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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a File Supervisor

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

AdministrationRecords ManagementComplianceOffice Management

🎯 Role Definition

The File Supervisor is a critical leadership role responsible for overseeing the entire lifecycle of the company's records. This individual will manage a team of records personnel, develop and enforce filing systems, and ensure all records management activities adhere to internal policies and external legal regulations. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who can maintain a high standard of accuracy and efficiency in both physical and electronic document environments, acting as the central guardian of our organizational information. This role is pivotal in mitigating risk, supporting business operations, and driving a culture of information governance excellence.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Lead Records Clerk
  • Senior Document Controller
  • Paralegal or Legal Assistant
  • Senior Administrative Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Records Manager
  • Information Governance Manager
  • Compliance Manager
  • Departmental Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Office Manager
  • Project Coordinator (Information Systems)
  • Compliance Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Team Leadership and Development: Supervise, train, and mentor a team of file clerks and records assistants, providing ongoing guidance, performance feedback, and professional development opportunities to foster a high-performance culture.
  • Workload Management: Develop and manage daily work schedules, assign specific tasks, and monitor departmental workloads to ensure the efficient and timely completion of all records management activities and projects.
  • Filing System Oversight: Design, implement, and maintain systematic, logical filing systems for both physical and electronic records, ensuring rapid and accurate retrieval of information by authorized personnel.
  • Document Lifecycle Management: Oversee the entire document lifecycle, from creation, classification, and active use to long-term archival and legally compliant destruction, in accordance with the records retention schedule.
  • Policy and Procedure Enforcement: Establish, document, and enforce standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for document indexing, labeling, storage, and handling to maintain consistency and accuracy across the organization.
  • EDMS Administration: Manage the organization's Electronic Document Management System (EDMS), including user access control, system configuration, user training, and acting as the first point of contact for troubleshooting.
  • Digitization Project Leadership: Lead and coordinate projects related to the digitization of physical records, overseeing the scanning, indexing, and quality control processes to ensure the integrity of the resulting digital files.
  • Process Improvement: Continuously evaluate records management processes, workflows, and systems to identify opportunities for improvement, increased efficiency, and cost reduction.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all records management activities strictly comply with internal policies and external regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and other industry-specific legal requirements.
  • Records Retention Management: Develop, maintain, and regularly update the corporate records retention schedule in collaboration with legal, compliance, and departmental leadership.
  • Auditing and Quality Control: Conduct regular, systematic audits of physical and digital file systems to verify accuracy, completeness, and compliance with established protocols, and report findings to management.
  • Confidential Information Security: Manage the secure storage, retrieval, and disposition of sensitive and confidential information, strictly enforcing access control policies and maintaining a detailed chain of custody.
  • Audit Facilitation: Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external auditors, coordinating the retrieval and provision of requested records and documentation.
  • Reporting and Metrics: Prepare and maintain detailed reports on records management activities, including file volume, retrieval times, error rates, destruction logs, and compliance metrics for senior leadership.
  • Interdepartmental Coordination: Liaise and coordinate with various departments to facilitate the timely transfer of semi-active and inactive records to central or off-site storage archives.
  • Information Retrieval: Respond to and manage complex information retrieval requests from internal staff, legal counsel, and auditors in a timely, accurate, and fully documented manner.
  • Organizational Training: Develop and deliver training programs for all company personnel on proper records management procedures, data handling policies, and the effective use of the EDMS.
  • Off-Site Storage Management: Manage all aspects of off-site physical records storage, including vendor relationships, contract negotiation, inventory control, and retrieval logistics.
  • Supply and Inventory Control: Oversee the procurement, supply, and inventory management for all filing and records-related materials, ensuring the department is adequately resourced.
  • IT Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the IT department on the technical aspects of electronic records management, including data backup, disaster recovery, system security, and potential system integrations.
  • Space Management: Plan and manage the physical space allocated for records storage, ensuring optimal utilization and a safe, organized environment.
  • Legal Hold Execution: Assist the legal department in executing legal hold orders by identifying, preserving, and segregating relevant records to prevent their destruction or modification.

Secondary Functions

  • Support legal eDiscovery requests by efficiently locating, collecting, and preparing relevant documentation.
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of the organization's broader information governance strategy.
  • Assist in business continuity and disaster recovery planning by ensuring critical records are protected and accessible.
  • Participate in departmental budget planning and resource allocation for all records management needs and projects.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency with Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS) like SharePoint, OpenText, FileNet, M-Files, or similar platforms.
  • In-depth knowledge of records management principles, industry best practices, and the entire document lifecycle.
  • Demonstrated experience in developing, interpreting, and enforcing records retention schedules and policies.
  • Strong understanding of regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to information management (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR, SOX).
  • Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and Access for tracking, reporting, and data analysis.
  • Experience with high-volume document scanning, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, and digital imaging quality control.
  • Expertise in various physical and electronic filing systems (e.g., alphabetic, numeric, terminal digit, subject-based).
  • Proven ability to manage off-site storage vendors and control physical records inventory.
  • Skills in conducting records audits, performing gap analysis, and implementing quality control measures.
  • Familiarity with project management principles for leading initiatives such as system migrations or office moves.
  • Knowledge of legal hold and eDiscovery processes and requirements.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional organizational, planning, and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
  • Strong leadership, coaching, and team supervision capabilities.
  • Meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to accuracy.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills for training and cross-departmental collaboration.
  • Superior problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.
  • High level of integrity, discretion, and a strong understanding of handling confidential information.
  • Customer-service orientation with strong interpersonal skills.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High School Diploma or equivalent.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's Degree.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Information Management
  • Library Science
  • Business Administration
  • Archives and Records Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3-5+ years of experience in a records management, document control, or paralegal role, with at least 1-2 years in a supervisory or team lead capacity.

Preferred: Certification from a recognized records management association, such as the Certified Records Analyst (CRA) or Certified Records Manager (CRM), is a significant plus.

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