The Top 20 Administrative Job Titles [with Descriptions] (2023)

What Administrative job titles should you use?

I spent about 10 hours analyzing which Administrative job titles work best. In this mini-report (the latest chapter inOngig’s Job Titles: The Definitive Guide, you’ll find guidance on:

  • The Definition of “Administrative” — Best practices on roles and department names.
  • Administrative versus Operations — We explain the difference.
  • Administrative Job Titles Hierarchy — The standard for Administrative department positions…a mini org chart if you will.
  • The 20 Most Searched-For Administrative Titles — A pie chart of the top 20 Administrative positions that candidates search for on Google.
  • Administrative Job Titles and Descriptions — A list of the top 10 Administrative job titles and descriptions that employers request.

What are administrative job titles?

What is an administrative position?It can be nebulous but serves critical functions. A few definitions of administrative roles:

“The [Administrative] functions…can be as mundane as ordering paper towels or as critical as budget talks. When outside departments need to forge a relationship with a given department, an administrator is the person who facilitates the meetings.” —How to Organize an Administrative DepartmentbyDanielle Smyth.

“An effective administrator is…the link between an organization’s various departments and ensures the smooth flow of information from one part to the other.” —Effective Role Of Administration In An OrganizationbyPankaj Mishra.

“An office administrator provides structure to other employees throughout the organization. These activities can range from being responsible for the management of human resources, budgets and records, to undertaking the role of supervising other employees.” — Office Administration definition via Wikipedia

Most large companies have an Administration department and it’s usually called Administrative or General & Administrative (G&A) That’s the approach taken at leading companies such as:

  • CVS Health
  • Casper
  • Lyft

However, some companies also have Administrative positions overlapping Operations and other departments.

Administrative versus Operations & Other Departments

Administrative jobs are often interwoven with Operations (most common), Finance, HR and Legal. We perused 40 top career pages to see how top-performing public companies list Administrative jobs versus Operations jobs,.

Let’s have a look at a few:

  • AtExxonMobil, Administrative jobs fall under “Technical and Administrative Support”with “Operations” jobs being listed separately.
  • Walmart‘s career page lists “Administrative and Support Services” jobs and has a separate career area for “Business Operations”.
  • Facebook files its Administrative jobs in the “Legal, Finance, Facilities & Admin” bucket, with “Global Operations” listed as another area of work.
  • Fiverr‘s “General & Admin” team is made up of HR, Operations, and Legal jobs, which include Executive Assistants and Admin Team Leads.
  • Crowdstrike currently lists an Administrative Assistant opening under the “Administration” job family, but if you read the description, this position “supports multiple VPs and helps with the day-to-day operations of the company.”

You can see that Admin is most often combined with Operations (another nebulous but critical department!). The difference

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Administrative is the “what” and Operations is the “how”

Administrative is considered the “what” of an organization. What tasks need to be done? (i.e., Scheduling meetings, answering phones, sending emails, preparing documents, creating presentations, directing visitors, etc.).

Operations is considered the “how” of an organization. How will the organization run effectively? (i.e., Creating processes, Managing Projects, Tracking Product Development, Remaining Legally Compliant, Tracking Efficiency, etc.)

You’ll notice that some of the companies above lump Administrative into FInance, HR and Legal too. This is all just the style of a company’s leadership.

But today, we’ll focus on Administrative job titles alone.

Note: If you’re interested in other departments’ job title analysis, check outThe Top 20 Finance Job Titles(includes Accounting) and The Top 40 Job Titles in Human Resources.

Ok, let’s now dive into administrative positions!

