Administrative Services Manager Job Description

What Does an Administrative Services Manager Do?

Most employees put a lot of effort into the work that defines their jobs, whether that is teaching, research or serving customers. But these same people rarely think about mail, records, ID cards and meeting rooms, the services that keep that work moving. Administrative services managers run them, often across a whole campus or company.

Also known as: Assistant Director of Administrative Services, Campus ID Card Manager

Administrative Services Manager Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of an administrative services manager include:

• Oversee mail, records, reception, copying and supply services for offices across the organization.
• Run the campus ID card office, from photo capture and card printing to building access.
• Negotiate and manage contracts for copiers, vending, cleaning and other outside services.
• Prepare and monitor budgets for support services, and set fees charged back to departments.
• Plan office space and moves with facilities staff, keeping floor plans and room assignments current.
• Write procedures for records retention, mail handling and building access, and train staff on them.
• Hire, schedule and evaluate supervisors and support staff across several service units.
• Review service data such as card transactions or mail volume to spot problems and plan staffing.
• Coordinate emergency and continuity plans so key services keep running during closures or outages.
• Answer escalated complaints from departments and fix the process that caused them.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as an administrative services manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Contract and vendor management
• Budgeting and internal fee setting
• Campus card systems such as CBORD or Transact
• Records management and retention rules
• Microsoft Excel and reporting tools
• Supervising several service teams at once
• Space planning basics
• Calm handling of complaints and urgent requests

Education and Training

Business and management degrees are the usual preparation, and BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for administrative services managers. Many then spend a few years supervising support services, often running a single office or mail center before taking on several units at once. From unit manager, the next steps are assistant director and director of administrative services, and some add a facility management certificate along the way.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of administrative services managers to grow about 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,000 openings a year. That is steady demand. Budgets rise and fall, but the work itself stays, given that every campus and company needs someone to run mail, records, access cards and meeting space.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Administrative services managers.