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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Document Control Administrator

💰 $50,000 - $80,000

Document ControlRecords ManagementQuality AssuranceAdministrative

🎯 Role Definition

The Document Control Administrator is responsible for managing and maintaining the organization’s document management lifecycle, ensuring accurate version control, secure records retention, and full compliance with internal policies and external regulations (ISO, GMP, FDA, etc.). This role acts as the central coordinator for document creation, review, approval, distribution and archival across cross-functional teams, while administering electronic document management systems (EDMS) and supporting quality assurance and regulatory readiness.

Core keywords: Document Control, Document Management, EDMS, version control, records retention, document lifecycle, regulatory compliance, ISO 9001, GMP, audits.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Document Control Clerk / Document Coordinator
  • Administrative Assistant with records experience
  • Quality Assurance Assistant or Records Clerk

Advancement To:

  • Document Control Lead / Supervisor
  • Document Control Manager
  • Records Manager or Configuration Manager
  • Quality Systems Manager / Compliance Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Quality Assurance Specialist
  • Compliance Analyst
  • Records and Information Management (RIM) Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own and administrate the organization’s electronic document management system (EDMS) including user access, folder structures, metadata schemas, templates and workflows to guarantee consistent document lifecycle management and high searchability.
  • Maintain rigorous version control for controlled documents, ensuring that the current revision is clearly identified, superseded versions are archived, and that revision history and approval trails are retained for auditability.
  • Implement, maintain and enforce document control procedures and policies in alignment with ISO 9001, ISO 13485, GMP, 21 CFR Part 11 (where applicable), and other regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance across departments.
  • Coordinate the document review and approval process by routing draft documents to subject matter experts, tracking reviewer comments, consolidating revisions, and managing sign-off to prevent delays and maintain compliance timelines.
  • Create, index, and tag new documents and records with appropriate metadata, retention codes and access restrictions to meet records retention schedules and legal/regulatory requirements.
  • Manage the controlled distribution and release of new and revised documents, ensuring stakeholders receive the correct versions and that obsolete copies are removed or stamped as superseded.
  • Prepare and maintain master document registers, controlled document lists, distribution matrices and cross-references to support traceability and quick retrieval during operational needs or audits.
  • Support internal and external audits by retrieving requested documents, providing revision histories and evidence of approvals, and implementing corrective actions for any document-related nonconformances.
  • Perform regular audits and quality checks of document repositories to identify inconsistencies, missing approvals, broken links, incorrect metadata, or retention exceptions and drive remediation activities.
  • Collaborate with quality, regulatory, engineering, manufacturing and commercial teams to ensure document templates, naming conventions and classification schemes meet business and compliance needs.
  • Train and support employees on document control procedures, EDMS usage, file naming conventions, labeling and controlled document processes to promote accurate, consistent usage across the organization.
  • Administer change control and configuration management processes related to documents, ensuring proper linkage between engineering change notices, revision control and updated documentation.
  • Configure and maintain document workflows, routing rules and automated notifications within the EDMS to accelerate reviews and reduce manual follow-up.
  • Manage secure access and permission controls to confidential documents, including setup of role-based privileges, onboarding/offboarding of users and periodic permission reviews.
  • Coordinate archival, disposition and secure destruction of records per retention schedules and legal requirements while ensuring evidentiary traceability for audits or legal holds.
  • Generate regular metrics and reports (e.g., pending approvals, overdue reviews, audit results, document cycle times) for management and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Support document migration projects and system upgrades, including mapping legacy content to new taxonomies, validating migrated documents, and executing cut-over plans to maintain business continuity.
  • Ensure that work instructions, SOPs and technical documents are formatted to corporate standards and that templates are up-to-date to reduce review cycles and rework.
  • Serve as the single point of contact for document control inquiries, resolving escalations, clarifying document status and providing guidance to stakeholders on document conventions.
  • Monitor regulatory changes and industry best practices to recommend updates to document control processes and ensure sustained compliance relevance.
  • Maintain high confidentiality standards for sensitive documents such as contracts, customer data, regulatory filings and intellectual property while applying appropriate access controls.
  • Provide backup support for records requests, legal hold notifications and cross-functional projects requiring historical documentation, ensuring timely and accurate fulfilment.

