An Office Assistant and Admin Assistant are very similar job roles. They both provide essential clerical and administrative support for individuals or a team. This means that the Office Assistant is generally the backbone of any business, directly supporting the wider organisation as a central means of coordination. At its very core, this role is about making sure the office is fully functioning and fully stocked but everyday provides something new and exciting, which is why you’ll have to be quick on your toes and ready to embrace anything that comes your way.

Duties tend to vary depending on your organisation, however you can expect to be the first point of contact for public enquiries and responsible for administrative tasks such as data input, systems management and booking meetings. An Office Assistant may also find themselves managing diaries, creating presentations, supporting Front of House, stocking kitchens, managing budgets, processing expenses and championing new processes and procedures. However, this is also often a hybrid role that can incorporate elements of HR, office management, finance admin or Personal Assistant duties.
Primarily a support role, the Office Assistant job is generally a more junior position in the office, occupied by individuals working their way up the career ladder. Therefore, we often find graduates applying for these positions as a generalist entry route into specialist industries. The role can be a superb training ground and it also offers an opportunity to get a ‘foot in the door’ to an interesting company, before moving on to higher up position.

Knightsbridge Recruitment often provide Office Assistants to our clients on a temporary basis. Given peaks and troughs in business demand, the Office Assistant profile can be a life-saving go-to for busy businesses looking for good, strong talent to fill gaps. For candidates this can often be an amazing opportunity to build their CV by gaining useful and sought after experience working in some brilliant companies. Temporary work can often lead to permanent positions as it gives both parties an opportunity to see whether the fit for the role is right before committing on a long term basis.

• Impeccable organisational skills
• Exemplary time management skills
• Ability to undertake a varied workload
• Good IT skills
• Ability to foster positive working relationships across departments
• Friendly and confident demeanour
• Excellent customer service relationship skills

IT literacy is of huge importance to an Office Assistant and therefore any Word, Excel, Powerpoint or other database experience or qualification is beneficial.  Although having a degree is not a pre-requisite for this position, in some organisations having technical knowledge on the business sector may be desirable.  The key to performing well in an Office Assistant role is the ability to take ownership and complete tasks with high levels of attention to detail

If you’re looking for Front of House, Reception, Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant, Private PA, Virtual Assistant or other Office Staff jobs please contact one of our recruitment consultants on 020 7468 0400 or email us.