What You'll Do

  • Direct or coordinate the supportive services department of a business, agency, or organization.
  • Set goals and deadlines for the department.
  • Prepare and review operational reports and schedules to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
  • Analyze internal processes and recommend and implement procedural or policy changes to improve operations, such as supply changes or the disposal of records.
  • Acquire, distribute and store supplies.
  • Plan, administer, and control budgets for contracts, equipment, and supplies.
  • Hire and terminate clerical and administrative personnel.
  • Conduct classes to teach procedures to staff.
  • Communicate with and provide guidance for external vendors and service providers to ensure the organization, department, or work unit's business needs are met.
  • Develop operational standards and procedures for the work unit or department.

Essential Skills

Reading Comprehension 4.0/5
Active Listening 4.0/5
Time Management 4.0/5
Speaking 3.88/5
Writing 3.75/5
Critical Thinking 3.75/5
Coordination 3.75/5
Negotiation 3.62/5
Monitoring 3.38/5
Management of Personnel Resources 3.38/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.25/5
Service Orientation 3.25/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.

Common styles

Dependability, Leadership Orientation, Attention to Detail, Cooperation, Achievement Orientation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Written Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Written Expression 3.88/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.62/5
Near Vision 3.62/5
Speech Recognition 3.62/5
Speech Clarity 3.62/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Acrobat Adobe PageMaker ADP Enterprise HR ADP Workforce Now Atlassian JIRA Autodesk AutoCAD Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge Database software Delphi Technology Email software FileMaker Pro Fund accounting software Google Docs Google Drive GroupMe Human resource management software HRMS IBM Notes IBM Power Systems software IBM SPSS Statistics Intuit QuickBooks

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Dependability (High importance: 4.77/5)
  • Leadership Orientation (High importance: 4.3/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.29/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.23/5)
  • Achievement Orientation (High importance: 4.18/5)

Want to see how YOUR strengths align with this career?

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How to Become One

This career typically requires vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some specialized training or certification may also be required.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Administration Director Administrative Coordinator Administrative Director Administrative Manager Administrative Officer Administrative Services Manager Administrator Business Administrator Business Coordinator Business Manager Business Office Director Business Office Manager Business Unit Manager Operations Administrator Records and Information Manager Records Management Director Service Director

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.