6 free templates by sector for small organizations: general, nonprofit, healthcare, law office, government, and a first-hire version, with the FLSA exempt vs non-exempt guidance and BLS salary band generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
An administrative officer is the person who runs your office: scheduling, records, vendors, budget support, and often a small admin team, all in one role. For a small business, nonprofit, clinic, or law office, it is the classic one-person-runs-the-office hire, and writing the posting well means getting two things right that generic templates miss. The first is the FLSA classification, which for this title is genuinely borderline and often misclassified. The second is the title confusion: an administrative officer is not a Chief Administrative Officer, and overlaps heavily with an office manager.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the small organizations that handle hiring themselves, where one person runs the whole office. The six templates below cover it by sector: general, nonprofit, healthcare, law office, government, and a small-business first-hire version. Each leads with the FLSA classification question competitors ignore. For the fundamentals behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description is a useful companion.
TL;DR
An administrative officer runs the day-to-day operations of an office: scheduling, records, vendors, budget support, and often a small admin team. The headline issue when hiring one is the FLSA: the role is genuinely borderline, and a mostly clerical officer is typically non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of the title. It is a mid-level role, not a Chief Administrative Officer, and overlaps with the office manager. Pay clusters near $66,140, the closest BLS median. Download six templates as DOCX, by sector, with FLSA and pay-transparency guidance built in.
What an Administrative Officer Does
An administrative officer runs the day-to-day operations of an office, keeping it organized and running smoothly. The role coordinates scheduling and correspondence, maintains records and document systems, manages supplies, vendors, and accounts, supports leadership, helps track the budget, and often coordinates a small administrative team. It is the operational backbone of an office.
Administrative Officer Duties and Responsibilities
Administrative officer duties cluster into four areas: office operations, records and documents, budget and vendors, and people and support. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match your organization, rather than listing every possible task.
Office operations
Run day-to-day office operations
Coordinate scheduling and correspondence
Maintain and improve office processes
Records and documents
Maintain records, files, and systems
Manage the document and filing system
Support reporting and recordkeeping
Budget and vendors
Manage supplies, vendors, and accounts
Help track the office budget and expenses
Support procurement and purchasing
People and support
Support leadership with logistics and reports
Coordinate or supervise admin staff
Serve as the point of contact for the office
The weights shift by sector: grants and board support for nonprofits, scheduling and billing for healthcare, budgets and procurement for government. For a structured way to scope the role, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Administrative Officer vs Office Manager vs CAO
The title causes real confusion, so it helps to place the administrative officer against the roles it is mixed up with. It overlaps heavily with the office manager, differs sharply from the executive Chief Administrative Officer, and sits above the more junior administrative assistant. This comparison, which no competitor template offers, lays out the differences.
Role
Level
Scope
Typical pay
Administrative Officer
Mid-level
Runs office operations; may supervise admin staff
High $60Ks to low $70Ks
Office Manager
Mid-level
Runs the office; near-synonym in small orgs
Similar band
Administrative Assistant
Junior
Supports staff; scheduling and clerical
Lower
Chief Administrative Officer
C-suite
Oversees all administration; sets strategy
Several times higher
For a typical private-sector small business, the office manager title may be more familiar to candidates, while a more senior operations role maps to the operations manager. Choose the level that matches the real scope before you post.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your sector. The core structure is the same across all six, but each one emphasizes the duties, compliance, and framing that fit a specific kind of organization.
General Administrative Officer
Any organization
The universal baseline: run office operations, coordinate scheduling and records, manage vendors, and support leadership. Start here and adapt.
Nonprofit Administrative Officer
Nonprofits, associations
For nonprofits: office operations plus grant tracking, board support, and donor and program records, on a mission-focused team.
Healthcare / Clinic
Clinics, practices
For medical practices: front-office operations, scheduling, records, billing support, and patient privacy in a clinical setting.
Law Office
Law firms
For law firms: attorney calendars, case files, billing support, and confidentiality, running the administrative side of the practice.
Government / Public Sector
Agencies, local gov
For agencies: budgets, procurement, official records, and administrative compliance, supporting department and program staff.
Small-Business First Hire
First admin hire
The version no competitor offers: a first dedicated administrative hire who builds the office systems from scratch for a growing small business.
