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a lead administrator to have is multitasking skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "administrators may have to work on many problems and tasks at the same time." Lead administrators often use multitasking skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "leverage strong multitasking skills to manage customer service, data entry, invoicing, inventory control, and purchasing. "

Analytical skills. Another essential skill to perform lead administrator duties is analytical skills. Lead administrators responsibilities require that "administrators need to evaluate networks and systems to make sure that they perform reliably and to anticipate new requirements as customers’ needs change." Lead administrators also use analytical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "worked with application developers to configure and utilize sharepoint business data connectivity services. "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for lead administrators to perform their duties. For an example of how lead administrator responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "administrators must describe problems and their solutions to non-it workers." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a lead administrator: "completed phone communications with customers, along with data entry of orders where timeliness and accuracy were key. ".

Problem-solving skills. For certain lead administrator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a lead administrator rely on this skill, as "administrators must quickly resolve problems that arise with computer networks." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what lead administrators do: "served as administrator for large farm of linux servers, running red hat and virtual hosts' solutions, using vmware. "

Most common lead administrator skills

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Compare different lead administrators

Lead administrator vs. Senior network administrator

Senior Network Administrators provide system and network solutions for their organizations. They supervise the functioning of networking equipment and follow strict maintenance standards.

If we compare the average lead administrator annual salary with that of a senior network administrator, we find that senior network administrators typically earn a $5,275 lower salary than lead administrators make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both lead administrator and senior network administrator positions are skilled in troubleshoot, linux, and sharepoint.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a lead administrator are more likely to require skills like "payroll," "office equipment," "branch management," and "expense reports." On the other hand, a job as a senior network administrator requires skills like "switches," "routers," "windows server," and "network infrastructure." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Senior network administrators tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $93,129. In contrast, lead administrators make the biggest average salary, $90,650, in the finance industry.senior network administrators tend to reach similar levels of education than lead administrators. In fact, senior network administrators are 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Lead administrator vs. Network/server administrator

A Network Administrator ensures an organizations' network is operational and up to date. They solve problems that arise within computer networks, maintaining computer networks, interacting with clients, and consulting with them to determine their system requirements.

On average, network/server administrators earn a $15,525 lower salary than lead administrators a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both lead administrators and network/server administrators have skills such as "troubleshoot," "linux," and "sharepoint. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that lead administrator responsibilities requires skills like "payroll," "office equipment," "branch management," and "expense reports." But a network/server administrator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "windows server," "powershell," and "server administration."

Network/server administrators may earn a lower salary than lead administrators, but network/server administrators earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $84,609. On the other hand, lead administrators receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $90,650.In general, network/server administrators achieve lower levels of education than lead administrators. They're 6.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

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

David GroshoffDavid Groshoff LinkedIn profile

Dean, American Jewish University

Robust virtual meeting technology, such as Zoom, will become increasingly crucial for workforce productivity. While Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms have provided much-needed capabilities during this time, they-and WiFi providers-could not fully keep up with the demands. Over the coming years, the technology will likely develop to engage in virtual meetings just as fully via mobile technology via desktop, including screen share functionality.

Lead administrator vs. Senior system administrator

A senior system administrator specializes in overseeing the computer system operations in an organization. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around monitoring the performance of all software and hardware, installing servers, configuring systems, and making sure every technical aspect is running smoothly. Should there be any issues, they must take charge of troubleshooting and providing solutions. As someone with more experience, a senior system administrator leads and evaluates the performances of fellow skilled professionals in the department, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

An average senior system administrator eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of lead administrators. The difference in salaries amounts to senior system administrators earning a $3,702 higher average salary than lead administrators.By looking over several lead administrators and senior system administrators resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "troubleshoot," "linux," and "sharepoint." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a lead administrator is likely to be skilled in "payroll," "office equipment," "branch management," and "expense reports," while a typical senior system administrator is skilled in "windows server," "system administration," "powershell," and "azure."

Senior system administrators make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $104,418. On the other hand, lead administrators are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $90,650.Most senior system administrators achieve a similar degree level compared to lead administrators. For example, they're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lead administrator vs. Systems administrator lead

A systems administrator lead is responsible for planning, designing, and implementing procedures for critical enterprise systems. Typical duties of systems administrators include managing the day-to-day operations of a company's computer and network systems, developing new application and system implementation plans, and establishing guidelines for installing and managing the organization's computer operating systems. In addition, you are expected to ensure the security of computer systems by preventing unauthorized use, user abuse, and acts of nature.

Systems administrator leads average a higher salary than the annual salary of lead administrators. The difference is about $5,512 per year.While their salaries may vary, lead administrators and systems administrator leads both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "linux," "sharepoint," and "sql server. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between lead administrators and systems administrator leads, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a lead administrator might have more use for skills like "payroll," "office equipment," "branch management," and "expense reports." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of systems administrator leads require skills like "project management," "windows server," "system performance," and "technical support. "

Systems administrator leads enjoy the best pay in the telecommunication industry, with an average salary of $103,205. For comparison, lead administrators earn the highest salary in the finance industry.In general, systems administrator leads hold similar degree levels compared to lead administrators. Systems administrator leads are 1.8% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of lead 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.

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