Updated April 25, 2024
7 min read
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.
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Senior administrative assistant responsibilities
Senior administrative assistants play a crucial role in managing administrative tasks and supporting executive-level staff. They are responsible for scheduling appointments, coordinating meetings, and providing meeting materials. Additionally, they handle logistical support such as locating and booking meeting sites, arranging audio/visual and other meeting requirements, and maintaining departmental maintenance by ordering and managing office supplies. Christi Patton Luks, Professor (NTT) and Associate Chair for Academic Affairs at Missouri University of Science & Technology, emphasizes the importance of problem-solving skills for senior administrative assistants, stating that "students who can readily relate the theory to their practical experience to develop new solutions are the most valuable."
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. "
See the full list of senior administrative assistant skills
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.
The annual salary of executive assistants is $3,749 higher than the average salary of senior administrative assistants.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both senior administrative assistant and executive assistant positions are skilled in powerpoint, customer service, and provides administrative support.
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.
Learn more about senior administrative assistants vs executive assistants.
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.
Administrative support positions earn lower pay than senior administrative assistant roles. They earn a $9,098 lower salary than senior administrative assistants per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both senior administrative assistants and administrative supports have skills such as "powerpoint," "customer service," and "clerical support. "
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.
Learn more about senior administrative assistants vs administrative supports.
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.
On average scale, administrative assistant to vice presidents bring in higher salaries than senior administrative assistants. In fact, they earn a $3,601 higher salary per year.senior administrative assistants and administrative assistant to vice presidents both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "powerpoint," "clerical support," and "provides administrative support," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.
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.
Learn more about senior administrative assistants vs administrative assistants to vice president.
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.
Administrative staff average a higher salary than the annual salary of senior administrative assistants. The difference is about $30,311 per year.According to resumes from senior administrative assistants and administrative staff, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "powerpoint," "administrative tasks," and "telephone calls. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A senior administrative assistant uses "customer service," "clerical support," "patients," and "provides administrative support." Administrative staff are more likely to have duties that require skills in "travel arrangements," "personnel actions," "front desk," and "resource management. "The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for administrative staff, with average annual pay of $73,642. Comparatively, the highest senior administrative assistant annual salary comes from the pharmaceutical industry.administrative staff reach similar levels of education compared to senior administrative assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 3.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.
Learn more about senior administrative assistants vs administrative staffs.
Types of senior administrative assistant
Updated April 25, 2024
Zippia Team
Editorial Staff
The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.
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Updated April 25, 2024