Match the Template to the Sector
Any organization as a starting point: General. A nonprofit or association: Nonprofit. A clinic or medical practice: Healthcare / Clinic. A law firm: Law Office. A public agency or local government: Government / Public Sector. A growing business making its first admin hire: Small-Business First Hire. When the role is mostly coordinative, default it to non-exempt.
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: organization and role summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, and how to apply, with an EEO statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General, nonprofit, healthcare, law office, government, and small-business first hire. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: General Administrative Officer
The universal baseline: run office operations, coordinate scheduling and records, manage vendors, and support leadership. Start here and adapt to your organization.
Administrative Officer Job Description (General)
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __
Location: __ ([City, State] / Hybrid)
Reports to: __ (Director / Owner / Executive Director)
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Confirm by duties (often non-exempt when the work is mostly clerical; exempt only with genuine discretion on significant matters)
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year]
ABOUT [ORGANIZATION NAME]
[One or two sentences about your organization and the office this person will
run: who they support, who they coordinate with, and any staff they oversee.]
ROLE SUMMARY
[Organization Name] is hiring an Administrative Officer to run the day-to-day
operations of our office. You will coordinate scheduling, correspondence, and
records, manage supplies and vendors, support leadership, and keep the office
running smoothly, often coordinating a small administrative team.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Manage day-to-day office operations and administration
•Coordinate scheduling, correspondence, and communications
•Maintain records, files, and the document system
•Manage supplies, vendors, and office accounts
•Support leadership with reports, meetings, and logistics
•Help track the office budget and expenses
•Coordinate or supervise administrative and clerical staff
•Improve and maintain office processes and policies
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Associate or bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience]
•[N] year(s) of office administration or coordination experience
•Strong organization, multitasking, and attention to detail
•Clear written and verbal communication
•Comfortable with office and document software
•[Supervisory or budget experience a plus]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year]
[If non-exempt: overtime over 40 hours a week]
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Nonprofit Administrative Officer
For nonprofits: office operations plus grant tracking, board support, and donor and program records, on a mission-focused team.
Nonprofit Administrative Officer Job Description
NONPROFIT ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __
Location: __ ([City, State] / Hybrid)
Reports to: Executive Director / Operations
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Confirm by duties (commonly non-exempt at small nonprofits)
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year]
ROLE SUMMARY
[Organization Name] is hiring an Administrative Officer to keep our nonprofit
running day to day. You will manage office operations, support programs and
grants administration, coordinate the board and meetings, and handle records
and vendors so our team can focus on the mission.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Manage office operations and administrative support
•Support grant tracking, reporting, and compliance documents
•Coordinate board meetings, minutes, and communications
•Maintain donor, program, and organizational records
•Manage supplies, vendors, and office accounts
•Support budget tracking and expense reports
•Coordinate volunteers and administrative staff
•Help maintain policies and organizational processes
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Associate or bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience]
•[N] year(s) of administrative experience, nonprofit a plus
•Strong organization and attention to detail
•Comfortable with records, reporting, and office software
•Mission-oriented and dependable
•[Grant or board-support experience a plus]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year]
To apply, send your resume and cover letter to __.
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
FLSA status: Non-exempt by default; confirm by duties
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year]
ABOUT US
[We are a growing small business, and this is our first dedicated administrative
hire. Until now, the owner and team have handled the office between everything
else. You will own it and bring structure as we grow.]
ROLE SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring our first Administrative Officer to run the office and
take administrative work off the owner's plate. You will set up and manage
scheduling, records, supplies, and vendors, support the team, and build simple,
repeatable office processes. A practical, organized generalist who likes
ownership is ideal.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Run day-to-day office operations and administration
•Set up and maintain records, files, and systems
•Manage scheduling, correspondence, and communications
•Manage supplies, vendors, and office accounts
•Support the owner and team with logistics and reports
•Help track expenses and the office budget
•Build simple, repeatable office processes
•Wear several hats across admin and operations
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
•[Administrative or office experience]
•Self-starter comfortable building a process from scratch
•Highly organized with strong attention to detail
•Clear communicator who follows through
•[Degree helpful but not required with experience]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [hour / year] (non-exempt; overtime over 40 hours)
To apply, [send your resume to _].
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
FLSA Classification and Pay Transparency
This is the part the generic templates skip, and for an administrative officer it is where the real value is: the FLSA classification, which for this title is genuinely borderline and often gotten wrong, and the pay-transparency rules that increasingly require a salary range. Get these right and your posting attracts qualified candidates and protects your organization.