Secondary Functions

  • Support process improvement initiatives aimed at reducing document cycle times, improving metadata quality and increasing EDMS adoption through automation and training.
  • Assist with the preparation of management reviews and regulatory submissions by compiling document packages and evidence of document control activities.
  • Provide frontline support during internal training sessions, onboarding new hires on document control expectations and EDMS basics.
  • Create and maintain user guides, quick reference sheets and FAQ materials to improve user self-service and reduce helpdesk tickets.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams to advise on document structure, retention implications and compliance risks during new product introductions or process changes.
  • Liaise with IT and vendors to troubleshoot EDMS issues, request system enhancements and validate software patches or upgrades before production deployment.
  • Maintain a proactive record of continuous improvement opportunities and a backlog of document control enhancements prioritized by impact and risk reduction.
  • Assist legal and compliance teams with ad-hoc document discovery requests, ensuring defensible retrieval paths and documentation of retrieval steps.
  • Conduct periodic training refreshers and assessments to ensure compliance with document control policies and to identify knowledge gaps among users.
  • Support site-level documentation activities for multi-site organizations, standardizing local variations to meet global corporate requirements.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) administration experience (e.g., SharePoint, OpenText, Documentum, Aconex, DocuWare) including configuring libraries, permissions and workflows.
  • Strong knowledge of version control and document lifecycle concepts: check-in/check-out, revisioning, baselining, archival and superseded documents handling.
  • Familiarity with quality management systems and standards (ISO 9001, ISO 13485), GMP and regulatory record-keeping requirements (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11 compliance principles).
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) including advanced Word formatting, template creation, and Excel pivot tables for reporting.
  • Experience creating and maintaining document registers, master lists, distribution matrices, metadata taxonomies and retention schedules.
  • Understanding of document formatting and control for regulated environments: SOPs, work instructions, technical manuals, controlled forms and templates.
  • Knowledge of change control and configuration management practices and how they interface with document revisions and releases.
  • Experience with scanning/OCR tools, PDF management, redaction and long-term digital preservation best practices.
  • Ability to generate and interpret document control metrics and dashboards using Excel, Power BI or similar business intelligence tools.
  • Basic IT troubleshooting and user administration skills for managing user accounts, access rights and system support tickets.
  • Experience supporting audits and regulatory inspections, including preparing evidence packages and responding to document-related findings.
  • Familiarity with legal hold processes, e-discovery basics and records retention legislation across applicable jurisdictions.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data integrity and auditability.
  • Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize competing requests and meet strict deadlines.
  • Clear written and verbal communication skills to interface with cross-functional teams, auditors and senior management.
  • Customer-service orientation and the ability to provide patient, practical support to non-technical users.
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to identify process gaps and implement practical remediation.
  • Discretion and integrity when handling confidential or sensitive documents and information.
  • Collaboration and stakeholder management skills to build consensus and drive adherence to document control standards.
  • Adaptability and willingness to learn new systems, standards and regulatory requirements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; vocational training in records or administrative support preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Management, Records Management, Library Science, Quality Management or a related field.
  • Certifications such as Certified Records Manager (CRM), ARMA RIM certification, ISO 9001 Lead Auditor or EDMS vendor certifications are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Records and Information Management
  • Library and Information Science
  • Business Administration
  • Quality Management / Regulatory Affairs
  • Information Technology / Systems Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2 – 5 years of dedicated document control or records management experience in corporate, manufacturing, engineering or regulated environments.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years administering EDMS and supporting document control in regulated industries (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, aerospace, construction, energy, or defense).
  • Demonstrated experience supporting audits, regulatory inspections and cross-functional compliance initiatives.
  • Proven track record of implementing document control best practices, training end users, and improving document lifecycle efficiency.

Keywords: Document Control Administrator, document management, EDMS, records management, version control, ISO 9001, GMP, regulatory compliance, SOP, document lifecycle, records retention, audit support, controlled documents.

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