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This role is for a proactive and highly competent Executive Assistant who can operate successfully in a pressurised and fast-paced environment, to provide client and business focussed secretarial and administrative support to a small group of partners. The individual will need to be able to adapt to different working styles of partners. It will include undertaking complex tasks and projects, providing high-level and flexible organisational support and playing a critical role in working with partners, clients and the department to help support the partners deliver to the highest standard.

Reporting to the Secretarial Team Leader, the individual needs to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the business. A degree of flexibility around working hours is expected.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Act as a professional and client service focussed ambassador for partners internally and externally
• Take full ownership of diaries, proactively managing all appointments, meetings and related logistics, working with partners to ensure that their schedules run smoothly and that they are where they need to be, at the scheduled meeting time, and that they are prepared for each meeting
• Proactively manage diary conflicts and take appropriate action on queries or clashes
• As agreed with each individual partner, manage inboxes responding to emails on their behalf, drafting emails appropriately, forwarding any client critical emails to other fee earners and secretaries in the team to action and respond and highlight any urgent/important emails that partner needs to respond to
• Demonstrate commercial and financial management understanding, by handling complex compliance and billing matters
• Take full ownership of tasks and manage workload against deadlines and business needs, working effectively and collaboratively with central support departments to efficiently deliver to deadlines
• Coordinate the billing process on behalf of the partners, proactively organising WIP and other financial management meetings, working with the wider department and Client Administrators to ensure billing processes meet deadlines
• Take ownership of financial and matter management processes for the team, for example coordinating chasing up unpaid bills
• Work in partnership with partners, building highly effective relationships with each of them, ensuring good working practices are put in place and adopted
• Arrange regular catch ups with each partner to review their diary and commitments, to ensure that a good understanding of partners’ clients and priorities is developed to help the partners make the best use of their time
• Introduce and implement best practice around key operational processes to enhance partner effectiveness and department performance
• Attend meetings and take minutes if required and follow up on designated actions to ensure completion ahead of the next meeting
• Liaise with the Marketing & Business Development team and key contacts, proactively coordinating BD activities, playing a key role in the organisation of events, seminars & conferences for the team
• Arrange travel requirements, understand individual’s personal preferences and manage all arrangements from start to finish (including journey details, accommodation, visa requirements, currency) and update diary to reflect all information
• Develop a thorough understanding of the partners’ practice area(s), clients, priorities, the teamworking practices, and goals
• Be a role model, work closely with the Secretarial Team Leader, be seen as a change agent and show a willingness and confidence to make suggestions for change where appropriate
• Build strong relationships internally and externally

Personal attributes and skills

• Confident and professional manner with the ability to build strong relationships with partners and clients
• Possess a thorough understanding of working in a professional, service driven environment
• Excellent communication skills and ability to interact at all levels
• Strong organisational, prioritising and deadline management skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to remain proactive and flexible at all times
• Anticipate and identify potential problems and provide innovative solutions
• A strong team player who proactively seeks out opportunities to help others by reprioritising workloads
• Be proactive and have the ability to anticipate and plan ahead
• Enthusiastic and resilient to cope with a challenging and busy role
• Diplomatic, with good judgement
• Flexible with a positive and committed attitude
• Motivated and pro-active with a 'can-do' approach
• Calm and efficient under pressure
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills.

Job Title

Secretarial Team Leader

Reports to

Secretarial Services Manager

Department

Secretarial Services

Hours

9.30-5.30 (flexibility required)

Job Summary

The role requires first class secretarial, organisational, and interpersonal skills, with the proven ability to build a wide range of relationships and deliver a high quality secretarial service to a team of lawyers.

The successful candidate will want to develop others, improve client service and will demonstrate initiative, enthusiasm, leadership, professionalism and a high level quality service delivery ethos.

This role, itself, is ever evolving and will develop as the individual gains experience.

Main duties and responsibilities

Workload and Service Delivery Management

• Provide a high quality and client service focussed secretarial and administrative support service to a portfolio of a Partner and Assistants
• On a day to day basis co-ordinate fee earners' secretarial and administrative workflow needs across the department(s) or team, making decisions on workload and delegating to the Business Services Centre (BSC) and other support services as appropriate
• Take ownership of any deadline management issues escalated to you ensuring that deadlines are met and work in progress is communicated
• Develop a good understanding of, and relationship with, fee earners and Department Secretaries in order to provide an excellent client service to the department
• Develop a good understanding of, and proactively work with, the BSC teams to ensure that all relevant document production and administrative services are being utilised and that the model is successful
• As part of the annual review process, work with the HOO/SSM to obtain feedback from the fee earners on the department secretarial service and team and hold review meetings, if appropriate
• Be proactive in building effective working relationships across the wider Secretarial Services function, the BSC, other Secretarial Team Leaders and wider Support Services successfully collaborating on projects and cross-firm initiatives

Operational Management and People Supervision

• Supervise and lead a team of Department Secretaries on a day to day basis, approving holidays and managing all Department Secretarial absences and cover requirements
• Plan team holiday and absence cover in advance, making the decision whether to self-cover or book Float Secretarial support and liaise with the Float Team Leader
• Implement agreed Firmwide Secretarial Services holiday, sickness and cover processes and any new operational practices into the department, ensuring that these are embedded on a day to day basis
• Be a first point of contact for secretarial new joiners to the department, meet them on their first day, schedule time with them, allocate a buddy and ensure that the new joiner has the relevant department training and knowledge
• Take ownership of operational and performance issues, escalating as appropriate to the Head of Operations (HOO)/Secretarial Services Manager (SSM) for advice and guidance, keeping the HOO/SSM informed
• Play a key role in the Department Secretarial appraisal process, supporting the feedback collation from fee earners and working with HOO/SSM, developing skills in order to play a lead role in delivering appraisals for Department Secretarial team
• Work with the Group Head and HOO/SSM on changes to secretarial allocations, consult with fee earners and Department Secretaries, communicating any changes to the department in a timely manner
• Regularly communicate whereabouts of Department Secretarial team, workload, absence and cover arrangements to the relevant fee earners/wider department
• Inform HR of daily sickness absence. Proactively monitor sickness absence of team, escalating concerns as appropriate to the HOO/SSM and HR for advice and guidance, keeping the HOO/SSM informed
• Ensure that the Department Secretaries have the necessary skills to carry out their roles, proactively escalating any required up skilling as and when required, taking ownership of developing others
• Be proactive in coming up with and implementing ways to improve processes and ways of working, spotting opportunities to contribute to the continual improvement of the Department Secretarial team, playing an integral part in working towards the team's goal of becoming a Best in Class secretarial team
• Provide informal regular feedback to Department Secretarial team and individuals to contribute to improvements in performance and client service delivery
• Work with other Support Services supervisors and managers to ensure that the department's operational needs are meet (eg Facilities, Repro, IT, Muniments)

Personal attributes

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing
• Organised manner with ability to prioritise workload and deliver to deadlines
• Motivated and pro-active with a 'can-do' approach
• Client service focus
• Team player with the ability to interact and build relationships with people at all levels
• Calm and efficient under pressure
• Flexible as regards to time and duties

Skills

• Some experience of managing a small team (not essential)
• Deep understanding of what secretarial excellence looks like
• Excellent understanding of relevant legal department, its clients, services and people
• Good understanding of the firm's packages and MS Office (specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
• Experience of providing advice and support to and mentoring others
• Strong administration, organisational and prioritisation skills
• Eye for detail with a concern for quality and accuracy