Administration / Office

Office Manager CV example (UK)

A UK office manager CV for small and mid-sized businesses: running the office, managing staff and suppliers, budgets, health and safety, and GDPR.

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Example CV profile

Organised office manager with [five] years' experience running the office for a [40-person professional services firm]. Manages a team of [three] administrators, the office budget and suppliers, and looks after health and safety, onboarding and data protection. Known for making things run smoothly so the rest of the business can get on with its work.

Key skills to include (if true for you)

Office operations and facilities management
Line management, rotas and appraisals
Budget management and expense control
Supplier and contract management
Health and safety (risk assessments, fire safety, first aid arrangements)
Data protection and UK GDPR in day-to-day admin
Onboarding and offboarding staff
Microsoft 365 (Excel, SharePoint, Teams) and office systems
Process improvement and clear written procedures

Example experience bullet points

Ran day-to-day office operations for [40] staff across [two] floors, covering facilities, IT requests, post and meeting rooms.
Line-managed [three] administrators, setting priorities, running appraisals and covering absences.
Managed an office budget of £[amount] a year and renegotiated [cleaning and stationery] contracts, saving £[amount] annually.
Kept the office's health and safety arrangements up to date: risk assessments, fire drills, first aiders and accident records.
Introduced a new starter checklist covering equipment, building access and training, so new staff were set up on their first day.
Worked with [the external HR provider] on contracts, absence records and confidential files, following UK GDPR.
Moved paper filing to [SharePoint] with clear access permissions, making documents easier to find and reducing storage costs.

Illustrative only. Replace with your own real roles, dates and results — never copy experience you don't have.

Education & training

[Level 3 Business Administrator or Team Leader apprenticeship (England), an equivalent qualification, or a degree] – [provider], [year]
IOSH Managing Safely or similar health and safety course – [year] (if held)
First aid at work or fire marshal training – [year] (if held)

Keywords UK recruiters screen for

office manager · office administration · facilities · supplier management · budget management · health and safety · line management · onboarding · GDPR · Microsoft 365

Tips for an office manager CV

Use this example when the advert includes managing people, budgets or suppliers. If the job is mainly admin tasks, the Administrator CV example is a closer fit.
Show scale early: how many staff you support, how many you manage, the size of the budget and how many sites.
Give results you can stand behind, such as contracts renegotiated, processes simplified or onboarding improved. Only use figures you can explain.
Show you handle compliance sensibly: health and safety records, data protection, insurance renewals and building checks.
Name your systems: Microsoft 365, HR or booking systems, accounts software and anything you introduced.
Two pages is fine. Keep older admin roles to a line or two each so your management experience stands out.

Office manager salaries depend on the size of the business, the team you manage and whether the role includes HR or finance duties. Check the advert for the salary range. Salary checker (ONS data).

Official sources and further reading

What employers look for in an office manager

The National Careers Service lists day-to-day office manager tasks including organising and co-ordinating office operations, carrying out staff appraisals, preparing reports for senior managers, managing an office budget and expenses, and helping to recruit and train new staff. Most adverts ask for evidence of:

Running the office. Facilities, equipment, post, meeting rooms, IT requests and building issues.
People. Managing admin staff, rotas, appraisals and new starters.
Money. Budgets, expenses, purchase orders and supplier invoices.
Suppliers and contracts. Cleaning, catering, stationery, IT, insurance and building services.
Compliance. Health and safety arrangements, data protection and record keeping.

Paste the advert into the free job ad keyword extractor to see which of these that employer cares about most.

Office manager, administrator, PA or operations manager?

Role	What the CV should lead with	Best example
Administrator	Admin tasks, accuracy, systems, supporting a team	Administrator CV
Personal assistant	Supporting one or two executives, diaries, travel	Personal assistant CV
Office manager	Running the office, staff, budgets, suppliers, H&S	This page
Operations manager	Running a wider operation, KPIs, service delivery	Operations manager CV

Health and safety and data protection

In small businesses, the office manager often looks after health and safety day to day. In Great Britain, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes guidance for employers. In Northern Ireland, the equivalent body is HSENI. On your CV, describe what you did, such as running fire drills, keeping risk assessments up to date, organising first aiders and keeping accident records. You don't need to cite the law.

Data protection applies across the UK, and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regulates it. If you handle staff files, client data or access permissions, say how: secure filing, access controls, retention schedules or dealing with data requests.

Stepping up from administrator

If you're applying for your first office manager role, lead with the parts of your current job that are already management:

training or supervising new starters
covering for your manager
owning a budget line, supplier or contract
introducing a process or system that others now use
running health and safety or facilities tasks

For the cover letter, see the administrator cover letter example or the operations manager cover letter example.

Check it before you send it

Run your CV through the free CV checker for a suggested fix on each issue, or start with the free CV builder. See also how long a CV should be.

FAQs

What should an office manager CV include?

A profile that shows the size of office you run, then experience covering operations, people management, budgets, suppliers, health and safety and data protection, plus your systems and any relevant training.

How do I move from administrator to office manager?

Lead with any management-type responsibility you've had: training new starters, covering for your manager, owning a supplier contract or budget, or running health and safety tasks. The National Careers Service lists routes into the job including university, college, an apprenticeship and working your way up.

What's the difference between an office manager and an operations manager?

An office manager runs the office itself: facilities, admin staff, suppliers and processes. An operations manager usually runs a wider part of the business, such as production, service delivery or logistics. Use the advert's title and lead with its duties.

Should I include health and safety on an office manager CV?

Yes, if it's part of your job. Mention risk assessments, fire safety, first aid arrangements and accident records you've looked after, and any training such as IOSH Managing Safely.

Applying in the US, Canada or Australia? Is an office manager resume different?

Call it an office manager resume. The content carries over: operations, people, budgets and suppliers. Replace UK-specific terms where needed, such as UK GDPR or HSE, with the local equivalent, and use US Letter paper for US and Canadian employers.

Related examples

UK CV format · Skills to put on a CV · How to tailor your CV to a job description · Cover letter examples · All UK CV examples