Administrative Job Titles Hierarchy

Here’s a typical org chart of Administrative position titles. The Top 20 Administrative Job Titles [with Descriptions] (1)

  • Chief Administrative Officer – Chief Administration Officer, Head of Administration, Chief Business Officer
  • VP of Administration – Vice President of Finance & Operations, Chief of Staff
  • Director of Administration – Administrative Services Director, Administrative Director
  • Administrative Manager – Administrative Services Manager, Business Support Manager
  • Individual Contributors – Administrative Coordinator, Administrative Specialist, Administrative Analyst, Virtual Assistant, Executive Assistant, Administrative Business Partner, Executive Business Partner, Typist, Data Entry Clerk, Office Manager
  • Entry Level – Entry-Level Administrative Assistant, Administrative Intern, Administrative Trainee, Junior Administrative Assistant

Here’s a little more texture on each of the 6 levels of Admin roles:

(Video) Administrator CV writing guide + example CV [Land top admin jobs]

Job Titles for Administrative Leaders

Administrative usually reports into the Administrative or Operations team run by the Chief Administrative Officer or Chief Operations Officer.

Examples of job titles for Administrative leaders include:

  1. Chief Administrative Officer CAO) (Yelp and Bank of America uses)
  2. Head of Administration
  3. Chief Administration Officer
  4. Chief of Staff (Jumpstart uses)
  5. Chief Legal & Administrative Officer (Collective Health)
  6. Chief Business Officer

VP of Administrative Titles

Examples of Administrative Vice President titles commonly used include:

  1. VP of Administration
  2. Vice President Administration (The Melt uses)
  3. VP Administration

Director of Administrative Titles

Here are some of the top most used Administrative director titles:

  1. Administrative Director
  2. Director of Administrative Services
  3. Lead Administrative Coordinator
  4. Senior Director of Administrative Services
  5. Administrative Services Lead
  6. Sr. Director of Administrative Services

Administrative Manager Job Titles

Examples of Administrative manager titles include:

  1. Administrative Services Manager
  2. Business Support Manager (Bank of America uses)
  3. Administrative Manager
  4. Administrative Support Manager
  5. Front Desk Supervisor
  6. Administrative Support Supervisor

Individual Contributor Administrative Titles

When you get to the individual contributor level of Administrative positions, there is more granularity.

  1. Administrative Coordinator
  2. Front Desk Agent
  3. Administrative Support Specialist
  4. Secretary
  5. Administrative Analyst
  6. Administrative Assistant
  7. Admin Specialist (Facebook uses)
  8. Administrative Business Partner (used by Goole and Stripe)
  9. Master Scheduler
  10. Executive Business Partner (used by Airbnb, Google, YouTube, and Lyft)
  11. Office Manager
  12. Front Desk Administrative Assistant (Uber uses)
  13. Solutions Coordinator (Cardinal Health uses)
  14. Professional Typist
  15. Documentation Specialist
  16. Virtual Assistant
  17. Executive Assistant
  18. Receptionist
  19. Personal Assistant

Entry-Level Administrative Job Titles

Examples of entry-level Administrative titles include:

  1. Junior Administrative Assistant
  2. Administrative Intern
  3. Administrative Aide
  4. File Clerk
  5. Administrative Trainee
  6. Entry-level Administrative Assistant
  7. Junior Administrative Assistant
  8. Data Entry Clerk
  9. Administrative Assistant I (AmerisourceBergen uses)

Top Administrative Job Titles (Candidates)

Below is a list of the top 20 Administrative job titles based on Google queries we found on ahrefs.

The Top 20 Administrative Job Titles [with Descriptions] (2)

“Virtual Assistant” is #1 and if you’re looking to hire an Assistant, unless it’s a must-have to have them in your office, you’ll get a lot more interest in the job if you use the title “Virtual Assistant”.

Top 10 Administrative Job Titles and Descriptions (Employers)

Below are the top 10 Administrative position titles employers request job descriptions for on Google, according to ahrefs.

I’ve included a brief description for each as well as the # of job title searches per month.

Administrative Assistant

An Administrative Assistant works with an executive or team of executives to carry out the day to day tasks within an organization. An Administrative Assistant may answer phones or greet guests, as a Secretary would, but also performs more complex tasks like creating meeting agendas and managing multiple calendars. Other tasks of an Administrative Assistant include:

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  • Keeping an inventory of equipment and office supplies
  • Coordinating reporting procedures across organizational teams
  • Providing project support
  • Monitoring department expenses and accounts

# of job title searches per month: 14,000; Office Assistant: 3,900; Assistant:450

Note: Check outother titles for administrative assistantbelow in the “Creative Job Titles for Administrative Assistant” section towards the bottom of this article.

