What does a Senior Administrative Assistant do?
A senior administrative assistant's role is to accomplish clerical tasks to support senior managers. Such tasks involve preparing and processing documents, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, arranging travel and appointments, attending meetings, and managing schedules. Furthermore, a senior administrative assistant must maintain a precise record system, serve as the main point of contact for office visitors, and prepare budget reports and other business plans. It is also essential to coordinate with various company personnel, ensuring accuracy in all activities and projects.
Senior administrative assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior administrative assistant resumes:
- Create and manage RFP and proposal processes for various projects.
- Manage branches fiscal transactions including A/P, A/R, payroll, petty cash, safeguard reconciliation, and corporate reporting.
- Coordinate calendars, schedule meetings and manage associated logistics including domestic/international travel.
- Scheduled/Coordinate enterprise-wide WebEx conferences, facilitate team meetings, and manage executive schedules and itineraries.
- Manage and coordinate complex internal and external meetings and/or events via videoconferencing, WebEx and teleconference calls.
- Manage upper level calendar scheduling, arrange domestic and international travel, prepare PowerPoint presentations, correspondence and process expense reports.
- Provide executive administrative support and handle all logistics and travel arrangements.
- Utilize IDX system to schedule appointments.
- Obtain demographic information and input into IDX.
- Review and transmit Hotline referral cases to other DoD components.
- Assist the investigative staff in their liaison with the DoD components.
- Handle monthly account reconciliations and certifications.
- Maintain inter-company advices to other divisions and inter-company reconciliations.
- Create and update department organization chart using Visio and PowerPoint.
- Work closely with SVP to meet organizational requirements which include preparing documents and various reports.
Senior administrative assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Senior Administrative Assistants are proficient in PowerPoint, Customer Service, and Clerical Support. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Administrative Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PowerPoint, 12%
Managed upper level calendar scheduling, arranged domestic and international travel, prepared PowerPoint presentations, correspondence and processed expense reports.
- Customer Service, 6%
Experience in medical terminology/scheduling/admissions/insurance verification and customer service.
- Clerical Support, 5%
Provide secretarial, administrative and/or clerical support to the Groundwater Protection Group staff in either a General or specialized administrative function.
- Patients, 4%
Edited, designed layout and illustrations, and performed the typography of Nutrition Manual for intestinal rehabilitation patients.
- Provides Administrative Support, 4%
Own and operate small consulting company which provides administrative support to several firms simultaneously.
- SVP, 3%
Represented SVP and collaborated with executives, managers and staff at various corporate locations to meet business requirements.
Most senior administrative assistants use their skills in "powerpoint," "customer service," and "clerical support" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior administrative assistant responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior administrative assistant 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, a senior administrative assistant resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "used excellent interpersonal skills, initiative, attention to detail, and follow-through skills. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior administrative assistant duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." According to a senior administrative assistant resume, here's how senior administrative assistants can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "provided cross - functional support for three departments within human resources: diversity, organizational effectiveness, and hr customer team. "
Writing skills. senior administrative assistants are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior administrative assistant responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." A senior administrative assistant resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "received multiple monetary bonus awards for writing and event planning. "
The three companies that hire the most senior administrative assistants are:
- Uline144 senior administrative assistants jobs
- Contra Costa College81 senior administrative assistants jobs
- Yale University30 senior administrative assistants jobs
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Compare different senior administrative assistants
Senior administrative assistant vs. Executive assistant
Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior administrative assistant responsibilities require skills like "clerical support," "patients," "data entry," and "reservations." Meanwhile a typical executive assistant has skills in areas such as "project management," "human resources," "real estate," and "executive support." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Executive assistants earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $64,689. On the other hand, senior administrative assistants are paid more in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $53,064.On average, executive assistants reach similar levels of education than senior administrative assistants. Executive assistants are 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative assistant vs. Administrative support
Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior administrative assistant resumes. While senior administrative assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "svp," "sr," "calendar management," and "reservations," administrative supports use skills like "human resources," "database management," "basic math," and "math."
Administrative supports may earn a lower salary than senior administrative assistants, but administrative supports earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $40,623. On the other hand, senior administrative assistants receive higher pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,064.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Administrative supports tend to reach similar levels of education than senior administrative assistants. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative assistant vs. Administrative assistant to vice president
As the name entails, administrative assistants to the vice president (VP) provide administrative and secretarial support to an organization's vice president. They are responsible for managing the vice president's administrative and operational activities by managing the VP's schedule, arranging meetings and teleconferences, and organizing the incoming workflow. Also, administrative assistants are responsible for reviewing policy compliance, updating the VP's travel and vacation details, and auditing the reports on travel expenses.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior administrative assistant is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "patients," "sr," and "data entry," while a typical administrative assistant to vice president is skilled in "domestic travel arrangements," "hotel reservations," "real estate," and "trade shows."
Administrative assistant to vice presidents make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $53,811. On the other hand, senior administrative assistants are paid the highest salary in the pharmaceutical industry, with average annual pay of $53,064.Most administrative assistant to vice presidents achieve a similar degree level compared to senior administrative assistants. For example, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative assistant vs. Administrative staff
As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll. They plan department weekly meetings, schedule conference calls, and work on solving administrative related concerns and issues. They do a complex task that involves multi-tasking from the preparation of department reports, analyzing data, and finding solutions. It is a requirement to be an experienced, collaborator, and trained cross-functional communicator. Moreover, other duties will include scheduling company-initiated activities, meetings, and events.
Types of senior administrative assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
