How to hire a senior administrative specialist

How to hire a senior administrative specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior administrative specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior administrative specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior administrative specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior administrative specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior administrative specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior administrative specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior administrative specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of senior administrative specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Administrative Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Administrative Specialist	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$13-32
   Administrator Secretary	Administrator secretaries are assistants to managers or higher officers in charge of administrative tasks. Their responsibilities include liaising with an organization's internal departments and in communicating with the general public... Show more	$12-22
   Administrative Operations Manager	An administrative operations manager spearheads and oversees a company's administrative operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Among their responsibilities include setting goals and budgets, establishing guidelines and timelines, training staff, and developing strategies to optimize various departments' daily operations... Show more	$18-41

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PowerPoint
   • Logistics
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Office Procedures
   • Data Entry
   • SR
   • Expense Reports
   • Reservations
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Purchase Orders
   • Word Processing
   • SharePoint
   • Payroll
   • Office Equipment

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Oversee the activities of a contract coordinators including managing daily operations and providing additional training and guidance as needed.
   • Perform payroll calculation and administrative tasks to include processing of deductions and additions as required.
   • Maintain knowledge of and assure adherence to HIPAA rules and regulations.
   • Assist in the transition of project data from multiple share drives to the appropriate location within SharePoint.
   • Maintain SharePoint sites, resulting in improve communications with cross-functional teams.
   • Develop PowerPoint educational presentations for national, regional, and local-level direct service providers.

   More senior administrative specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior administrative specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior administrative specialist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior administrative specialists' average salary in maine is 65% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior administrative specialists 59% less than senior-level senior administrative specialists.
   • Certifications. A senior administrative specialist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior administrative specialist's salary.

   Average senior administrative specialist salary

   $43,864yearly

   $21.09 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior administrative specialist salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 11, 2025

   Average senior administrative specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$68,215	$33
   2	Texas	$58,358	$28
   3	District of Columbia	$52,994	$25
   4	Arizona	$48,856	$23
   5	New York	$48,155	$23
   6	Georgia	$46,109	$22
   7	North Carolina	$44,425	$21
   8	Maryland	$41,557	$20
   9	Pennsylvania	$41,498	$20
   10	Colorado	$39,517	$19
   11	Washington	$38,577	$19
   12	Virginia	$38,031	$18
   13	Massachusetts	$36,919	$18
   14	Tennessee	$36,856	$18
   15	Michigan	$35,066	$17
   16	New Jersey	$34,956	$17
   17	Oregon	$34,462	$17
   18	Minnesota	$34,442	$17
   19	Wisconsin	$33,542	$16
   20	North Dakota	$30,646	$15

   Average senior administrative specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	BNY Mellon	$110,369	$53.06	9
   2	The Dow Chemical Company	$106,951	$51.42	4
   3	City National Bank	$105,503	$50.72	6
   4	AT&T	$100,890	$48.50
   5	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$100,442	$48.29	6
   6	Noblis	$93,376	$44.89	4
   7	The PNC Financial Services Group	$91,865	$44.17	17
   8	Halliburton	$88,322	$42.46	2
   9	IBM	$86,602	$41.64	12
   10	Jacobs Engineering Group	$85,505	$41.11
   11	General Electric	$83,670	$40.23	9
   12	Tata Group	$80,499	$38.70	2
   13	Charles Schwab	$77,026	$37.03	1
   14	Quantech Services	$72,935	$35.06	21
   15	SAIC	$70,808	$34.04	11
   16	A. Duie Pyle	$66,248	$31.85
   17	Texas Mutual Insurance	$65,099	$31.30
   18	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$63,866	$30.70	12
   19	Parsons	$63,699	$30.62	12
   20	Northwestern Mutual	$60,777	$29.22

4. Writing a senior administrative specialist job description

   A senior administrative specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a senior administrative specialist job description:

   Senior administrative specialist job description example

   The Sponsored Programs Support Center Specialist - Senior handles post-award duties for the departments in which they serve. This role is responsible for award setup and notification, careful review and monitoring of active awards and monthly ledgers, preparing grant projection forecast reports, coordinating award modifications, initiating and monitoring subcontracts, submitting cost transfers, assisting with effort reporting, position funding, and award close-out. This role will work closely with many internal and external stakeholders including faculty, department administrators and staff, as well as ancillary units involved in sponsored programs administration. Under minimum supervision, this role is responsible for ensuring awards are compliant with laws, regulations, policies, and terms and conditions. This role provides high quality service, attention to detail, and excellent customer service.
   
   Monitors sponsored program award budgets to actual expenditures and ensures research support costs are compliant with sponsor guidelines.
   
   Reviews financial expenditures for accuracy and allowability on sponsored grants and contracts, including a review of revenue, expenditures and available balances.
   
   Develops monthly financial forecast reports for PIs, reviews documentation for cost transfers, and assists with being the main lead liaison with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
   
   Assists faculty with completing and processing documentation of compensation via the institution's effort certification system (ECRT).
   Communicates effort certification policies, and processes funding change requests. Contacts the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) regarding re-budgeting requests, carry-forward requests, work with administrative units regarding late payments and/or late invoicing. Reconciles direct and indirect expenses for projects to ensure all appropriate expenses have been posted to the project, reviews, and reconcile all invoices, ensures all subcontract invoices have been reviewed and approved by the PI. Develops closeout report to ensure all outstanding items are addressed prior to budget/project end date, streamline reconciliation process, and communicate to Principal Investigators. Performs ad-hoc monitoring reviews and communicates review findings to unit. Meets with Principal Investigators on a regular basis to review award status and assist in the resolution of problems as they occur. Supports Principal Investigators (PIs) in understanding sponsored program administration, policies, and compliance on an ongoing basis. Proactively identifies, recommends and implements process improvement opportunities. Keeps current on applicable federal guidance on sponsored projects including OMB Uniform Guidance updates.
   Attends regular meetings, training sessions, and professional development workshops to keep current on policies and procedures relevant to position responsibilities, as requested and approved by the Sponsored Programs Support Center Post-Award Specialist - Supervisor.
   
   Education:
   
   Bachelor's degree is required.
   Master's degree preferred.
   
   Experience:
   
   Four (4) years of sponsored programs administration experience is required (education can substitute up to two years of experience)
   
   Additional Licenses and Certifications:
   
   Certified Research Administrator (CRA)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior administrative specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior administrative specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior administrative specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior administrative specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior administrative specialist

   Once you've selected the best senior administrative specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new senior administrative specialist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a senior administrative specialist?