FLSA: the administrative officer is a classic borderline classification
This is the compliance point no template vendor addresses, and the administrative officer sits right on the fault line between exempt and non-exempt. The administrative exemption requires three things: payment on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold, a primary duty of office work related to management or general business operations, and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. The salary test is easy to clear, so classification turns almost entirely on the discretion prong. An administrative officer who mostly schedules, files, answers phones, orders supplies, and prepares routine reports does not exercise discretion on matters of significance, which makes the role non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of an impressive title. Only an officer who genuinely sets policy, commits the organization, or exercises real independent judgment qualifies as exempt. Classify by actual duties, not the title. This is general information, not legal advice.
The manager-in-name-only trap and how to avoid it
Courts repeatedly hold that office managers and administrative coordinators who primarily perform clerical work are non-exempt regardless of title, the so-called manager-in-name-only problem. For a small organization that reflexively labels a salaried administrative officer exempt while assigning mostly routine office work, this is a textbook misclassification setup that creates back-pay and overtime liability. The fix is to be honest about the actual mix of work: if the role is mostly coordinative and clerical, treat it as non-exempt and pay overtime; if it genuinely involves operational authority, budget discretion, and policy decisions, exempt may be defensible. When the duties are a blend and the clerical share dominates in practice, the exemption fails. Default a coordinative role to non-exempt and track hours. This is general information, not legal advice.
Pay transparency may require a salary range in the posting
A growing number of states now require employers to include a pay range in job postings, and several thresholds are low enough to reach small organizations. As of 2026, around eighteen states plus Washington, D.C. have pay-transparency laws, and the lowest job-posting threshold is Vermont at five or more employees, squarely inside the small-business range. For an administrative officer posting, that means many small employers are legally required to publish a salary range, and even where it is not required, including one improves candidate quality and trust. Use a realistic range, anchored to market data for your area and the actual scope of the role. Confirm the specific rules for the states you hire in, since thresholds and details vary. This is general information, not legal advice.
Not a Chief Administrative Officer, and not always an office manager
The title causes real confusion, so the posting should be clear about scope. An administrative officer here is a mid-level office-operations role, not a Chief Administrative Officer, which is a C-suite executive position with a completely different pay band and responsibilities. The administrative officer also overlaps heavily with the office manager; in small organizations the two often mean the same job, though administrative officer skews toward nonprofit, healthcare, legal, education, and government settings. Decide which scope you actually need and write the responsibilities to match, so candidates understand whether this is an office-operations role or something more senior. Getting the title and scope right attracts the right applicants and sets accurate pay expectations. This is general information, not legal advice.
Borderline, and Often Non-Exempt
Because the salary test is easy to clear, classification turns on the administrative exemption discretion test. An administrative officer who mostly schedules, files, and prepares routine reports does not exercise discretion on matters of significance, making the role non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of the title. Courts call the misclassified version the manager-in-name-only problem. Classify by duties.
For more on how the classification works, the Fair Labor Standards Act overview explains the administrative exemption and the discretion-and-judgment test in detail.
Skills and Qualifications
Administrative officer hiring is anchored on organization and reliability more than any single credential, which makes stating the real requirements concretely the job of the posting. Match the requirements to the sector and seniority of the role.
Requirement
What to look for
Education
Associate or bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience
Experience
Office administration or coordination experience
Organization
Strong multitasking, attention to detail, follow-through
Communication
Clear written and verbal communication
Software
Office, scheduling, and document management tools
Classification
Often non-exempt; confirm by duties
Keep the posting neutral and inclusive, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on a protected characteristic, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
Administrative Officer Pay
Administrative officer pay clusters in the high $60,000s to low $70,000s, varying by sector and location. Use government data as a baseline, then adjust for your market and the scope of the role.
Closest BLS Median: $66,140 (May 2024)
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers, the nearest occupation, had a median annual wage of $66,140 in May 2024, with the 25th percentile at $53,190, the 75th at $82,340, and the 90th at $102,980 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Independent sources for the specific title cluster in the $69,000 to $75,000 range.
Government and high-cost metros run toward the upper end, while smaller nonprofits and clerical-leaning roles run lower. Because the role is often non-exempt, budget for overtime on top of base pay, and include a pay range in the posting, which a growing number of states now require. National compensation surveys can help you set a range for your sector and market.
