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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Facilities Administrative Assistant

💰 $ - $

FacilitiesAdministrationOperationsOffice ManagementWorkplace Services

🎯 Role Definition

The Facilities Administrative Assistant provides day-to-day administrative and operational support to keep buildings, offices, and workplace services running smoothly. This role coordinates maintenance and repair activities, manages vendor relationships and purchase orders, maintains facility records and access systems, supports safety and compliance initiatives, and serves as a primary contact for employees and contractors. Ideal candidates balance strong administrative aptitude with practical knowledge of facilities operations, vendor management, and customer-focused problem solving.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Office Administrator or Administrative Assistant with office operations exposure
  • Receptionist or Mailroom Coordinator with facilities or building support duties
  • Junior Facilities or Property Assistant supporting building services

Advancement To:

  • Facilities Coordinator
  • Facilities Manager / Workplace Manager
  • Office Operations Manager
  • Property/Building Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement/Buyer for office services
  • Health & Safety Coordinator
  • Real Estate Administration / Lease Administrator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Act as the primary point of contact for facilities-related inquiries: receive, prioritize, and respond to employee requests for repairs, space changes, key/access issues, and equipment needs while maintaining a high service level and timely communication.
  • Manage the full lifecycle of work orders in the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) or help desk platform: create, assign, track, update and close work orders; escalate urgent issues and maintain records for trending and SLA compliance.
  • Coordinate and schedule routine preventive maintenance and service visits for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, elevators, life-safety systems and other building systems by liaising with internal technicians and external service providers.
  • Process purchase requests, create purchase orders, obtain quotes and approvals, and reconcile vendor invoices in accordance with company procurement policies and budget controls.
  • Vet, onboard and maintain relationships with vendors and facility contractors, including obtaining insurance certificates, ensuring contract compliance, tracking service-level agreements, and coordinating access and site supervision.
  • Maintain and update facility documentation and records—including floor plans, equipment lists, MRO inventories, warranties, manuals and service logs—to support audits, safety compliance and operational continuity.
  • Coordinate office moves, reconfigurations and furniture installations from planning through execution: manage timelines, vendors, packing logistics, labeling, and post-move punch lists to minimize downtime for employees.
  • Oversee keys, badges and access control administration: process requests for new badges, temporary access, deprovisioning, and maintain an accurate audit trail to support physical security protocols.
  • Support space management and occupancy reporting: maintain seating charts, floor plan updates, desk hoteling systems and headcount reports to support real estate optimization and planning.
  • Conduct regular facilities walkthroughs and building inspections to identify maintenance needs, safety hazards, cleanliness issues and opportunities for improvement; generate action items and follow up until resolution.
  • Assist with emergency preparedness and response: maintain emergency contact lists, support building evacuation drills, coordinate with security and emergency services, and manage post-incident vendor remediation.
  • Monitor utilities and facility systems performance (electricity, water, HVAC usage) and report anomalies or inefficiencies to management to support cost-control and sustainability goals.
  • Support compliance with local building codes, fire codes, ADA accessibility requirements, OSHA standards and corporate safety policies by coordinating inspections, corrective actions, and documentation.
  • Maintain supply inventories for janitorial, breakroom and general facility items; reorder stock proactively, manage vendor catalogs, and control spend through supplier negotiations and consolidation.
  • Prepare and maintain monthly and ad-hoc facilities reports for leadership: vendor performance metrics, work order backlogs, budget vs. actual spend, and capital maintenance schedules.
  • Facilitate contractor access and onsite supervision: coordinate site orientation, safety briefings, permit requirements, badge issuance and post-work inspections to ensure quality and compliance.
  • Support lease administration tasks: track lease expirations, coordinate landlord maintenance requests, and assist with tenant improvement documentation and move-related chargebacks.
  • Provide receptionist/back-up administrative support as needed: manage mailroom operations, incoming deliveries, conference room scheduling, and common area upkeep.
  • Assist with procurement and installation of office equipment and technology peripherals by coordinating approvals, vendor delivery, asset tagging and warranty registration.
  • Maintain an up-to-date asset register and conduct periodic physical inventories of furniture, AV equipment and facility-owned devices to support capital asset tracking and depreciation schedules.
  • Coordinate workplace enhancement projects and small renovations: obtain quotes, schedule contractors, monitor budgets and timelines, and ensure minimal disruption to business operations.
  • Support sustainability and waste management initiatives such as recycling programs, e-waste collections and vendor consolidation to improve environmental performance and cost efficiency.
  • Provide excellent customer service to building occupants, documenting interactions, following through on issues and using feedback to improve facilities processes and communications.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist facilities leadership with vendor RFPs, scope-of-work development, and comparative evaluation of proposals.
  • Support ad-hoc facilities analytics requests, including maintenance trend analysis, vendor performance dashboards and cost-per-square-foot reporting.
  • Contribute to the facilities strategy by identifying small process improvements, documenting SOPs, and participating in continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Collaborate with HR, IT, Security and Real Estate teams to translate employee workplace needs into actionable facilities projects and requirements.
  • Participate in weekly planning and coordination meetings with internal stakeholders and external vendors to align schedules, dependencies and deliverables.
  • Maintain and improve digital filing systems and shared drives for facilities documentation, ensuring searchability and version control for audits and handovers.
  • Provide back-up support for building security monitoring during off-hours or planned absences, including coordinating with third-party security vendors.
  • Assist in administering facilities-related budgets, expense tracking and month-end reconciliations to support accurate financial reporting.
  • Help develop and maintain vendor scorecards and SLAs to standardize performance expectations and streamline vendor management.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CMMS / Work Order Systems (e.g., ServiceNow, FMX, Maintenance Connection) — create, update and close work orders, run reports and maintain SLA data.
  • Vendor management and procurement — PO creation, invoice reconciliation, vendor onboarding, insurance certificate review and contract tracking.
  • Microsoft Office proficiency (especially Excel for tracking, pivot tables and basic formulas), Google Workspace experience for collaboration and scheduling.
  • Basic understanding of building systems and trades (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, life-safety) to triage requests and coordinate technicians.
  • Facilities-related compliance knowledge: OSHA, NFPA (fire safety), ADA accessibility standards and local building code awareness.
  • Access control and physical security systems administration (keycards, badging, visitor management systems).
  • Space planning and floor plan management, including occupancy tracking and desk-naming/hoteling software familiarity.
  • Inventory and asset management systems (barcode tagging, asset registers, cycle counts).
  • Basic procurement systems and finance tools (ERP exposure such as SAP, Oracle or QuickBooks is a plus).
  • Blueprint/floorplan reading and simple CAD familiarity or ability to work with AutoCAD exports for space/layout requests.
  • HVAC, electrical or maintenance vendor coordination experience — interpreting service proposals and warranties.
  • Emergency preparedness support and familiarity with building evacuation procedures and incident reporting protocols.

