Education administrator: Job description

Education administrators organise and manage the administration, support systems and activities that facilitate the effective running of an educational institution. The majority are based in higher or further education (HE or FE), with opportunities also available in schools and private colleges.
 
Administrators work in areas such as admissions, quality assurance, data management and examinations or in a specialist department such as finance, careers or human resources. All of these can be either centrally based or within faculties, departments or other smaller units.

There are a huge number of possible job titles within education administration and job descriptions are equally diverse.

Typical work activities

The range of administrative roles in the education sector is enormous and responsibilities can vary greatly depending on the type of institution and the section or department in which you work.

The responsibilities listed below give an idea of some typical tasks in various roles, but in education administration it is unlikely that any two jobs will be exactly the same. Tasks may include:

• servicing committees including academic boards, governing bodies and task groups;
• assisting with recruitment, public or alumni relations and marketing activities;
• administering the 'student lifecycle' from registration or admission to graduation or leaving;
• providing administrative support to an academic team of lecturers, tutors or teachers;
• drafting and interpreting regulations and dealing with queries and complaints procedures;
• coordinating examination and assessment processes;
• maintaining high levels of quality assurance, including course evaluation and course approval procedures;
• using information systems and preparing reports and statistics for internal and external use;
• participating in the development of future information systems;
• contributing to policy and planning;
• managing budgets and ensuring financial systems are followed;
• purchasing goods and equipment, as required, and processing invoices;
• supervising staff;
• liaising with other administrative staff, academic colleagues and students;
• liaising with partner institutions, other institutions, external agencies, government departments and prospective students;
• organising and facilitating a variety of educational or social activities.