Executive Assistant - ,maternity cover 12-month fixed term contract, full time 

Central Manchester, Hybrid working  to £30,000 with extensive benefits

The role 

Executive Assistant roles are based within the Executive Support Services team which is responsible for supporting all areas of the business. The role reports to the relevant office’s Executive Support Manager who is responsible for providing a high quality support service to the lawyers, utilising available resources as appropriate.  The role is based within the firm’s Real Estate National Service Line and will work alongside the Document Production Specialists and Administration Assistants. You will be providing support to a high number of fee earners within the Real Estate NSL. 

The person 

This is a busy and challenging role and to be successful your background will probably include: 

• Experience in a similar role, such as a PA or Secretary and ideally within a similar environment
• Experience of providing support to multiple people i.e. diary management, arranging travel/events
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office systems; Outlook and Word 

In addition, the role requires someone who: 

• Ability to work as part of a team and establishes good working relationships at all levels
• Excellent planning and organisational skills 
• Flexible and willing to work additional hours as the role demands 
• Provides outstanding client service at all times 
• Able to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels  
• Excellent presentational and attention to detail skills 
• Remains calm under pressure 

The Activities 

• Work closely with the lawyers, supporting colleagues with all aspects of the firm’s core value of strong client relationships, anticipate and consider client needs and ensure comprehensive notes are available for any ongoing items 
• Investigate problems to produce a satisfactory solution and make any recommendations for improvement of client experiences and processes
• Deal with all calls and queries in a professional manner, take clear and concise messages and ensure these are dealt with in a timely fashion 
• Prepare and distribute agendas, itineraries and meeting papers including chasing any pending items to ensure lawyers have adequate time for planning 
• Maintain client sites, National Service Line and sector information on the Firm’s intranet site including any relevant FELIX know how  
• Think ahead of lawyer needs to free them up from administration tasks and actively assist with marketing initiatives 
• Be focussed and fully involved in the role delivering work with high level of experience and act in a mentoring, coaching or training role to others 
• Responsibility for your own personal development including developing your skills and wider knowledge of your team 

Business Management 

• Ensure lawyers’ diaries are managed, including organising/arranging events/travel, ensuring all ancillary arrangements made, work and activities are scheduled
• Manage and monitor lawyers’ inboxes including for planned and unplanned absence where possible reducing email volume by responding to emails and filing on worksite 
• Planning and managing work flow delegating appropriately ensuring you are fully aware of the workloads of others, including flexibility to going the extra mile for work to be completed 
• Manage all aspects of file administration including being the point of contact on behalf of lawyers including file set up, ensuring compliance and money laundering requirements are up to date/in place, drafting letters of engagement and liaising with the Central Compliance Team
• Completion and submission of any official forms relevant to assist lawyers in their roles using relevant packages/websites or delegating appropriately 

Technical Excellence 

• Ensure outstanding attention to detail, sense and quality check all work and identify quality issues and address problems prior to lawyer review 
• Outstanding knowledge of Microsoft Office and other commonly used software and hardware
• Manage the payment of lawyer and NSL expenses, memberships and subscriptions including using the Purchase Order system and preparation of payments etc. 
• Support lawyers with InterAction, delegating to the Administrative Assistants as appropriate, ensuring all new business/existing contacts are entered/up to date including lawyers’ Outlook address books, updating/adding business development activities, notifying lawyers of upcoming noteworthy events and producing lists and reports as required 
• Understand and support end to end billing process to assist lawyers 

Pre-employment screening  

Please note that, in the event that an offer of employment is made, a conduct pre-employment screening that includes checks relating to your professional and academic qualifications, references from previous employers, your eligibility to work in the UK and any disciplinary history recorded with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. You will also be required to complete a self-declaration to access your character and suitability.