Office Manager

An Office Manager, also known as an Office Administrator, or just Administrator, acts as a liaison between management and employees in and organization. Office managers are responsible for a variety of tasks including monitoring deliveries, organizing workspaces, and providing assistance to executives where needed. Depending on the size of the organization, an Office Manager may also assist with the hiring process by scheduling interviews, or with financial tasks like managing invoices.

# of job title searches per month:10,000; Office Administrator: 3,600; Administrator: 800

Executive Assistant

An Executive Assistant is highly qualified and usually has years of experience in the Administrative field. An Executive Assistant provides high-level support to management in a company. Common tasks of an Executive Assistant include:

  • Scheduling important meetings
  • Assisting with marketing research
  • Managing client or partner relationships
  • Supervise or train clerical staff
  • Setting daily schedules for executives

# of job title searches per month: 6,600; Executive Administrative Assistant: 600

Receptionist

A Receptionist, also commonly called a Secretary or Front Desk Agent is the first point of contact for clients and employees when entering an office environment. A Receptionist is usually seated at the front desk or lobby entrance and helps greet and direct visitors when they arrive. A Receptionist also answers the main phone line for a company and transfers calls accordingly. Other tasks of a Receptionist include receiving mail or shipments, scheduling appointments for clients, cleaning reception areas, and assisting with other administrative tasks as needed.

# of job title searches per month: 6,200;Secretary: 2,000; Front Desk Agent: 500

Personal Assistant

A Personal Assistant, similar to an Executive Assistant, helps manage daily schedules and other administrative tasks. A Personal Assistant works side-by-side with one senior-level executive to ensure their calendar is up to date and their organizational goals are met. A Personal Assistant may also be responsible for assisting with personal tasks like scheduling doctor’s appointments, or handling other family-related matters on top of coordinating administrative tasks for the organization.

# of job title searches per month: 2,800

Chief of Staff

A Chief of Staff, a title heard frequently in politics, is also a somewhat new title for a top administrative position within businesses. A Chief of Staff serves as a liaison between clients, staff, and executives. Some duties of the Chief of Staff include:

  • Helping a CEO Organize their time
  • Attending meetings on behalf of their boss
  • Communicating with major stakeholders
  • Writing draft proposals for the CEO
  • Leading organizational culture and community efforts

# of job title searches per month: 2,000; Administrative Coordinator: 600

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Program Coordinator

A Program Coordinator is an administrative professional tasked with helping manage various programs within an organization. A Program Coordinator helps manage program-related budgets, keeps team members up-to-date, creates meeting agendas, and schedules meetings. Other tasks of a Program Coordinator include supporting program growth, creating presentations, and sharing program summaries across an organization.

# of job title searches per month: 1,500

File Clerk

A File Clerk is a front-office position that is responsible for file management for a business. Common duties of a File Clerk, also known as a Data Entry Clerk, are:

  • Receiving and sorting mail
  • Archiving old files
  • Making photocopies
  • Entering data into electronic files
  • Coding materials to be filed
  • Tracking records being removed from files

# of job title searches per month: 1,200; Data Entry Clerk: 800

Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant provides a variety of services to businesses or business leaders from a remote location. A Virtual Assistant performs many of the tasks performed by an Executive Assistant, but may also act as a Personal Assistant and perform personal errands. Common tasks of a Virtual Assistant include:

  • Administrative Work (emails, scheduling, booking travel)
  • Personal Tasks (scheduling personal appointments, making personal purchases, booking personal travel)
  • Create Content (researching and creating blogs or business-related content)
  • Manage Finances (Monitoring budget and expenses)
  • Customer Service (Answering and directing calls)

# of job title searches per month: 500

Contract Administrator

A Contract Administrator is responsible for developing and reviewing contracts on behalf of an organization. A Contract Administrator ensures all parties follows the terms of each contract and also may be tasked with analyzing contracts to make sure they comply with regulations, developing contract proposal to support organizational goals, and writing contract letters or notices.