Soft Skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication — clear, professional, and responsive with employees, vendors and leadership.
  • Customer service orientation — patient, solution-focused and committed to a positive occupant experience.
  • Highly organized with strong attention to detail — able to manage multiple projects, timelines and documentation simultaneously.
  • Problem solving and troubleshooting — proactive in diagnosing issues and coordinating timely fixes.
  • Time management and prioritization — triage urgent facility incidents while maintaining routine operations.
  • Teamwork and stakeholder management — collaborates effectively across HR, IT, Security, Real Estate and Finance.
  • Discretion and confidentiality — handles sensitive access and facility security information with care.
  • Adaptability and resilience — comfortable in a dynamic environment with changing priorities and interruptions.
  • Negotiation and vendor relations skills — able to obtain competitive quotes and improve supplier performance.
  • Initiative and continuous improvement mindset — suggests process improvements and documents standard operating procedures.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED; equivalent combination of education and relevant facilities/administrative experience accepted.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or Bachelor's degree in Facilities Management, Business Administration, Property Management, Construction Management, Engineering technology or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Facilities Management
  • Business Administration / Office Management
  • Construction Management / Mechanical/Electrical Technology
  • Real Estate or Property Management
  • Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of combined facilities, office administration, property management or building operations experience.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years supporting facilities operations in a corporate, campus or multi-tenant environment, with demonstrated experience in vendor management, CMMS usage, space planning and procurement.
  • Experience with workplace moves, emergency response coordination, and maintenance scheduling is highly desirable.
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