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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Administrator

💰 $45,000 - $65,000

OperationsAdministrationBusiness OperationsLogisticsProcurement

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Administrator is an operational backbone for mid-size to fast-growing organizations, responsible for day-to-day process execution, vendor and inventory coordination, transactional operations (invoicing, purchasing, shipping), system data integrity, and cross-functional support to ensure efficient business operations. This role blends administrative rigor with process improvement, reporting, and stakeholder management to keep customers, internal teams, and third-party partners aligned and operationally enabled.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant with operations exposure
  • Operations Coordinator or Office Manager
  • Customer Service Representative or Logistics Assistant

Advancement To:

  • Senior Operations Administrator
  • Operations Manager / Business Operations Manager
  • Program Manager or Supply Chain Analyst
  • Director of Operations (with relevant experience)

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Coordinator / Project Administrator
  • Procurement Specialist or Buyer
  • Inventory Control Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead day-to-day operational tasks including purchase order creation, invoice routing and reconciliation, vendor onboarding, and maintaining an accurate vendor master file to ensure timely payment and uninterrupted service delivery.
  • Manage end-to-end inventory administration: receiving, cycle counting, reconciliation, re-order point monitoring, and coordination with warehouse/shipping partners to minimize stockouts and overstock.
  • Own the facilities and office operations activities such as space coordination, supplies procurement, vendor contracts for maintenance and services, and liaison with building management to ensure safe, compliant facilities.
  • Serve as the primary liaison between operations, finance, sales, and customer success teams to triage operational issues, coordinate resolution, and track root cause to prevent recurrence.
  • Maintain and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and runbooks for operational processes; lead documentation initiatives and ensure procedural compliance across teams.
  • Configure, maintain, and perform regular data hygiene in ERP/financial systems (NetSuite, SAP, or similar), CRMs (Salesforce), and operations tools to guarantee accurate GL coding, inventory records, and transactional integrity.
  • Prepare, distribute, and present weekly/monthly operational reports and KPI dashboards (on-time delivery, order accuracy, inventory turns, vendor SLAs) using Excel, Power BI, or Tableau to support leadership decision-making.
  • Coordinate logistics and shipping activities for domestic and international shipments, including carrier selection, labeling, customs documentation, tracking, and exception management to meet customer commitments.
  • Execute procurement lifecycle tasks: solicit quotes, compare supplier bids, manage small-to-medium purchase orders, track delivery against contracts, and escalate procurement risks to management.
  • Administer expense and travel processes including corporate card reconciliation, Concur expense report review, petty cash reconciliation, and enforcing policy compliance.
  • Manage customer and partner service operations for escalations, returns, credits, and warranty claims; run root cause analysis and coordinate corrective actions with operations and product teams.
  • Lead cross-functional projects to streamline operational workflows (onboarding automation, inventory-to-order mapping, returns process redesign) and track project milestones and business impact.
  • Maintain compliance with regulatory and audit requirements: prepare documentation for internal/external audits, support SOX controls where applicable, and coordinate corrective actions.
  • Perform data entry and transactional processing with strong accuracy: order entry, change orders, credit memos, and billing adjustments to maintain clean transaction records and minimize revenue leakage.
  • Monitor and manage key vendor relationships and service-level agreements (SLAs): track performance metrics, run quarterly business reviews, and lead vendor remediation plans where required.
  • Support product lifecycle operations by coordinating SKU setup, discontinuations, product transfers between locations, and ensuring ERP/commerce systems reflect accurate product master data.
  • Triage and manage incoming operational tickets and requests via ticketing systems (Zendesk, Jira Service Desk), prioritize according to SLA, and ensure timely resolution and stakeholder communication.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives using process mapping, root cause analysis, Kaizen events, and introduction of automation (macros, RPA, scripts) to reduce manual effort and error rates.
  • Coordinate onboarding logistics for new hires and contractors, including asset provisioning, account creation, and first-week operational training to ensure smooth productivity ramp-up.
  • Execute contract administration tasks such as maintaining contract repository, tracking renewal dates, supporting legal with basic contract redlines, and ensuring operational compliance with contract terms.
  • Support cross-border operational activities by managing customs paperwork, liaising with freight forwarders, and maintaining import/export compliance documentation.
  • Act as escalation point for operations during off-hours or peak periods; coordinate incident response, communicate status updates to stakeholders, and follow up on post-incident remediation plans.

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, INDEX/MATCH, macros) for operational reporting and reconciliations.
  • ERP platform experience (NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle) for order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, and inventory management.
  • CRM familiarity (Salesforce or HubSpot) to support order processing and customer communications.
  • Reporting and dashboard tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Google Data Studio to visualize KPIs and operational trends.
  • Basic SQL or experience querying databases for operational data extraction and verification.
  • Experience with ticketing and workflow tools (Zendesk, Jira Service Desk, ServiceNow) for handling operational requests and escalations.
  • Procurement and supplier management skills: RFQ processes, POs, vendor onboarding, invoice matching/3-way matching.
  • Logistics and carrier coordination knowledge, including international shipping documentation, customs forms, and freight rate comparison.
  • Inventory control techniques: cycle counting, reconciliation, ABC analysis, and demand-driven reordering.
  • Familiarity with expense and travel platforms (Concur, Expensify) and corporate card reconciliation.
  • Strong data hygiene and master data management skills (SKU setup, product taxonomy, vendor master).
  • Basic contract administration and understanding of service-level agreements (SLAs).
  • Familiarity with RPA or automation tools (Zapier, UiPath, Power Automate) a plus.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and a strong commitment to data accuracy.
  • Proactive problem-solving and the ability to escalate appropriately when needed.
  • Clear and concise written and verbal communication suited for cross-functional stakeholders and vendors.
  • Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize in a fast-paced environment with competing demands.
  • Customer-centric mindset with a focus on delivering operational excellence and high-quality service.
  • Collaborative team player comfortable working with finance, sales, product, and logistics teams.
  • Adaptability and resilience during change or periods of rapid growth.
  • Time management and deadline orientation with strong follow-up and accountability.
  • Analytical mindset with comfort interpreting metrics and turning data into operational action.
  • Discretion and ability to handle confidential financial and HR-related information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent required.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain & Logistics
  • Finance or Accounting
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of operations, administrative, procurement, or logistics experience in a corporate or fulfillment environment.

Preferred: 3+ years supporting operations or supply chain functions, demonstrated experience with an ERP system, vendor management, inventory control, and operational reporting. Prior experience in high-growth startups, e-commerce, manufacturing, or SaaS operations is a plus.

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