# of job title searches per month: 450

Creative Job Titles for Administrative Assistant

We found these other funny/creative Administrative job titles :

  1. Captain of Multitasking(Assistant)
  2. Chief Image Officer(Assistant in charge of making their Exec’s image look great)
  3. Executive Sherpa(Assistant)
  4. Indentured Rockstar(Assistant)
  5. Lead Enabler(Assistant)
  6. Manager of Codependence(Assistant)
  7. Manager of Office Operations(Administrative Assistant)
  8. Scheduling Wizard(Administrative Assistant)
  9. Workflow Guru(Administrative Assistant)

There’s more examples of funny admin titles (including for Office Manager) here:]

Thank you, Administrative Title Experts!

In addition to the sources cited above, special thanks to these experts on administrative titles:

(Video) Salary of all administrative job titles in UAE

  1. Career Quest for their article onWhat’s the Difference Between a Secretary and an Administrative Assistant?
  2. Welcome to the Jungle’s article onOh My Job – Office Manager
  3. Study.com for their article onWhat Does and Executive Assistant Do?
  4. Bonnie Marcus for her article onAre You Ready To Become Chief Of Staff?
  5. Learn.org for their article onWhat is a File Clerk?
  6. Time Doctor for their article onVirtual Assistants: What They Do & How to Hire

Why I wrote this?

My Ongig team and I share this research on Administrative job titles to help you optimize your own titles. This supports our mission to transform job descriptions. Check out Ongig.com to learn more.

by Heather Barbour in Job Titles

FAQs

What job titles are considered administrative professionals? ›

Job titles that are often used interchangeably with an Administrative Assistant are:
  • Executive Assistant.
  • Administrative Coordinator.
  • Administrative Specialist.
  • Office Coordinator.
  • Human Resources Assistant.
  • Office Assistant.

What is the highest administrative position? ›

The Chief Administrative Officer is sometimes called the Head of Administration or the Chief Business Officer. This professional is at the top of the hierarchy and oversees most administrative duties within a corporation.

What is an administrative title? ›

An Office Manager, also known as an Office Administrator, or just Administrator, acts as a liaison between management and employees in and organization. Office managers are responsible for a variety of tasks including monitoring deliveries, organizing workspaces, and providing assistance to executives where needed.

What is a better title for administrative assistant? ›

Some companies use the terms "secretaries" and "administrative assistants" interchangeably.

What are the different types of administration roles? ›

Some of the positions you might find are:
  • Administrator.
  • Administrative coordinator.
  • Administrative director.
  • Administrative manager.
  • Administrative officer.
  • Administrative services manager.
  • Business administrator.
  • Business manager.
Oct 13, 2021

What are the 4 types of administrators? ›

Here are the four types of system administrators based on their roles and responsibilities:
  • Network Administrators. Network administrators manage the entire network infrastructure of an organization. ...
  • Database Administrators. ...
  • Server/Web Administrators. ...
  • Security Systems Administrators.
Feb 6, 2023

What are high level administrative duties? ›

An Executive Administrative Assistant is an employee who provides high level administrative support to executives in the workplace, such as taking calls, scheduling meetings, managing executive requests, and other office duties. They may also oversee office functions and supervise lower level office employees.

What are admin rank ranges? ›

The admin rank ranges from 0 (high) to 7 (low). The highest rank, 0, belongs to the super admin.

What are high level administrative tasks? ›

General Administrative Roles and Responsibilities

Develop presentations. Schedule executive meetings. Order office supplies. Manage incoming and outbound office mail. Print, fax, and file key documents.

What is the highest level of administrative assistant? ›

The highest level of a senior administrative assistant is a senior executive assistant. Senior executive assistants can progress to become a part of the executive team, but that responsibility tends to lead outside the assistant role.