Hiring an Administrative Officer for a Small Organization
At a small business, nonprofit, clinic, or law office, the administrative officer is the one-person-runs-the-office hire, and the owner or director usually writes the posting and onboards the new person themselves. The realities are different from a large administrative department, and the posting should reflect that. Here is how to write it for that reality, and the classification trap to avoid.
The administrative officer is the person who runs the office at a small organization
At a small business, nonprofit, clinic, or law office, the administrative officer is the classic one-person-runs-the-office hire: scheduling, records, supplies, vendors, budget support, and often a small admin team, all in one role. The published templates are generic boilerplate with near-identical duty lists and no sense of the setting. The templates here split by the settings that actually use this title, including nonprofit, healthcare, legal, and government versions, plus a small-business first-hire version no competitor offers, so you can post a description that fits your organization instead of a generic one. Match the template to your setting, then make the responsibilities specific to how your office really runs.
The classification trap: a salaried officer doing mostly clerical work is often non-exempt
The most common and costly mistake a small organization makes with this hire is putting an administrative officer on a salary, labeling the role exempt, and assigning mostly routine office work. Because classification turns on the discretion-and-judgment test rather than pay, an officer who mainly schedules, files, orders supplies, and prepares routine reports is usually non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of the title. This manager-in-name-only situation is exactly what drives misclassification and back-pay claims. Default a coordinative administrative officer role to non-exempt, track hours, and pay overtime, and only treat it as exempt when the duties genuinely involve operational authority and independent judgment on significant matters. No generic template warns you about this, which is why ours does. This is general information, not legal advice.
Onboarding the person who runs your office is a real handoff, not just paperwork
When you hire the person who will run your office, onboarding is more than forms: it is handing over the calendar, the vendor relationships, the records system, and the routines that keep the place running, often from an owner who has carried it all in their head. Done well, this is the moment to put real systems in place. Beyond that it is ordinary people operations: a signed offer letter with the right classification and pay, the new hire paperwork, and a first-weeks plan to learn the office and the tools. FirstHR fits this people side for a small organization: e-signature for the offer letter, document management for records and signed forms, task workflows for the first-week checklist, and an org chart and employee database to place the role and any staff it coordinates. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with those. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and an office-specific onboarding, starting with the new hire paperwork. Because this hire takes over the calendar, the vendors, and the records, onboarding is a real handoff on top of the usual steps, which is where an onboarding template helps structure the first weeks.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, pay, classification, and start date in writing. An offer letter template makes this fast and sets the overtime terms for a non-exempt role.
Collect paperwork and access
I-9, tax forms, and access to the calendar, records, and office systems, set up before day one.
Hand off the office
Walk the new hire through the calendar, vendors, records, and routines that keep the office running.
Store the records
Keep the signed offer, the I-9, and office records organized and easy to find in one system.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, document management for records, and a structured onboarding workflow in one place, so a small organization can manage the full process from job description to a fully onboarded administrative officer from one system. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
Match the template to the sector: general, nonprofit, healthcare, law office, government, or small-business first hire.
The role is genuinely borderline under the FLSA; a mostly clerical administrative officer is typically non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of the title.
Courts call the misclassified version the manager-in-name-only problem; default a coordinative role to non-exempt and track hours.
An administrative officer is a mid-level office-operations role, not a Chief Administrative Officer, and overlaps heavily with the office manager.
Include a salary range; pay-transparency laws in around eighteen states plus D.C. increasingly require it, with Vermont's threshold at five employees.
Pay clusters near the BLS median of $66,140 (May 2024), with most sources in the $69,000 to $75,000 range.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an administrative officer do?
