Service Manager – PA LEAD

AJ Chambers are assisting a top City Law Firm who are expanding their Business Support team. They are looking for an experienced Team Leader who will manage a team of EA’s, PA’s and Team Assistants with the Corporate and Finance Sectors.

Key Responsibilities

EA Support

·                    Client Service Delivery: Act as a gatekeeper to the Partners, organising time and tasks for effective management of resources and priorities.

·                    Proactive Diary Management: Ensure diaries are updated in real time, anticipating travel and accommodation bookings and meeting room requirements.

·                    Travel Coordination: Coordinate travel arrangements, plan and execute detailed itineraries for international trips, handle associated logistics, prepare bios and agendas, and circulate papers.

·                    Client Engagement : Assist Partners in managing time effectively by demonstrating awareness of contacts and clients and effectively participating in client care and handling basic client queries.

·                    Communication Management: Handle client-related and internal calls and manage message taking as appropriate.

·                    Document Management: Manage work returned by Document Production/Speech Recognition Teams for accuracy and formatting before passing to the relevant Partner/Lawyer.

·                    Business Development and Marketing: Liaise with Business Development to support marketing activities, including scheduling meetings, organising client events, assisting with pitches, managing directory submissions, and creating LinkedIn posts.

·                    CRM Database Management: Manage the CRM database, ensuring new prospects, contacts and business development activities are added and shared.

·                    Training and Guidance: Maintain up-to-date information on client protocols, provide guidance and training, and monitor compliance .

·                    File Management: Responsible for hard copy and electronic filing, including opening and closing files, monitoring and managing key dates for clients, supervising general filing requirements (including folder mapping), and ensuring compliance procedures are up to date on all files and matters.

·                    Administrative Support: Serve as the point of contact for administrative requests and manage internal and external communication, including drafting timely responses on behalf of Partners.

·                    Financial Administration: Assist the Central Finance team with various financial tasks, including client and event billing, credit control, bank payments and transfers, and expense management. Ensure all activities are conducted with precision and in accordance with contractual requirements.

·                    Project Management: Manage and oversee key projects, ensuring alignment with the Firm's strategic priorities.

·                    Efficiency Optimisation: Streamline workflows and manage time to enhance productivity.

Management Responsibilities

·                    Performance Management: Conduct regular progress meetings and performance reviews.

·                    Induction and Onboarding: Ensure smooth induction of new team members, supporting understanding of HR, department, and client-specific policies.

·                    Training and Development: Mentor and coach team members, identifying training opportunities, and use constructive feedback.

·                    Pastoral Care and Wellbeing: Ensure the wellbeing of the Service Team through effective pastoral care.

·                    Resource Management: Manage resource allocation fairly, especially during absences.

·                    Client Service Delivery: Balance Service Team activities while maintaining close liaison with Head of Practice Support.

·                    Internal and External Relationship Development: Develop relationships and manage services around agreed SLAs/KPIs.

·                    Statistical Reporting: Maintain statistics for SLAs/KPIs report monitoring.

·                    Issue Resolution: Resolve workflow, resource availability, and service delivery issues.

·                    Compliance and Policy Adherence: Ensure full compliance with policies and procedures.

·                    Continuous Improvement: Work with the Head of Practice and other Service Leaders to improve legal support services.

Other Responsibilities

·                    Attend relevant training to keep up-to-date with firmwide procedures.

·                    Commitment to continuous learning and performance improvement.

Personal Specification – competencies, skills, and attributes

Core Competencies

Service Leaders exemplify the core competencies of Proactivity, Teamwork, Effective Communication, Inspiring Confidence, Strategic Thinking, Problem Solving, and Digital Literacy essential for operational excellence and superior client service.

·                    Proactivity: Anticipate and address the needs of Partners, Lawyers and team members, resolving challenges before they escalate and identifying opportunities to enhance service delivery.

·                    Teamwork: Foster collaboration by leading distributed teams with virtual tools, encouraging open dialogue, leveraging team strengths, and maintaining unified approaches across the Firm to ensure high-quality service delivery.

·                    Effective Communication: Manage expectations across diverse groups, providing clear updates, encouraging constructive feedback, recognising good work, and ensuring understanding of objectives.

·                    Inspiring Confidence: Exemplify professionalism and reliability, delivering work with accuracy and attention to detail. Inspire confidence among the Service Team, Partners, Lawyers and clients, reinforcing the Firm's reputation for high-quality legal support.

·                    Strategic Thinking: Collaborate with the Head of Practice to support long-term organisational goals and contribute to the Firm's overarching vision.

·                    Problem Solving: Apply critical thinking skills to solve complex issues and enhance organisational processes. Proactively identify areas for improvement and implement solutions that drive efficiency and effectiveness.

·                    Digital Literacy: Use the Firm's digital tools and technologies for efficiency, data analysis, and innovative solutions.

Skills and Attributes

·                    Able to lead, motivate, and develop people.

·                    Resilient and influential under pressure.

·                    Ability to foster excellent working relationships at all levels and to navigate team nuances.

·                    High emotional intelligence to foster an inclusive environment.

·                    Proven ability to manage projects and resources effectively.

·                    Client service-focused with strong interpersonal skills and attention to detail and accuracy in all internal and external client communications and deliverables.

·                    Effective in handling and maintaining the highest level of confidentiality with sensitive information.

·                    Exceptional organisational skills, optimising and managing workflows effectively.

·                    Capable of making decisions in the absence of the Head of Practice.

Technical skills

·                    Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office.

·                    Advanced knowledge of document management/case management systems.

·                    Ability to interrogate systems, analyse data, and write reports with recommendations.

·                    Ability to operate the Firm's various software packages and adapt to technological changes.

The role will offer a highly competitive salary, benefits package and hybrid working.

For further information please contact Ella Britton