How many types of administration are there? ›

Your choices are centralized administration, individual administration, or some combination of the two.

What is the description of administrative work? ›

Most commonly, administrative work includes filing information, managing an office and its supplies, answering and directing phone calls, writing and answering emails and scheduling appointments. Higher-level administrators can oversee the daily administrative operations of an entire company or project.

What is another title for administrative coordinator? ›

Job titles that are especially common for an Administrative Coordinator to move into include Event Coordinator, Executive Assistant, Customer Service Representative, Support Specialist, Human Resources Assistant, Office Administrator, Office Manager and Operational Specialist.

What is a better title than office manager? ›

Popular alternatives include community manager, office administrator, and executive assistant. Each of these titles highlights different aspects of the office manager role, which can help them draw focus on the aspects of the job that they most value.

What are the 5 administrative services? ›

This includes accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, human resources, legal services, office management, and executive assistant services.

What are the 5 main functions of administration? ›

Basic Functions of Administration: Planning, Organizing, Directing and Controlling
  • Planning.
  • Organization.
  • Direction.
  • Control.

What are the 3 basic skills of administrator? ›

Within this definition, successful administration appears to rest on three basic skills, which we will call technical, human, and conceptual.

What are the six administrative processes? ›

The acronym stands for steps in the administrative process: planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting (Botes, Brynard, Fourie & Roux, 1997:284).

What is higher than an administrator? ›

A manager implements the policies that administrators, business owners, or members of an executive board formulate. Their responsibilities require them to work directly with employees, provide them with resources, and guide and mentor them. They also ensure the smooth running of all operational activities.

What are the 3 most important job duties for the administrative support job? ›

Administrative Assistant responsibilities include making travel and meeting arrangements, preparing reports and maintaining appropriate filing systems. The ideal candidate should have excellent oral and written communication skills and be able to organize their work using tools, like MS Excel and office equipment.

How many levels is the administrative structure in? ›

India follows a three-tier governance structure with a division in administrative powers, roles and responsibilities of the centre, state and local government.

What is a fancy name for executive assistant? ›

Other experienced assistant titles include:

Administrative business partner. Senior support specialist. Senior administrative assistant. Lead administrative assistant.

What are the different levels of administrative assistants? ›

executive assistant titles, there are 3 general levels of being an administrative assistant: entry-level, mid-level, and executive. Each comes with its own set of responsibilities and, as expected, job titles.

What is admin category? ›

Categories are a very important and essential element to ]project-open[. They are used to control the "type" and "status" of objects, and are the primary control mechanism for drop-down menu selection all over ]project-open[.

What is senior admin? ›

A senior administrator is responsible for managing the overall administrative duties in an organization, including coordinating with higher management to identify process and operations improvement and other business opportunities to grow revenues and increase profitability.

What is higher than an administrative assistant? ›

One of the main differences between an administrative assistant and an executive assistant is their support level. An executive assistant supports a high-level professional such as a CEO or C-suite executive. Alternatively, administrative assistants help the office as a whole.

What is the next level after administrative assistant? ›

Office Manager.

Considering this, a career move to Office Manager can be a logical next step on your career path. As an office manager, you'd be responsible for overseeing administrative staff and coordinating office procedures, budgets, and records.

What are the job descriptions for administrative support? ›

The Administrative Support Assistant supports the general administrative functions of a wide variety of academic or administrative units including answering phones, greeting/referring/assisting visitors, customers, staff, or others, preparing documents and reports, compiling records, scheduling meetings, organizing and ...

Which is better administrative assistant or executive assistant? ›

The main difference between the two is the level of support. For example, an Administrative Assistant is an expert in task management, while an Executive Assistant is an expert in project management. When a higher level of strategic support is needed, an EA is usually the best fit.

What is the difference between an administrator and an administrative assistant? ›

The role of office administrator covers virtually everything as the role of assistant. The difference is that you'll have a more robust skill set and be able to take on extra responsibilities much more easily. An administrator is often thought of as the heart of any office environment.

