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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Admin Assistant

💰 $40,000 - $65,000

OperationsAdministrationOffice ManagementLogistics

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Admin Assistant is the central point for administrative operations and tactical execution across facilities, procurement, vendor management, logistics, and office services. This role owns recurring operational tasks, supports cross-functional stakeholders with timely execution and reporting, and continuously improves administrative processes to increase efficiency and reduce risk. Primary responsibilities include purchase order creation, invoice processing, inventory control, scheduling and travel coordination, facilities support, and generating actionable operational insights for managers.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant with exposure to procurement, office operations or facilities coordination
  • Customer Service Representative or Office Coordinator with strong organizational skills
  • Junior Operations Assistant or Logistics Clerk

Advancement To:

  • Operations Coordinator (managing projects and vendor relationships)
  • Office Manager or Facilities Manager (overseeing physical site operations)
  • Procurement Specialist or Purchasing Coordinator
  • Operations Manager (leading process optimization and team coordination)

Lateral Moves:

  • HR Coordinator (onboarding and employee services)
  • Logistics Coordinator or Supply Chain Assistant
  • Vendor Management Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage day-to-day office operations including front-desk coordination, incoming and outgoing mail and courier logistics, office supply procurement and inventory management, ensuring uninterrupted workplace services and an accurate inventory of consumables and equipment.
  • Create, process and reconcile purchase orders and procurement requests in the company ERP/finance system, enforcing purchasing policies and routing approvals to ensure compliance and timeliness for vendor payments.
  • Receive, validate and process vendor invoices and expense reports, match invoices to purchase orders and receipts, coordinate with Finance for timely coding and payment, and resolve discrepancies with vendors to maintain strong supplier relationships.
  • Coordinate vendor relationships and service contracts for facilities, maintenance, IT support and office services, including negotiating service windows, monitoring SLAs, tracking renewals and maintaining accurate vendor contact and contract documentation.
  • Maintain and update standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists and process documentation for administrative and operational workflows to ensure consistent execution and support onboarding of new hires or coverage during absences.
  • Schedule and manage complex travel arrangements, itineraries and logistics for staff and executives, including airfare, ground transportation, accommodations and expense pre-approvals while ensuring policy compliance and cost-effectiveness.
  • Support onboarding and offboarding logistics in partnership with People Operations / HR by coordinating equipment provisioning, access provisioning, workspace set-up, and collection of company property at termination.
  • Reconcile monthly office and operations expenses versus budget, prepare variance explanations, and provide supporting documentation for month-end close and audit requests.
  • Maintain accurate master data in internal systems (CRM, ERP, asset registers), perform routine data audits, correct data quality issues, and run periodic reports to support operational decision-making.
  • Coordinate meeting and event logistics, including room reservations, catering, A/V setup, attendee communications and post-event billing reconciliation to ensure professional and cost-controlled events.
  • Serve as a point of contact for facilities issues and vendor inquiries, triaging service requests, escalating urgent problems, and tracking resolution to completion to minimize disruption to teams.
  • Create and distribute weekly and monthly operational reports and dashboards (e.g., spend by vendor, inventory burn rate, ticket resolution times) using Excel, Google Sheets, or basic BI tools to surface trends and inform managers.
  • Execute routine audits of physical assets (IT equipment, furniture, access badges), update asset management records, and coordinate repairs, replacements or disposal according to company policy and lifecycle schedules.
  • Provide administrative support for project teams by tracking action items, preparing agendas and minutes, coordinating cross-functional deliverables and maintaining project documentation to keep initiatives on schedule.
  • Manage confidential records and sensitive documentation with discretion and adherence to data protection policies, including contracts, HR paperwork and vendor agreements.
  • Handle vendor onboarding tasks including collection of W-9s, insurance certificates, contract templates and initial PO issuance to ensure vendors meet company compliance requirements before work commences.
  • Liaise with IT and security teams to manage access requests, badge provisioning, meeting room equipment troubleshooting and escalation for persistent technical issues to maintain workplace productivity.
  • Monitor inventory levels for office and operational supplies, forecast replenishment needs, and run tender or quote processes for higher value purchases to optimize cost and vendor performance.
  • Support continuous improvement initiatives by identifying process bottlenecks, proposing SOP updates, and participating in small cross-functional projects to streamline workflows and reduce manual effort.
  • Respond to internal service requests and customer-facing inquiries related to operational activities (shipping, returns, sample fulfillment), troubleshoot issues and coordinate solutions with commercial or logistics partners.
  • Prepare and maintain periodic compliance documentation and regulatory filings related to facilities, health & safety or local permits, coordinating inspections and corrective actions as required.
  • Assist finance and operations teams with simple bookkeeping tasks such as expense coding, petty cash reconciliation, bank reconciliations for petty accounts and preparing documentation for audits.
  • Train and mentor temporary staff or new hires on operations admin procedures, systems usage and quality standards to build team capability and ensure coverage during peak periods.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, conditional formatting, basic macros) and strong Google Workspace skills (Sheets, Docs, Calendar) for reporting and scheduling.
  • Practical experience with CRM and ERP platforms (examples: Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite, SAP Business One) for master data maintenance, POs and vendor records.
  • Familiarity with AP/AR workflows, purchase order lifecycle, invoice matching and basic accounting concepts to support finance processes and month-end activities.
  • Experience with procurement tools and vendor management platforms (coupa, Procurify, or equivalent) and ability to run RFQs and compare vendor quotes.
  • Basic BI and dashboarding skills with tools like Google Data Studio, Power BI or Tableau to assemble operational metrics and dashboards.
  • Competency in asset and inventory management systems, barcode scanning tools and basic stock control methodologies.
  • Experience with travel booking systems or corporate travel tools and an understanding of travel policy enforcement.
  • Familiarity with expense management platforms (Concur, Expensify or similar) for invoice submission and reconciliation.
  • Basic knowledge of workplace health & safety, compliance documentation and facilities maintenance coordination.
  • Strong data entry accuracy, attention to detail and routine data auditing skills to keep operational records reliable.
  • Working knowledge of document management systems and contract tracking tools (DocuSign, SharePoint, Google Drive) for organizing policy and supplier documents.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills for clear vendor negotiations, internal coordination and executive support.
  • Exceptional organizational and prioritization abilities to manage competing requests, deadlines and multiple stakeholders.
  • Problem-solving mindset with a bias for action and practical, process-oriented solutions.
  • High attention to detail and quality focus when processing invoices, purchase orders and asset records.
  • Customer-service orientation and ability to build positive vendor and internal stakeholder relationships.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while escalating appropriately for risk or policy issues.
  • Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and ad-hoc operational demands.
  • Confidentiality and professionalism when handling sensitive employee and vendor information.
  • Collaborative team player comfortable coordinating across finance, HR, IT and facilities functions.
  • Initiative to suggest process improvements and follow through on implementation to increase operational efficiency.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent with relevant operations, admin, or business experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain or Logistics
  • Finance or Accounting
  • Human Resources
  • Hospitality or Facilities Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–4 years of progressive operational, administrative or office coordination experience in a corporate, non-profit or fast-paced startup environment.

Preferred:

  • 2–5 years of experience supporting cross-functional operations, procurement, facilities, or vendor management with demonstrable experience in ERP/finance systems, purchase-to-pay processes, and operational reporting.