Legal Secretary & Office Manager/Administrator

Job description / Role

Description of the Company:
Our client is an established professional charity, and are recruiting for a Legal Secretary & Office Manager/Administrator for their Abu Dhabi office.


Description of the Role:
The successful candidate will gain an in-depth understanding of the running of a unique charity project. They will act as an integral part of the team and have direct involvement in the management of a busy and stimulating office environment. As a small organisation, you will get the opportunity to really make a difference in all areas of the social enterprise, wholly owned by the charity.

Key duties of the post include everything from supporting legal contract work, general administration, database management, filing correspondence, and stationery orders.

Further tasks include:
- Working closely with the Director to prepare legal documents and oversee various legal cases.
- When applicable, ensuring that the Directors private office and Foundations office is manned between 9am-6:30pm Sunday to Thursday or Monday to Friday as directed, except for the 25th and 26th of December and the 1st of January.
- Performing a welcoming and efficient front of house in the office, over the telephone, by email, by letter and during on-site meetings.
- Ensuring the phone is answered and messages are handled responsibly when in the office and also on the office mobile phone at all times when required.
- Ensuring all incoming correspondence and deliveries are handled professionally and efficiently
- Preparing the Directors email and postal correspondence, mostly by audio-dictation
- Selling charity merchandise when required and assisting with the sales processes across all channels
- Managing all office supplies and expenditure, minimising costs wherever possible
- Managing the Directors business and social diary, frequently liaising with senior people and consultants from different business and charity organisations
- Arranging and preparing the Director for internal and external meetings, including refreshments and catering for on-site meetings
- Organising all domestic and international travel arrangements including air miles and visa admin
- Co-coordinating meetings and venues for team members and taking minutes of meetings as required
- Maintaining working office infrastructure (Telecoms, IT hardware and software etc.) and using initiative to handle general IT problems to ensure the smooth running of the office.
- Maintaining the contacts database and electronic filing system, including back-ups
- Supporting the social enterprise partners, by arranging for the Director to execute contracts and sending such contracts to licensing partners and agencies.
- Providing first class admin and secretarial support, preparing documents and presentation materials for the Director
- Carrying out ad hoc investigative background research in the fields relevant to the charity
- Corresponding with charities regarding marketing, fundraising and funding opportunities
- Petty cash management and basic accounts administration where necessary
- Assisting with and coordinating the practical arrangements for events in close cooperation with consultants, i.e. fundraising events, public speaking engagements, committee meetings, international gatherings and business parties
- Sourcing, recruiting, training and managing other office personnel, including interns, volunteers etc.
- Personal assistance to the Director as required, including dry cleaning, food orders and all aspects of household & household staffing arrangements alongside the Directors house keeper in the UAE.
- Managing daily maintenance of the office space and recycling, including educating yourself about environmental sustainability and adhering to best practice to minimise carbon, water and waste pollution
- Managing the Directors UK and UAE properties, including liaising with tenants, property managers, landlord, managing all contractors and suppliers, training and supervision of internal household staff etc.

Requirements

Candidate Requirements:
Our client is looking for an upbeat, but professional person who has an excellent telephone manner and can think quickly to spot new opportunities and things that need to be done. Our client is looking for a positive candidate with a typing speed of over 75-80wpm, Legal Secretary or Paralegal training and/or contract experience, and English as their first language. The candidate must be willing to travel and have a passport that enables their doing so.

Ideally, you will have not only office /admin experience, but also legal secretary/paralegal training and/or experience with contract work, but the most important thing is confidence and a hunger to make things happen and develop existing and new skills. Must be capable of working in a small, multitasked environment and doing so at a fast pace.

Good computer skills are a must, including knowledge of MS Word and Excel.

Perfect written English - excellent grammar and spelling

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a desire to make a difference and for those who aspire to eventually running their own business. Undoubtedly this experience will add an interesting and unusual dimension to your CV.

The Director of the charity, will supervise the work along with additional support from the rest of the team.

This role is currently based in Dubai, the role long-term is based in Abu Dhabi; so realistically our client looking for someone based in Abu Dhabi who is willing to work in Dubai for a 4-6 week period while they are receiving training.

This is very much a multi-functional role and candidates should be comfortable working on numerous varied tasks at the same time.

Unfortunately due to the high volume of candidate applications only the successful candidates will be contacted.

About the Company

Connect Executive Search Middle East is a full service selection and placement agency that is focused on supplying the best pool of talent to the Middle East. Offering an unrivalled level of service, our aim is to connect organisations with leading professionals through our team’s sector specific knowledge and in-depth understanding of the Middle East market.

We cover multiple sectors as following:

• Emiratisation & Government • Healthcare & Life Sciences • Legal & Business Support • OIL, Gas & Energy • Industrial and Engineering

At Connect Executive Search Middle East, finding employees the work they are best suited for, and by finding employers those candidates who are the right fit within their organization, we provide value to society as a whole. By finding the right balance between the needs of the employer and the changing wishes of employees, we will bring supply and demand closer together. It is our mission to inspire individuals and organisations to work more effectively and efficiently, and create greater choice in the domain of work, for the benefit of all concerned.