What are the 7 principles of administration? ›

Contents
  • Getting it right.
  • Being customer focused.
  • Being open and accountable.
  • Acting fairly and proportionately.
  • Putting things right.
  • Seeking continuous improvement.

What are the three types of administrative? ›

The three main sources of administrative law are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The laws created by each of these branches influence the creation of regulations by the bureaucratic agencies created under their authority.

What is a higher position administrator or coordinator? ›

Here are the key differences between a coordinator and an administrator: Administrators typically have lower-level management duties and oversee all employee work for an entire department or company. Coordinators are typically responsible for overseeing and delegating work to a specific team of employees.

What is a head admin called? ›

An Administrative Manager , also known as Head Administrator or Office Manager, is in charge of coordinating an organization's administration system and general workflows.

What it means to be an administrative professional? ›

An administrative professional performs a variety of administrative and clerical tasks to support the operations of an office or department. Usually, they also double as front desk staff, receptionist, or office manager, which entails additional duties.

Is a clerk an administrative professional? ›

An Administrative Clerk, or Office Clerk, performs administrative tasks to help employees focus on more big-picture items. Their duties include contacting clients over the phone or via email, organizing and storing files for employees to easily reference and keeping inventory of the office's supplies.

Is HR an administrative professional? ›

Human Resources (HR) Administrative Assistants support management-level staff and perform a variety of tasks. The primary duty of an HR Administrative Assistant is to collect and manage all data pertaining to a business' employees, but they are also involved in the recruiting, hiring, and training of new employees.

Is a receptionist considered an administrative professional? ›

Receptionists and administrative assistants have one thing in common: they play vital roles in maintaining the administrative functions of your business.

What makes a good administration? ›

Good administration by public bodies means: Getting it right. Being customer focused. Being open and accountable.

How do you describe administrative duties? ›

The job role of an administrator involves the following duties:
  • Preparing, organising and storing information in paper and digital form.
  • Dealing with queries on the phone and by email.
  • Greeting visitors at reception.
  • Managing diaries, scheduling meetings and booking rooms.
  • Arranging travel and accommodation.

What position is above administrative assistant? ›

Office Administrator

Office administrators typically supervise admin staff and delegate tasks. Moreover, they are usually in charge of scheduling various tasks, such as handling the agenda of upper management staff and coordinating activities across departments.

What is the difference between admin and clerical? ›

Many clerical positions provide basic support to a company's office operations. Some common duties among clerical jobs include entering data, filling forms, keeping records, assisting customers and answering phones. Administrative roles often supervise clerical positions while supporting business operations.

What is the difference between an administrative assistant and an administrative clerk? ›

Administration clerks are different from administrative assistants (secretaries). The distinguishing factor between the two positions is that a secretary is most often focused on daily activities, whereas an administration clerk is responsible for keeping general operations running efficiently.

What are 4 administrative activities? ›

Common administrative tasks include answering and transferring phone calls, managing email enquiries, processing and transferring data, scheduling appointments and many other responsibilities that help maintain a productive office workplace.

What is office assistant job description? ›

Summary. Performs a range of basic office support activities for a unit/department, such as answering phones and directing calls, greeting and directing visitors, answering questions and performing routine clerical, data entry, and/or word processing work as assigned.

Is an executive assistant an administrative professional? ›

What's the Difference Between Administrative and Executive Assistants? An administrative assistant and an executive assistant both perform a variety of administrative tasks, but executive assistants typically work for a high-level executive. Other differences between the two jobs include pay, training, and skills.

Is an administrative assistant higher than a receptionist? ›

While the two jobs are similar in nature, administrative assistants tend to have more responsibility than receptionists. Therefore, they typically earn more and can be required to have completed a higher level of formal education.

What do you call a person who oversees administrative tasks in an office? ›

An Office Administrator is a professional who oversees operations across their organization's office. They are responsible for welcoming visitors, coordinating meetings, appointments and directing various administrative projects.

What can a receptionist be promoted to? ›

Receptionists may advance to other administrative occupations with more responsibilities, such as secretaries and administrative assistants.

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