Advanced Administrative Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Executive Assistants, Senior Administrative Assistants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-OA-022

Before you join: Participants should have at least two years of administrative, executive support, office management or business support experience.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior administrative professionals are expected to do far more than maintain calendars and process correspondence. They coordinate competing executive priorities, protect confidential information, prepare decision-ready documents, manage suppliers and events, track budgets, and keep work moving across departments. When these activities lack structure, leaders receive incomplete information, deadlines slip, records become difficult to retrieve, and administrative teams spend too much time resolving preventable issues.

This course develops the judgement, systems and communication disciplines required of an advanced administrative professional. Participants learn to design executive support routines, apply priority and workload methods, produce concise briefing papers, manage meetings from agenda through action tracking, control records, coordinate projects, monitor administrative budgets, and handle sensitive situations with discretion. The course also addresses stakeholder management, professional influence, vendor coordination, travel and event planning, process improvement, and leading administrative work without formal authority.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases drawn from corporate, government, banking and NGO offices. Participants analyse overloaded executive calendars, prepare briefing packs, resolve meeting failures, assess records risks, build project trackers, and respond to difficult stakeholder requests. They leave with an Advanced Administrative Operations Toolkit containing reusable templates for executive support, meeting governance, records control, project coordination, budget monitoring and process improvement.

The course suits experienced administrators, executive assistants, office managers and business support professionals preparing for broader responsibility. It is also relevant to administrative team leaders who need consistent standards, clearer service levels and stronger control over office operations.

What you will be able to do

  • Design an executive support operating system using service standards and escalation routes
  • Prioritise competing requests using the Eisenhower Matrix, MoSCoW and deadline triage
  • Prepare decision-ready briefing papers with executive summaries, options and recommendations
  • Control meetings through agenda design, minute writing and action-register discipline
  • Apply ISO 15489 principles to classify, retain and retrieve business records
  • Coordinate office projects using work breakdown structures, RACI matrices and milestone trackers
  • Monitor administrative budgets using variance analysis, commitment tracking and cost forecasts
  • Lead administrative improvements through root-cause analysis, stakeholder mapping and action plans

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence managing senior-stakeholder requests and competing priorities
  • A repeatable method for producing concise executive briefing papers
  • Stronger credibility when coordinating cross-functional projects and meetings
  • Practical controls for confidential records, actions, deadlines and commitments
  • Evidence of advanced administrative capability through a certificate of completion

For your organisation

  • More reliable executive support, with clearer priorities and escalation routes
  • Better meeting discipline through accountable actions, decisions and follow-up
  • Reduced records risk through consistent classification, retention and retrieval practices
  • Improved administrative cost control through budget and supplier monitoring
  • Fewer operational delays through documented workflows and issue-resolution methods

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a high-value administrative role, service boundaries and professional operating standards.

  • Administrative service charter defining scope, standards, response times and escalation routes
  • Role boundaries distinguished from executive decision-making and line-management accountability
  • Stakeholder mapping of executives, peers, suppliers, clients and internal service teams
  • Professional judgement applied to urgency, confidentiality, authority and reputational risk
  • Service-level expectations converted into measurable administrative performance indicators
  • Administrative operating rhythm covering daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly responsibilities

Participants can organise competing demands using visible priority rules, workload plans and escalation decisions.

  • Eisenhower Matrix separates urgent work from important strategic commitments
  • MoSCoW prioritisation clarifies must-have, should-have, could-have and deferred requests
  • Daily triage routine assesses deadlines, dependencies, consequences and delegated actions
  • Time blocking protects focused work, executive preparation and planned follow-up
  • Kanban boards visualise incoming requests, work limits and blocked activities
  • Escalation decisions documented when capacity, authority or information is insufficient

Participants can manage executive calendars, briefings and communications with disciplined forward planning.

  • Calendar architecture assigns protected time, decision windows, travel buffers and preparation
  • Gatekeeping protocols distinguish direct access, delegated responses and executive-only matters
  • Briefing schedules identify required papers, contributors, deadlines and approval points
  • Executive preference profiles capture communication style, priorities, constraints and sensitivities
  • Travel itineraries reconcile meeting objectives, transit times, visas and contingency arrangements
  • Inbox management applies folders, rules, flags and response-time commitments

Participants can produce clear, concise documents that support timely executive decisions.

  • BLUF structure places bottom-line conclusions before supporting detail and background
  • Executive summaries state purpose, key facts, options, recommendation and required decision
  • Plain-language editing removes ambiguity, repetition, jargon and unsupported assertions
  • Decision papers distinguish facts, assumptions, risks, dependencies and recommendations
  • Email protocols establish subject lines, action requests, deadlines and distribution control
  • Proofing checklist verifies names, dates, figures, attachments, formatting and version status

Participants can plan, document and follow up meetings that produce accountable decisions and actions.

  • Agenda design specifies meeting purpose, decisions, owners, timings and pre-reading
  • Quorum requirements checked before meetings requiring formal approval or governance decisions
  • Minute-writing formats separate decisions, actions, discussion summaries and dissenting views
  • Action registers assign owners, deadlines, dependencies, status and escalation triggers
  • Decision logs preserve rationale, approvers, implementation dates and review requirements
  • Meeting closure confirms commitments, next steps, communication routes and follow-up dates

Participants can apply records controls that protect information and support reliable retrieval.

