Duties of a Secretary

A secretary or administrator provides both clerical
and administrative support to professionals, either as part of a team or
individually. The role plays a vital part in the administration and
smooth-running of businesses throughout industry. Secretaries/administrators
are involved with the coordination and implementation of office procedures and
frequently have responsibility for specific projects and tasks and, in some
cases, oversee and supervise the work of junior staff (Casey, 2010).

The role varies greatly depending on the sector,
the size of the employer and levels of responsibility. Most work involves both
written and oral communication, word processing and typing, and requires
relevant skills such as IT, organisational and presentation skills, as well as
the ability to multi-task and work well under pressure. In some cases,
secretaries/administrators are required to have high-level qualifications
and/or previous experience in specialist sectors, such as law, for example.

Common tasks for the majority of
secretaries/administrators include word processing, audio and copy typing,
letter writing, dealing with telephone and email enquiries, creating and
maintaining filing systems, keeping diaries, arranging meetings and
appointments and organising travel for staff.

Depending on the sector, NHS Carriers (2012) stated
that the role may also include many of the following:

·
using a variety of software
packages, such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, Excel, Access, etc., to
produce correspondence and documents and maintain presentations, records, spreadsheets
and databases;

·
devising and maintaining office
systems;

·
booking rooms and conference
facilities;

·
using content management systems
to maintain and update websites and internal databases;

·
attending meetings, taking
minutes and keeping notes;

·
managing and maintaining budgets,
as well as invoicing;

·
liaising with staff in other
departments and with external contacts;

·
ordering and maintaining
stationery and equipment;

·
sorting and distributing incoming
post and organising and sending outgoing post;

·
liaising with colleagues and
external contacts to book travel and accommodation;

·
organising and storing paperwork,
documents and computer-based information;

·
photocopying and printing various
documents, sometimes on behalf of other colleagues.

Other duties may include: