Manage a team of secretaries,
ensuring even spread of workload between the secretarial allocation,
dealing with absence and holiday requests. Assist in the induction
of new joiners (support and fee earners). Main point of contact for
the secretaries and the wider team which includes partners and fee
earners. Help maintain good morale among secretaries, monitor
performance and provide feedback for reviews. Be proactive with new
initiatives and training needs for the secretary team. Manage
effectively difficult conversations with all team members, take a
pragmatic approach and find solutions to overcome any issues.
Key responsibilities
Secretarial Support
Creating and amending documents,
correspondence and emails, to a high degree of accuracy and to
tight deadlines
Opening new files through Intapp
Open, identify and collect the required KYC documents for new clients
Scheduling meetings with
clients, booking meeting rooms, video conferencing etc
Liaising with other departments,
following up on queries from fee earners
Co-ordinate the billing process
on behalf of the partner, liaise with the casehandlers in respect
of any changes and instructions to finance to finalise the
invoices; sending invoices out to clients
Liaising with the translations'
department and corporate services' department
Assisting fee earners with
adding time entries on Intapp Time
Liaising with clients and their secretaries
Assisting fee earners with
administrative tasks including expenses
Updating the firm's client
database on Interaction
Workflow
Responsible for secretarial
allocation, ensuring workflow is maintained, making changes as necessary
Monitor workload, ensuring work
is evenly distributed. Evaluate on a regular basis and discuss
with secretaries to ensure no under/overcapacity, thus ensuring
secretarial services are being used as efficiently as possible
Ensuring all deadlines are met
within the team
Authorise leave for the team,
ensuring adequate resources are maintained to cover the workload
Supervision
Provide test material for
interviews and assess results
Manage and facilitate the
interview process for secretaries
Provide training for new
secretaries as necessary and making sure each secretary attends
all mandatory training
Monitor performance during
probationary period, ensuring work is produced according to housestyle
Monitor performance and attitude
of secretaries on an ongoing basis and give feedback for reviews
Be confident in your communication when speaking with the partners
and case handlers with regards to any concerns they may have
Induction
Participate in new joiner
process and ensure partners, fee earners and secretaries are
properly integrated; ensure new joiners have the necessary access
to the relevant software, training and documents for their role
Ensure buddy system is working
and assist with integration of new secretaries into the team
For partners and fee earners
ensure that the relevant meetings and introductions with key team
members are arranged, on-going training of the systems and regular
check-ins for the first couple of months
General
Attend group meetings where
appropriate (practice group, partner, secretarial, admin)
Put forward ideas to improve
working practices
Work with other Team Leaders to
manage secretarial services across the firm
Liaise with management and HR on
any performance related issues
Inputting towards secretarial
reviews, obtaining feedback and producing summaries and assisting
in their development and objectives for the coming 6-12 months ahead
Attending team leader meetings
Arranging secretarial meetings
within the department and within the firm
Maintain holiday and sickness
records for the wider team (partners and fee earners)
First point of contact for all
partner/fee earner/support queries as well as other departments
throughout the office
Inputting to management projects
on the secretarial function
Identify appropriate training
opportunities and encourage team members to attend sessions to
support their personal and technical development
Candidate profile
Good standard of education; a
secretarial qualification is desirable
At least 3-5 years of experience
as a senior legal secretary in a law firm
Prior supervisory/coaching role experience
Good delegator and comfortable
in a supervisory role
Strong communication and
interpersonal skills
Excellent IT skills in MS Office
Organised and able to work to
tight deadlines
Able to work independently or as
part of a team and carry out all duties with total confidentiality
Please note: Internal applications only. The
deadline to apply is by Friday 24th May 2023.
