What does a project administrator do?
A project administrator is an individual who assists the project manager in the preparation, reporting, and analysis of projects. Project administrators are given tasks with administrative responsibilities such as managing the budget for supply orders, coordinating meetings with contractors, and doing site visits. They are involved with hiring staff members for a project and creating employee guidelines based on talents, skills, and abilities. Project administrators are also responsible for providing reports on the project's progress to the top management.
Project administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real project administrator resumes:
- Lead organization in achieving ISO 9000 certification, which lead to future certification under both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
- Manage and execute the SharePoint business integration implementation project and become the corporate governance portal administrator.
- Manage quality assurance checks for FDA and internal audits which result in no documentation/information error and successful completion of the audits.
- Create and execute SQL to query DB2 databases.
- Compose, prepare, proofread, edit and publish department correspondence.
- Coordinate in creation and execution of QA and testing processes, test strategies and plans.
- Create scripts to compile, link, aggregate and process from file server to SQL server.
- Prepare monthly client-requir reports, overtime, payroll, HQMS reports and work order activity reports.
- Prepare, proofread, and edit classified response plans in the absence of the responsible planner.
- Provide full-scale turnkey payroll for 80 employees (salaries, expenses , 401k, and insurance management).
- Maintain project logs to include change orders, requests for information (RFI's), and shop drawings.
- Coordinate, issue and track all RFI's and ASI's, maintain detailed logs and post to drawings.
- Set up WebEx account access for new employees and maintain business unit organization charts and outlook distribution group list.
- Provide project assistance to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) project dealing with the institution's financial software.
- Work intensively in vector and cad programs to create ultra precise step by step project layouts and build instructions.
Project administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Project Administrators are proficient in Project Management, Purchase Orders, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Project Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 12%
Established centralized project management practices, lead project management steering committee sessions, and conducted end-user training and ongoing requirements workshops.
- Purchase Orders, 8%
Created purchase requisition and purchase orders for overhead and contract related purchases according to corporate process.
- Customer Service, 7%
Coordinated projects to foster performance improvement of Procurement functions and balance the cost of inventory with customer service requirements.
- PowerPoint, 6%
Created PowerPoint presentations demonstrating classification procedures.
- Data Entry, 5%
Maintained inventory records by physically counting merchandise, recording information, and performing data entry using VAI.
- Assist Project, 4%
Assist Project Manager with monthly billings with Contractors, including preliminary information, billing statements, conditionals and unconditional waivers.
Common skills that a project administrator uses to do their job include "project management," "purchase orders," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important project administrator responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a project administrator to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what project administrators do because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, a project administrator resume shows how project administrators use interpersonal skills: "project management using interpersonal skills to manage a diverse group of people. "
Organizational skills. Many project administrator duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so a project administrator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways project administrator responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "lead hr program related activities and managed all employee relation matters; including forecasting input and analysis on potential organizational impact. "
Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of project administrators is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday project administrator 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: "project management, report writing, creation of mobile app library. "
The three companies that hire the most project administrators are:
- CenturyLink25 project administrators jobs
- Hargrove Engineers + Constructors16 project administrators jobs
- Gannett Fleming10 project administrators jobs
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Compare different project administrators
Project administrator vs. Assistant project manager
An assistant project manager is an individual who works directly under a project manager to support the planning and execution of projects. Associate project managers keep track of a project's progress and communicate with stakeholders about project needs and goals. They help procure materials and other essential items to meet project goals and avoid delays in completing a project. They are also responsible for resolving complex issues that arise in a project.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a project administrator are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "data entry," "project administration," and "excellent organizational." On the other hand, a job as an assistant project manager requires skills like "construction management," "general contractors," "work ethic," and "sub contractors." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Assistant project managers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $80,365. In contrast, project administrators make the biggest average salary, $66,237, in the construction industry.assistant project managers tend to reach similar levels of education than project administrators. In fact, assistant project managers are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Project administrator vs. Project manager
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that project administrator responsibilities requires skills like "purchase orders," "powerpoint," "data entry," and "assist project." But a project manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project scope," "infrastructure," "risk management," and "construction management."
On average, project managers earn a higher salary than project administrators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, project managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $95,904. Whereas project administrators have higher pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $66,237.In general, project managers achieve similar levels of education than project administrators. They're 4.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for project administrators in the next 3-5 years?
Matthew Gilbert
Lecturer of Marketing, Coastal Carolina University
Project administrator vs. Project officer
A project officer provides vital support to a project by monitoring deadlines for each project task and closely monitors the project schedule. They work with the project manager and other team members to reach the project target. They can work in almost every field of industry, such as construction, communications, education, and even sales. They can also do administrative tasks, including arranging team meetings, file project documents to the database, and technological skills, and they report directly to the Project Manager to assess project progress and to discuss future steps.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from project administrator resumes include skills like "purchase orders," "customer service," "data entry," and "assist project," whereas a project officer is more likely to list skills in "technical assistance," "press releases," "project proposals," and "logistical support. "
Project officers earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $60,687. Project administrators earn the highest pay from the construction industry, with an average salary of $66,237.When it comes to education, project officers tend to earn higher degree levels compared to project administrators. In fact, they're 12.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Project administrator vs. Project specialist
A project specialist's role is to ensure that a project or program's completion is within the allotted time and budget. They are primarily responsible for devising plans and strategies to quicken the pace of production or processes involved, creating a comprehensive schedule, monitoring the progress and producing reports, tracking the budget and expenditures, and coordinating with all department personnel. Moreover, a project specialist may also schedule and attend meetings, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
Types of project administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