  • ISO 15489 principles guide records creation, classification, retention and disposal
  • File naming conventions combine dates, subjects, versions, owners and document status
  • Retention schedules distinguish operational records, legal evidence and transitory material
  • Access controls restrict confidential files according to role, need and approval
  • Version control identifies drafts, approved copies, superseded documents and publication dates
  • Data breach response records containment actions, notifications, evidence and lessons learned

Participants can coordinate administrative projects and events through defined scope, roles, milestones and controls.

  • Work breakdown structures divide office projects into manageable deliverables and tasks
  • RACI matrices clarify responsible, accountable, consulted and informed project roles
  • Milestone plans sequence dependencies, approvals, procurement dates and completion criteria
  • Risk registers record likelihood, impact, controls, owners and review dates
  • Event run sheets coordinate venue, speakers, technology, catering, security and registration
  • Post-event reviews capture attendance, costs, incidents, feedback and improvement actions

Participants can monitor administrative expenditure, supplier performance and purchasing controls.

  • Budget trackers compare approved budgets, commitments, actual costs and forecast variances
  • Variance analysis explains overspend, underspend, timing differences and corrective actions
  • Purchase requisitions verify business need, approvals, coding and available budget
  • Three-way matching compares purchase orders, goods receipts and supplier invoices
  • Supplier scorecards assess service quality, timeliness, cost, responsiveness and compliance
  • Expense claims checked against policy limits, receipts, approvals and coding requirements

Participants can manage challenging stakeholder interactions while protecting service standards and relationships.

  • Stakeholder analysis identifies influence, interest, expectations, communication needs and concerns
  • DESC model structures assertive conversations around description, expression, specification and consequences
  • Service recovery steps acknowledge impact, clarify facts, agree remedies and confirm closure
  • Boundary-setting language declines inappropriate requests while offering workable alternatives
  • Conflict de-escalation uses active listening, neutral framing and agreed next actions
  • Expectation management communicates constraints, trade-offs, dependencies and realistic delivery dates

Participants can improve administrative workflows and lead implementation without formal authority.

  • SIPOC mapping defines suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs and customers
  • Five Whys analysis traces recurring administrative failures to underlying causes
  • Standard operating procedures document triggers, steps, controls, handoffs and exceptions
  • Process measures track turnaround time, error rates, backlog and stakeholder satisfaction
  • Change communication explains rationale, responsibilities, timelines, support and feedback channels
  • Ninety-day application plan prioritises improvements, owners, milestones and review measures

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Executive support operating system template
  2. Priority triage and workload tracker
  3. Executive briefing paper template
  4. Meeting agenda, minutes and action-register pack
  5. Records classification and retention checklist
  6. Ninety-day administrative improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Executive Assistants — supporting senior leaders with complex priorities and confidential work
  • Senior Administrative Assistants — preparing for wider coordination and process ownership
  • Office Managers — standardising services, suppliers, facilities and administrative controls
  • Personal Assistants — strengthening executive communication, calendar management and judgement
  • Administrative Team Leaders — setting consistent workflows and performance expectations
  • Business Support Officers — coordinating projects, meetings, records and stakeholder requests

Skills and tools covered

Executive support systemsMeeting governanceRecords managementProject coordinationBudget monitoringStakeholder influence

Tools and standards

Eisenhower Matrix, MoSCoW prioritisation, RACI matrix, ISO 15489

How the course runs

Training methodology

The programme uses short briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, group exercises, simulations and individual application planning. Participants work with realistic executive requests, calendar conflicts, confidential documents, meeting packs, supplier issues and office projects. Simulations focus on making sound decisions under time pressure while maintaining professional judgement. Facilitated peer review helps participants compare approaches and refine documents. Each participant adapts the course templates into an administrative operations toolkit for immediate use at work.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least two years of administrative, executive support, office management or business support experience. They should already be comfortable using email, calendars, word-processing documents and spreadsheets for routine work. Familiarity with meeting coordination, document filing and stakeholder communication is assumed. The course builds on existing administrative practice rather than teaching basic office software. No formal qualification, project management certification, accounting background or people-management responsibility is required. Participants will benefit most if they can bring examples of recurring administrative challenges from their own role.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have at least two years of administrative, executive support, office management or business support experience. This is not a beginner course and assumes confidence with routine office systems, documents, calendars and email.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with examples of recurring work challenges such as meeting follow-up, executive support, records filing or supplier coordination. Do not bring confidential documents or personally identifiable information.

It is designed for experienced executive assistants, personal assistants, senior administrators, office managers and business support officers. Administrative team leaders will also benefit from the service standards and process-improvement content.

Basic courses focus on routine office tasks and introductory communication. This course concentrates on executive support systems, governance, records controls, project coordination, financial administration and influencing without formal authority.

You will adapt templates for calendars, briefing papers, action registers, records controls and improvement plans to your own responsibilities. The methods are designed for immediate use with executives, internal teams, suppliers and office services.

The course runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Ten modules are taught in sequence through briefings, cases, simulations, group work and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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