An administrative officer runs the day-to-day operations of an office. Day to day, that means coordinating scheduling and correspondence, maintaining records and document systems, managing supplies, vendors, and office accounts, supporting leadership with reports and logistics, helping track the office budget, and often coordinating or supervising a small administrative team. The role is the operational backbone of an office, keeping it organized and running smoothly. The specifics shift by setting: a nonprofit administrative officer supports grants and the board, a healthcare one supports scheduling and billing, a law office one supports case files and attorneys, and a government one supports budgets and procurement. The shared core is managing office operations so the rest of the organization can do its work. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is an administrative officer exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, and the role is genuinely borderline, which is why it is so often misclassified. The administrative exemption requires payment on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold, a primary duty of office work related to management or general business operations, and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. Because the salary test is easy to clear, classification turns on the discretion prong. An administrative officer who mostly schedules, files, answers phones, orders supplies, and prepares routine reports does not exercise discretion on matters of significance, making the role non-exempt and owed overtime, regardless of the title. Only an officer who genuinely sets policy, commits the organization, or exercises real independent judgment qualifies as exempt. Courts call the misclassified version the manager-in-name-only problem. Classify by duties, not title. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between an administrative officer and an office manager?
In small-organization practice, the two roles overlap heavily and often mean the same job: both run the office, handle scheduling, supplies, vendors, and budget support, and may supervise a small admin team. The main difference is convention. Office manager is the far more common title in the U.S. private sector, while administrative officer skews toward nonprofit, healthcare, legal, education, and government settings, as well as international usage. If you are a typical private-sector small business, office manager may be the more familiar title to candidates, while administrative officer fits a nonprofit, clinic, firm, or agency. Choose the title your sector and candidates actually use, and write the description around the real duties rather than the label. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is an administrative officer the same as a Chief Administrative Officer?
No. They are completely different roles despite the similar name. An administrative officer is a mid-level office-operations role that runs the day-to-day administration of an office, common at small businesses, nonprofits, clinics, law offices, and government agencies. A Chief Administrative Officer, or CAO, is a C-suite executive who oversees administrative functions across an entire organization, sets strategy, and sits on the leadership team, with a pay band several times higher. When writing or searching for a job description, make sure you are targeting the right level: this page and these templates address the mid-level administrative officer, not the executive CAO. Using the wrong one will attract the wrong candidates and set the wrong pay expectations. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does an administrative officer make?
Administrative officer pay clusters in the high $60,000s to low $70,000s. The closest federal occupation, first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers, had a median annual wage of $66,140 in May 2024, with the 25th percentile at $53,190, the 75th at $82,340, and the 90th at $102,980. Independent salary sources for the specific title cluster nearby, generally in the $69,000 to $75,000 range. Pay varies by sector and location: government and high-cost metros run higher, while smaller nonprofits and clerical-leaning roles run lower. Because the role is often non-exempt, budget for overtime on top of base pay, and include a pay range in the posting, which a growing number of states require. Benchmark to your sector and local market. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I need to include a salary range in an administrative officer job posting?
Increasingly, yes. As of 2026, around eighteen states plus Washington, D.C. have pay-transparency laws that require employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings, to applicants, or to employees, with penalties that vary by jurisdiction. The lowest job-posting threshold is Vermont at five or more employees, which reaches well into the small-business range, and other states set their own thresholds. For a remote or multi-state role, a range can become effectively required because the position could be filled from a state with a posting law. Beyond compliance, including a realistic range improves candidate quality and trust. Confirm the specific rules for the states where you hire before posting, since the counts and details vary by source and change over time. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should an administrative officer job description include?
A strong administrative officer job description names the sector and scope, since a nonprofit, healthcare, legal, government, and general role differ, and includes an organization overview, a role summary, and responsibilities grouped into office operations, records and documents, budget and vendors, and people and support. The additions that generic templates skip and that matter most are the FLSA classification stated honestly based on the actual discretion level, a salary range that satisfies pay-transparency rules, and a clear distinction from both the office manager and the Chief Administrative Officer. Include the reporting line, the required qualifications scaled to the setting, an equal opportunity statement, and clear apply instructions. Matching the template to your sector, rather than posting a generic description, attracts qualified candidates. This is general information, not legal advice.
What skills should an administrative officer have?
Administrative officers are anchored on organization, communication, and reliability more than any single credential. Core skills include strong organization and multitasking, attention to detail, clear written and verbal communication, comfort with office and document software, and the ability to juggle scheduling, records, vendors, and budget support without letting things slip. Many roles also involve coordinating or supervising administrative staff, so basic people-coordination skills help. Setting-specific knowledge matters too: grants and board support for nonprofits, scheduling and patient privacy for healthcare, case files and confidentiality for law offices, and budgets and procurement for government. A degree is common but often substitutable with relevant experience. Match the required skills to the sector and seniority of the role rather than listing every possible one. This is general information, not legal advice.
