Postmaster job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

8

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Postmasters and Mail Superintendents

O*NET-SOC 11-9131.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$96,660

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Postmasters and Mail Superintendents (O*NET-SOC 11-9131.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Postmaster” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Employment and Training Administration and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes. importance 4.7 of 5
2. Organize and supervise activities, such as the processing of incoming and outgoing mail. importance 4.7 of 5
3. Resolve customer complaints. importance 4.5 of 5
4. Prepare employee work schedules. importance 4.5 of 5
5. Direct and coordinate operational, management, and supportive services of one or a number of postal facilities. importance 4.5 of 5
6. Hire and train employees, and evaluate their performance. importance 4.4 of 5
7. Prepare and submit detailed and summary reports of post office activities to designated supervisors. importance 4.3 of 5
8. Negotiate labor disputes. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Making Decisions and Solving Problems and Working with Computers.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Select and train postmasters and managers of associate postal units.
• Inform the public of available services, and of postal laws and regulations.
• Issue and cash money orders.
• Collect rents for post office boxes.
• Confer with suppliers to obtain bids for proposed purchases and to requisition supplies, disbursing funds according to federal regulations.

Knowledge areas: Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Production and Processing and Customer and Personal Service.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation as typical.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most postmasters surveyed by O*NET (62%) name a high school diploma or equivalent as the education the job requires.

Job title: Postmaster
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Postmaster to plan, direct, or coordinate operational, administrative, management, and support services of a U.S. post office; or coordinate activities of workers engaged in postal and related work in assigned post office.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes.
- Organize and supervise activities, such as the processing of incoming and outgoing mail.
- Resolve customer complaints.
- Prepare employee work schedules.
- Direct and coordinate operational, management, and supportive services of one or a number of postal facilities.
- Hire and train employees, and evaluate their performance.
- Prepare and submit detailed and summary reports of post office activities to designated supervisors.
- Negotiate labor disputes.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years in a related occupation as typical; adjust to this role]
- Strength in social perceptiveness, coordination and time management
- Working knowledge of Administration and Management and Public Safety and Security
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Postmasters and Mail Superintendents, the median annual wage was $96,660 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $46.47. BLS estimates about 13,810 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Postmasters and Mail Superintendents to decline 0.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 900 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real postmaster posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only postmaster work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (social perceptiveness and coordination): a real situation, what you did and what changed.