Job Description

Term: Permanent


Working hours: Full-time


Department: Office Services


Location: London


The firm

Watson Farley & Williams is an international law firm advising on complex disputes and transactions through local knowledge and an integrated international network. We have a strong sector focus, combining our technical excellence with deep industry knowledge across Energy, Transport and associated Infrastructure.


The firm has achieved rapid expansion and year-on-year growth owed almost entirely to a focused strategy, strong leadership and the quality of its people. The next stage in the firm's growth plan is to achieve full-service strength within core sectors across the global platform.


We strive for excellence in all that we do and view investment in our people as key to achieving our business goals and values, which rest on developing deep and long-lasting relationships externally and internally through respect, sharing, communication and integrity.


Our global practice is integrated across our offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America delivering consistently high levels of service across borders and locally through a deep understanding of local business customs and culture.


We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace to attract and retain the most talented people from all backgrounds and cultures. We believe in celebrating difference and that people from any background can rise to the top, ensuring opportunities to develop and progress are available for all.





Role overview

The Office Management Assistant provides comprehensive administrative support for the Office Management team enabling the delivery of a high-quality working environment and effective support services for the London office.


Supporting day to day office operations, building & facilities management, and secretarial support services the successful candidate will enjoy a wide variety of duties and responsibilities with plenty of scope to develop the role further over time.


For the first 18 months at least, there will be a particular focus on our exciting relocation project. We are thrilled to be moving our London operation to a newly redeveloped building in the City of London after over 30 years at our current premises. We are looking for a motivated and hard-working individual to join us on this exciting journey and beyond.


Essential for success is an enthusiastic approach with excellent administrative and organisational skills. No two days are the same so flexibility, patience, and the ability to spin lots of plates at the same time are also key requirements. In return for your commitment, we will offer a friendly and supportive environment where you will be valued and encouraged.





Key activities/responsibilities

To include (but not limited to):


Provide full administrative support to the office management team and relocation project steering groups with respect to the office relocation project. This will involve many, varied tasks such as organising meetings, site tours, staff events, workstream planning, setting up new processes and procedures, research, keeping a project tracker, producing posters and comms, maintaining files of project documentation and much more. Produce a comprehensive building guide for the new office. Support the office management team with special projects such as supplier RFPs and the new office fit-out providing administrative support, creative ideas, reporting, and organisational support. Complete risk assessment forms as and when required e.g. new joiners with allergies, maternity returners etc., flagging to the Office Manager/HR department any risks or special measures, and maintain the building risk assessment file. Maintain a register of first aiders; organise training courses and certificate renewals, record monthly attendance rotas, keep posters up to date, monitor contents of first aid boxes and replenish where necessary. Maintain the building accident register; complete incident logs and highlight any potential risks to the Office Manager. Maintain fire safety records and associated administration; keep the fire warden register up to date; record monthly rotas, arrange fire drills, organise training courses and certificate renewals, keep posters up to date, maintain evacuation procedure documents, and circulate to new joiners. Ensure compliance with HSE rules by renewing the displays of H&S posters and insurance certificates. Liaise with the Learning & Development team to main the online health and safety training system and ensure all new joiners have completed. Complete a monthly building access card audit ensuring all cards are active/deactivated as appropriate and comprehensive audit trails and are up to date and available for pitch requests. Implement and maintain a register of facilities management and health & safety pitch questions. Responsible for the office artwork; liaising with curators, arranging exhibitions and private viewings, switch over of exhibitions and related administration. Responsible for managing the day-to-day relationship with the travel management provider; attend regular review meetings; manage complaints, support new product roll outs, arrange/conduct PA training, manage portal accounts for new joiners/leavers etc. Manage WFW's British Airways On Business account, keeping up to date with current points levels and usage, ensuring efficient spending of the points where appropriate. Maintain the London PA brochure, checking content, keeping it up to date and ensuring it is regularly re-distributed. Organise regular large events such as the Global Office Manager Conference, annual WFW European sports tournament, and London officewide parties. Set up and maintain the office management policy register; highlighting when policies are due for review/renewal, co-ordinating input, updating intranet and distributing where necessary. Help to devise and then continue to maintain terraces booking system. Liaise with the planting provider to ensure the effective day to day running of the service, organising regular site visits, quality control, checking invoices. Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Wellbeing Suite; setting up and maintaining a booking system, taking bookings, working with the Office Manager and other stakeholders to devise a monthly schedule e.g. visiting health professionals, sports massage, beauty treatments etc., and associated admin such as insurance certificates and invoices. Maintain the booking system for the office sports teams, make court reservations, check invoices, arrange ad-hoc sports events such as Law Society Rugy Sevens, London Legal Walk etc. Maintain the stock of WFW London sports kit, signing kit in and out, ensuring returns, topping up and arranging laundry collections as and when required. Collect office occupancy data daily and produce reports as and when required. Support the Office Manager with new joiner inductions; updating presentation slides; conducting building tours and standing in to deliver presentations. Overhaul and maintain the office management electronic filing system. Support the Technical Services Manager and Secretarial Services Manager with diary scheduling as and when required, particularly with team meetings, quarterly PA reflection meetings and interviews. Maintain the booking system for basement car parking. Maintain the office management intranet pages such as Office Services, Policies, PA pages etc., ensuring content is up to date and relevant, researching additional content, news stories etc. Responsible for placing ad-hoc orders for office related equipment such as tools or decorations. Order the office Christmas trees for internal and external facing areas, arrange delivery and collection, decorations, and storage. Responsible for organising various team events for the London PAs and office management teams e.g. the annual wreath making event.


Skills and experience - desired


At least 3 years' experience in an administrative role, within a professional services environment. Excellent technical skills, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel essential. The ability to think creatively, full of ideas. Impeccable written and verbal communication skills; fluent in English. Experience of facilities management would be an advantage but not essential. A positive, friendly, enthusiastic approach is essential. Service driven, with flexible and friendly approach where nothing is too much trouble. Proactive, able to assess where value can be added with minimal direction.



Benefits

We offer a competitive benefits and wellbeing package for all employees.





Additional information

The Firm promotes a culture of agility and flexibility and is fully supportive of flexible working arrangements where these can be accommodated.





Equal opportunities

Respect for different backgrounds and perspectives is at the heart of our firm's core values and we recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive environment that allows everyone to reach their full potential. This is a key feature of our Global Code of Conduct, which places diversity and inclusion at the centre of our firm's ways of working.


We believe that exceptional client service can only be delivered by exceptional people. For this reason, we aim to attract, retain and develop the best talent from a wide range of backgrounds. All decisions relating to employment will be objective and based on merit and ability.


We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are as inclusive and barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with a disability or long-term health condition. If you require adjustments to be made at any stage of the recruitment process, we'd encourage you to get in touch with a member of our team who would be happy to discuss options with you.