Office Boy Job Description: Duties, Skills and a Ready Template
An office boy is the person who keeps an office running from the inside: tea and coffee for staff, hospitality for guests and meetings, a clean pantry, and documents moving between desks. In the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait the same role is also advertised as tea boy or pantry attendant. This office boy job description lists the duties and responsibilities, the skills to look for, and a template you can paste into a job ad.
What are the duties and responsibilities of an office boy?
- Prepare drinks — tea, Arabic or Turkish coffee, instant coffee and cold drinks — the way each employee likes them.
- Serve guests and meetings on time, with clean cups and trays.
- Keep the pantry clean: cups, kettles, counters, fridge and floor.
- Track pantry supplies — tea, coffee, sugar, milk, water — and report before anything runs out.
- Record orders against the employee who placed them, where staff pay for their own drinks.
- Deliver documents and files between departments, and run small internal errands.
- Support events such as meetings, visits and celebrations in the office.
A complete list of what a pantry needs is in our office pantry items list.
Office boy, tea boy or pantry attendant: what is the difference?
| Title | Where it is common | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Office boy | UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt | Pantry and office errands |
| Tea boy | UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait | Drinks and hospitality |
| Pantry attendant | Large companies, hotels | The pantry itself |
| Office attendant / messenger | Saudi Arabia, Jordan | Errands and documents |
In practice, most companies with one or two staff use the titles interchangeably. Pick the one your candidates search for — "office boy" is the most widely understood.
What skills should an office boy have?
- Drinks: tea, Arabic coffee or Turkish coffee, instant coffee, cold drinks.
- Hospitality manners: serving guests and senior staff politely and discreetly.
- Hygiene: personal cleanliness and a spotless pantry.
- Organisation: handling five orders at once without forgetting one.
- Stock awareness: noticing that sugar is low before it is gone.
- Reliability: punctual, honest — he enters every office.
- Language: basic Arabic or English, depending on the office.
- Phone apps: many offices now send pantry orders through an app instead of calling.
What does a typical day look like?
- Before staff arrive: open the pantry, boil water, check supplies, clean cups.
- Morning peak: the first round of tea and coffee, desk by desk.
- Meetings: prepare trays before guests arrive, clear them after.
- Midday: cleaning, restocking, document runs.
- Afternoon peak: the second round of drinks.
- End of day: wash up, close the pantry, report what needs ordering.
How do you measure an office boy's performance?
- Delivery time: how long staff wait for a drink.
- Accuracy: right drink, right desk, right sugar.
- Pantry cleanliness, checked a few times a week.
- Stock: no surprise shortages.
- Feedback from staff and from whoever hosts the meetings.
Most of these are hard to see on paper. In the Elbofeh office pantry app, every order is placed by the employee on his phone and recorded with its time, so reports show the average delivery time, orders per office boy and peak hours automatically.
Office boy job description template
Copy, edit the brackets, and paste into your job ad:
Office Boy / Tea Boy — [Company], [City]
We are looking for a reliable office boy to look after our staff and guests.
Responsibilities: prepare and serve tea, coffee and cold drinks to staff, guests and meetings; keep the pantry, cups and equipment clean; track pantry supplies and report before stock runs out; record staff orders; deliver documents between departments; support the office with internal errands.
Requirements: experience as an office boy or tea boy is preferred; Arabic coffee / tea preparation; clean and well-presented; punctual and honest; basic Arabic or English; [visa / residence requirement].
Working hours: [days], [from – to]. Salary and benefits: [amount], [accommodation / transport / uniform].
Apply: send your CV to [email / WhatsApp].
Candidates can use our free office boy CV template to apply.
Frequently asked questions
What are the duties of an office boy?
An office boy prepares and serves tea, coffee and cold drinks to staff, guests and meetings, keeps the pantry clean, tracks pantry supplies, and delivers documents between departments.
What is the difference between an office boy and a tea boy?
In most Gulf offices they are the same job. Tea boy stresses the drinks and hospitality side, while office boy can also include errands and document delivery across the office.
What skills does an office boy need?
Making tea and Arabic or Turkish coffee, serving guests politely, personal hygiene, keeping track of stock, handling several orders at once, punctuality and honesty.
What is a pantry attendant?
Pantry attendant is a more formal title for the person who runs an office or hotel pantry. In company job ads it usually describes the same role as office boy or tea boy.