Social security administrator

Description

Social security administrators direct and develop government-provided social security programmes in order to aid public welfare, as well as promote social security programmes. They supervise staff working in governmental social security, and investigate existing policies in order to assess issues and develop improvement proposals.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to social security administrator:

administrative officer
community services administrator
social security advisor
benefits advisor
benefits officer
community services director

Minimum qualifications

High school diploma is generally required to work as social security administrator. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Social security administrator is a Skill level 4 occupation.

Social security administrator career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to social security administrator.

community development officer
social service consultant
youth programme director
city councillor
secretary general

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of social security administrator. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of social security administrator with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of social security administrator.

Government policy implementation: The procedures related to the application of government policies at all levels of public administration.
Government social security programmes: The different areas of social security provided by the government, the different rights which citizens have, which benefits are available, the rules which regulate social security and the different situations in which they apply.
Social security law: Legislation concerning the protection of individuals and the provision of aid and benefits, such as health insurance benefits, unemployment benefits, welfare programs and other government-provided social security.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of social security administrator.

Promote social security programmes: Promote government programmes dealing with the provision of aid to individuals in order to gain support for the development and implementation of social security programmes.
Liaise with local authorities: Maintain the liaison and exchange of information with regional or local authorities.
Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
Ensure information transparency: Ensure that required or requested information is provided clearly and completely, in a manner which does not explicitly withhold information, to the public or requesting parties.
Maintain relationships with government agencies: Establish and maintain cordial working relationships with peers in different governmental agencies.
Delegate activities: Delegate activities and tasks to others according to the ability, level of preparation, competence and legal scope of practice. Make sure that people understand what they should do and when they should do it.
Provide improvement strategies: Identify root causes of problems and submit proposals for effective and long-term solutions.
Develop social security programmes: Develop programmes and policies which aim to protect citizens and grant them rights, such as unemployment and family benefits, as well as to prevent their misuse of government-provided aid.
Advise on legislative acts: Advise officials in a legislature on the propositioning of new bills and the consideration of items of legislation.
Manage government policy implementation: Manage the operations of the implementation of new government policies or changes in existing policies on a national or regional level as well as the staff involved in the implementation procedure.
Analyse community needs: Identify and respond to specific social problems in a community, delineating the extent of the problem and outline the level of resources required to address it and identifying the existing community assets and resources that are available to address the problem.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of social security administrator. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Employment law: The law which mediates the relationship between employees and employers. It concerns employees’ rights at work which are binding by the work contract.
Legal research: The methods and procedures of research in legal matters, such as the regulations, and different approaches to analyses and source gathering, and the knowledge on how to adapt the research methodology to a specific case to obtain the required information.
Public housing legislation: The regulations and legislation concerning the construction, maintenance and allocation of public housing facilities.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of social security administrator. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Create solutions to problems: Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
Maintain relations with local representatives: Maintain good relations with representatives of the local scientific, economic and civil society.
Work within communities: Establish social projects aimed at community development and active citizen participation.
Build community relations: Establish affectionate and long-lasting relationships with local communities, e.g. by organising special programms for kindergarden, schools and for dissabled and older people, raising awareness and receiving community appreciation in return.
Establish collaborative relations: Establish a connection between organisations or individuals which may benefit from communicating with one another in order to facilitate an enduring positive collaborative relationship between both parties.
Think analytically: Produce thoughts using logic and reasoning in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Oversee quality control: Monitor and assure the quality of the provided goods or services by overseeing that all the factors of the production meet quality requirements. Supervise product inspection and testing.
Promote social change: Promote changes in relationships between individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities by taking into consideration and coping with unpredictable changes, at the micro, macro and mezzo level.
Show intercultural awareness: Show sensibility towards cultural differences by taking actions which facilitate positive interaction between international organisations, between groups or individuals of different cultures, and to promote integration in a community.
Promote social awareness: Promote the understanding of dynamics of social relationships between individuals, groups, and communities. Promote the importance of human rights, and positive social interaction, and the inclusion of social awareness in education.
Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
Manage accounts: Manage the accounts and financial activities of an organisation, supervising that all the documents are correctly maintained, that all the information and calculations are correct, and that proper decisions are being made.

ISCO group and title

1213 – Policy and planning managers

 

 


 

 

References
  1. Social security administrator – ESCO
Last updated on August 8, 2022