What does a senior administrative specialist do?
A senior administrative specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support business operations and ensuring the efficient and timely submission of outputs and business reports. Senior administrative specialists assist the executive management in tracking appointments and travels, coordinating with the client for scheduled meetings, negotiating contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors, and responding to clients' inquiries and concerns or leading them to the correct personnel for their business needs. A senior administrative specialist must be highly communicative and organizational to do tasks within deadlines and under minimal supervision.
Senior administrative specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior administrative specialist resumes:
- 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.
- Supply administrative support to senior-level management in finance and accounting department on payroll processing and accounts payable/receivable.
- Design and create graphical representations of data for use in PowerPoint presentations, websites, and communication materials.
- Coordinate travel arrangements in DTS; schedule mode of transportation, prepare trip folders, arrange lodging reservations and develop itineraries.
- Screen all Sr. Director's emails and disseminate all important communications throughout the day and while traveling.
- Schedule meetings and maintain calendars ensuring optimal time utilization for Sr. level management.
- Demonstrate courtesy and patience pertaining to WIC client services, while remaining knowledgeable of services/guidelines.
- Monitor updates from Medicare and Medicaid regarding changes to billing processes and informing necessary departments of process changes and issues.
- Contact all commercial and Medicaid insurances to acquire the necessary prior authorizations for medications as needed.
- Assist with outreach duties by making donations to other non-profit organizations while providing brochures/pamphlets containing information about the WIC program.
Senior administrative specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Senior Administrative Specialists are proficient in PowerPoint, Logistics, and Travel Arrangements. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Administrative Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PowerPoint, 13%
Developed PowerPoint educational presentations for national, regional, and local-level direct service providers.
- Logistics, 7%
Provided assistance Engineering, Foreign Military Sales, Data Management and Integrate Logistics Support Division.
- Travel Arrangements, 5%
Coordinate answers/information as requested Travel Arrangements
- Office Procedures, 5%
Maintained confidentiality, office procedures and records management controls in order to meet the needs and objectives of the Department.
- Data Entry, 5%
Utilize electronic mail, key operator for fax and copy machines, and have previously performed data entry for material issue.
- SR, 5%
Scheduled meetings and maintained calendars ensuring optimal time utilization for Sr. level management.
Most senior administrative specialists use their skills in "powerpoint," "logistics," and "travel arrangements" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior administrative specialist responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior administrative specialist to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what senior administrative specialists do because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, a senior administrative specialist resume shows how senior administrative specialists use interpersonal skills: "develop and enhanced skills in areas such as quality improvement, customer service and interpersonal skills. "
Organizational skills. Many senior administrative specialist duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so a senior administrative specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior administrative specialist responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "improved office organization by compiling financial spreadsheets, organizational charts and company data reports using advanced microsoft excel functions. "
Writing skills. senior administrative specialists are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior administrative specialist responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." A senior administrative specialist resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "received certification in business writing, e-business, microsoft project and advanced powerpoint. "
See the full list of senior administrative specialist skills
The three companies that hire the most senior administrative specialists are:
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Compare different senior administrative specialists
Senior administrative specialist vs. Executive administrator
An executive administrator is responsible for assisting the senior management staff in planning strategies and analyzing business decisions to achieve the company's goals and objectives. Executive administrators schedule meetings and handle appointments, as well as helping with the implementation of training and programs for the employees to reach their maximum operational potential and increase productivity to meet projects' demands and ensure the highest customer satisfaction. They must have exceptional time-management and organizational skills, especially on performing administrative and clerical duties as needed, as well as excellent communication skills to respond to clients' inquiries, concerns, and requests.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior administrative specialist are more likely to require skills like "logistics," "travel arrangements," "sr," and "reservations." On the other hand, a job as an executive administrator requires skills like "customer service," "human resources," "scheduling appointments," and "office operations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that executive administrators earn slightly differ from senior administrative specialists. In particular, executive administrators are 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior administrative specialist. Additionally, they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative specialist 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.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior administrative specialist resumes. While senior administrative specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "logistics," "office procedures," "sr," and "reservations," project specialists use skills like "customer service," "project management," "project proposals," and "strong customer service."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Project specialists tend to reach higher levels of education than senior administrative specialists. In fact, they're 6.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative specialist vs. 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. They make arrangements and scheduling of meetings, events, and appointments. Sometimes, they assume tasks in clerical and administrative nature. It is also part of their job to work hand-in-hand with executives, managers, and any other personnel in corporations.
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 specialist is likely to be skilled in "logistics," "sr," "reservations," and "excellent interpersonal," while a typical administrator secretary is skilled in "patients," "routine correspondence," "customer service," and "scheduling appointments."
Administrator secretaries typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior administrative specialists. Specifically, they're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior administrative specialist vs. Staff specialist
The duties of a staff specialist depend on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing support tasks such as preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, arranging appointments and meetings, and maintaining records of all transactions. There are also instances where they must liaise with clients, offer products and services, close sales, participate in the hiring and training procedures, and develop strategies to optimize business performance. Furthermore, as a staff specialist, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with fellow staff, coordinating to ensure an efficient workflow.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior administrative specialists and staff specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior administrative specialist might have more use for skills like "logistics," "office procedures," "sr," and "reservations." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of staff specialists require skills like "patients," "excellent organizational," "iso," and "duke. "
Staff specialists reach similar levels of education compared to senior administrative specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 4.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior administrative specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
