Personal Assistant

Personal Assistant

Job title: Personal Assistant

Location: Leeds, Manchester or London

Contract: Full Time, Permanent

Shifts: 37.5 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 9.00am-5:30pm with 1 hour unpaid break

Work model: Hybrid - 3 days office based, 2 days from home.

Williams Lea has an exciting opportunity for ideally an experienced PA – however if you have the skills required from working as an administrator, secretary or legal administrator please do get in touch with me for a conversation.

Purpose of role

This role is to provide enhanced, proactive support to a team of busy fee earners enabling them to operate efficiently. The support provided needs to be seamless and of a high standard. The team is made up of fee earners of differing levels working across different legal teams based in the Leeds office. The successful candidate will need to use a high degree of self-management, initiative and maintain a high level of confidentiality.

The Personal Assistant will act as workflow manager for other support services. This includes delegating and supervising the completion of document production, file management and copying / scanning work which are primarily undertaken by other relevant business support services.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• In line with policies and procedures, key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Proactively managing complex diaries

• Answering telephone calls in a timely fashion, taking clear and detailed messages

• Organising internal and external meetings

• Liaising with clients via email or telephone and acting as a point of contact in keeping with the firm’s standards for client care

• Assisting fee earners in the billing and credit control process. Generating accurate billing reports, draft bills, and accompanying letters in a timely manner

• Assisting fee earners with finance tasks, namely requesting cheques, CHAPS/BACS payments, bank transfers and paying in money received, as appropriate

• Ensuring accurate and timely use of client relationship management tool to facilitate matter opening, maintenance, closure and archiving

• Maintaining up to date client records on the firm’s client relationship management tool, including client contact details, client specific requests in relation to billing and bill formats, details of other parties etc in line with the firm’s policy and processes

• Co-ordinating fee earner movements and making travel arrangements

• Managing the client and matter inception process ensuring files are opened in a timely manner in accordance with the firm’s policies

• Managing the process of submitting partner/fee earners expenses in a timely manner

• Co-ordinating the completion of document production (including digital dictations/manuscript amendments), e-filing and file management, photocopying and scanning services, organising couriers, sending out of letters/faxes etc

• Managing the production of official papers including bundles and relevant documents

• Drafting documents from precedents

• Liaising with fee earners and support staff based in other offices

• Actively participating in all relevant training

• Demonstrating flexibility with working practices/processes in line with the business need, especially in times of pressure/ high workload

• Assisting other members of the department, both proactively and at the request of the team leader and work effectively with other legal and support departments as required

• Any other relevant duties as reasonably requested by the fee earners or your line manager

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Previous experience within a legal or professional services setting preferable

• Exceptional standard of written and verbal communication

• Proficient multi-tasker

• Competent with the Microsoft Office suite

• Team player

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Proven experience in a similar role

• Solutions focused

• Have a high level of confidentiality and integrity

• Exceptional attention to detail

• Ability to remain calm under pressure and work within tight deadlines

• Proactive

The Package:

Private Medical Insurance, Life Insurance/Life Assurance, Company Pension, Corporate Eye Care, Personal Accident and Company Sick Pay. Additional benefits such as Dental Insurance, Childcare Vouchers, Gym Membership, Charity Donations, Employee Offers, Retail Vouchers and Season Ticket Loan are offered at a discount on a salary sacrifice basis. You will also have the opportunity to work for a global employer; and dedicated to offering each and every employee an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding career with future career development prospects.

The Company values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation and will not discriminate because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (each of these being a “protected characteristic” in discrimination law). It will not discriminate because of any other irrelevant factor and will build a culture that values openness, fairness and transparency.

Please note: Due to the high volume of responses received for this role we will not be able to contact all applicants directly. If you have not heard from us in four weeks please consider your application unsuccessful.