Office manager

Office managers oversee the day-to-day operations in an office or department.

• Starter salary£25,000 a year
• Experienced£40,000 a year
• Typical hours37 to 42 a week

What you'll do

As an office manager, you could:

• organise and co-ordinate day-to-day office operations
• develop quality control processes
• carry out staff appraisals and monitor performance
• deal with disciplinary issues
• prepare reports for the senior management team
• manage an office budget and expenses
• support staff with career development
• help to recruit and train new staff
• work closely with other departments, like finance and human resources

Working environment

You could work in an office.

You may need to wear smart business clothes.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• business management skills
• administration skills
• the ability to organise your time and workload
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to work well with others
• excellent verbal communication skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

How to become a office manager

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role

University

You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:

• business management
• human resource management
• public administration

Once you've completed your studies, you could apply for a trainee manager position, for example through a company's graduate training scheme.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take a course at college that would teach you some of the skills and knowledge needed to apply for an assistant office manager position.

Courses include;

• business studies
• business administration
• T Level in Management and Administration

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to an organisation for a place on a Business Administrator, or Team Leader, Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

These typically take between 1 and 2 years to complete. They combine workplace learning and time spent with a training provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work

You could work as an office assistant or team supervisor in a company, then move on to become a manager through work-based training and promotion.

Career path and progression

You could take on more responsibility for managing projects, or provide cover for senior management duties.

With experience and further training, you could become a personal assistant or executive officer.

You could also specialise in legal, financial, medical or educational office management.

Other career options include moving into buying and procurement, business development and operations management.

Career tips

Employers will expect you to be well organised, have excellent communication skills and a good working knowledge of the main business software packages.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Institute of Administrative Management for professional development and training opportunities.

Guides for this industry

• Administration: pay, interviews and getting started →

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