The most requested administrative jobs in Canada in 2023

Right now in Canada, there are more open jobs then there are people to fill them.

With more than 850,300 open roles reported by Statistics Canada as of November 2022, there is fierce competition for talent at all levels and seniority in today's economy. As we kick-off 2023, we're seeing this increased demand across fields, including for administrative jobs.

“We're seeing a transition in the types of administrative roles that we're staffing early in 2023. We're seeing this transition on a national level and across all industries and departments. Our clients are seeking administrative specialties and experience to match specific requirements that they need to fill as opposed to general administrative duties and roles.” - Jennine Germond, VP, Client Success and Growth Initiatives, Altis Recruitment

At the peak of the pandemic, specialty administrative staffing needs were heavily geared towards vaccine screeners, health and safety, and COVID support staff. As we emerge from the past three years, the demand for these specific skills is declining.

What roles are we seeing the labour market transition to instead? As we enter 2023, there is a high demand for customer service and administrative support roles.

Although there is this transition in play to consider when hiring administrative roles in Canada, we are continuing to see a high-volume of requests for several roles already in 2023 (job seekers, check out our job board).

Our recruiter-backed list of the most in-demand administrative roles in Canada:  

Event Assistant

The Job: Event Assistants coordinate events and assist event managers and planners with everything from logistics, vendors and suppliers, guests, and more to help create a positive event experience for guests.

Skills required:

• Ensure project documents, schedules, evaluations, filing and communications are executed and organized
• Plan and execute logistics – travel, transportation, hotel, conference members and keynote speakers
• Strong communicator (written and verbal)
• Detail-orientated and organized
• Professional demeanour
• Customer experience
• Ability to multitask
• Solution-oriented
• Negotiation skills

Educational background and/or experience:

• High school diploma and/or a relevant Bachelor’s degree or college certification

Salary Range:

• Contract hourly: $26 - $30
• Annual salary: $54,000 - $62,500

Bonus: Organizations are looking for event assistants that have experience with project management software and budget management experience. Must be comfortable with virtual meeting platforms and learning technology.

Administrative Assistants

The Job: Administrative Assistants support their team through meeting coordination, managing complex calendars and providing administrative support by submitting claims, managing correspondence and communicating with internal departments and key stakeholders.

Skills required:

• Must be proficient in MS Office (MS Teams, Word, Outlook and Excel)
• Strong communicator (written and verbal)
• Ability to maintain and update internal databases and file systems
• Detail-orientated and organized
• Professional demeanour
• Strong time management skills
• Solution-oriented

Educational background and/or experience:

• High school diploma and/or a relevant Bachelor’s degree or college certification

Salary Range

• Contract hourly: $25 – $30
• Annual Salary: $52,000 – $62,500

Bonus: Organizations are looking for administrative assistants that have experience with managing several management and executive schedule requirements

Program Assistants and Coordinators

The Job: Program Assistants provide support in the coordination and tracking of multiple projects. This may include support services, database development and conducting background research to collect information. The incumbent would also support drafting publications, reports or proposals and organizing meeting material.

Skills Required:

• Must be proficient in MS Office (MS Teams, Word, Outlook and Excel)
• Strong organizational skills
• Professional demeanour
• Strong time management skills
• Solution-oriented

Salary Range:

• Contract hourly: $22 – $25
  Annual Salary: $45,500 – $52,000

Bonus: Organizations are looking for program assistants that have experience planning and executing the technical delivery for projects and developing and maintaining communications for project progress.

Executive Assistants

The Job: Executive Assistants report to senior-level leadership within an organization and provide confidential, professional, and efficient support to their operations and business relationships. They will manage complex schedules, prioritizing functions and appointments and ensuring that meetings, deadlines, presentations, and other responsibilities of the executive office are carried out seamlessly.

Skills Required:

• Organizing and scheduling meetings
• Facilitate communication, plan events, and distribute information
• Must be proficient in MS Office (MS Teams, Word, Outlook, Excel)
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong time management skills
• Solution-oriented

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $30 – $38+ (based on experience)
• Annual Salary: $62,000 - $79,000

Bonus: Organizations seek Executive Assistants that have experience coordinating the logistics of national and international travel and can be the liaison support between clients and customers, internal staff and executive team members.

Medical/ Legal Administrators

The Job: Medical Secretaries and Administrative professionals support the daily operations of the office through checking in patients, making referrals and re-booking appointments. They would also assist with filing, scanning and inputting electronic medical records into the internal database.

Skills Required:

• Strong communicator (written and verbal)
• Detail-orientated and organized
• Professional demeanor
• Medical administrative experience
• Ability to multitask
• Solution-oriented

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $18 – $26
  Annual Salary: $37,500 - $54,000

Bonus: Organizations are seeking medical and administrative professionals who are positively impacting the experience of patients.

Logistics Coordinators

The Job: Logistics Coordinators provide support to an organization’s operations department and will be responsible for preparing shipping documents, supporting new business development and maintaining relationships and documentation between a customer and vendor.

Skills Required:

• Strong Communication skills
• Ability to monitor and validate files and shipment information
• Must be proficient in MS Office (MS Teams, Word, Outlook, Excel)
• Strong organizational skills
• Professional demeanour
• Strong time management skills
• Solution-oriented

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $23 – $25
• Annual Salary: $47,000 – $52,000

Bonus: Organizations seek Logistics Coordinators that have experience collaborating with all divisions to support the sales, order fulfilment and overall operations of the company.

Customer Service Representative

The Job: Customer Service Representatives provide support and delivery services by tracking orders and following up on service requests. They are responsible for monitoring end-to-end service requirements and ensuring that customers are receiving quality service delivery.

Skills Required:

• Strong Communication skills
• Ability to monitor and validate files
• Must be proficient in MS Office (MS Teams, Word, Outlook and Excel)
• Strong organizational skills
• Professional demeanour
• Strong time management skills
• Solution-oriented
• Service delivery

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $16 – $22
• Annual Salary: $33,000 – $45,750

Bonus: Organizations seek customer service representatives that have exceptional service delivery and customer relations skills

HR Administration and Recruitment

The Job: HR Administration and Recruitment professionals are responsible for screening, filtering, interviewing, and managing a high volume of staffing requirements. They are responsible for updating job postings on applicant tracking systems and managing their own workload to meet deadlines for internal teams.

Skills Required:

• Ability to handle multiple tasks, manage own workload and meet deadlines with a strong attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Ability to work effectively independently and in a team-based environment

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $25 – $38 (depending on experience)
  Annual Salary: $52,000 – $79,040

Bonus: HR Administrative and recruitment professionals that have experience supporting staffing a range of opportunities are in high demand.

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