JOB DESCRIPTION / ROLE
The Role
• Manage the workflow, ensuring even spread of work, secretarial allocation, dealing with absence and holiday.
• Assist in the induction of new joiners (business support and fee earners).
• Help maintain good morale among secretaries, monitor performance and provide feedback for appraisals.
• Involvement in the interview process for secretaries.
Key Responsibilities
Secretarial support
• Creating and amending documents, correspondence and emails, using audio dictation and manuscripts to a high degree of accuracy and to tight deadlines
• Proof reading documents for spelling and grammar and sense checking letters for clear language
• Tracking changes in finished documents using a software package
• Running conflict checks and opening new files on the system
• Drafting non-technical email responses and cover letters on behalf of fee earners
• Scheduling meetings with clients, booking meeting rooms, arranging dial in details, video conferencing etc.
• Taking calls in fee earners’ absence presenting a professional image to clients and other visitors and actioning calls if required
• Liaising with other departments, following up on queries from fee earners
• Managing partner / fee earners' diaries
• Travel arrangements (flights/taxis/hotel accommodation), preparing itineraries and arranging travel visas
• Managing partner’s monthly billing from start to finish, liaising with finance during the process and sending invoices to clients
• Recording fee earner time using IntApp Time
• Liaising with clients and their secretaries
• Creating document packs for client meetings as well as creating trial bundles for documents
• Arranging non-case related filing, ensuring files are kept up to date and emails are e-filed using Filesite
• Preparation of PowerPoint presentations using the firm’s templates and Excel spreadsheets
• Updating the firm's client database
• Monitoring fee earner’s inbox in their absence
• Arranging monthly reimbursement of fee earners expenses
Supervision
• 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/over capacity, thus ensuring secretarial services are being used as efficiently as possible
• Ensuring all deadlines are met within the team
• Assess the need for overtime with a view to ensuring this is minimised
• Ensuring there is a adequate secretarial cover and allocation is appropriately spread when there is secretarial leave
• Provide test material for interviews and assess results
• Take part in 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 house style
• Monitor performance and attitude of secretaries on an ongoing basis and give feedback for annual reviews
• Identify requests for other leave (e.g. unpaid and compassionate) and escalate to OSM
• Appoint a deputy to act in their absence
Induction
• Participate in new joiner process and ensure fee earners and ensure fee earners and secretaries are properly integrated in areas of desk/pc/phone set up
• Ensure buddy system is working and assist with integration of new secretaries into the team
• Liaise with responsible person to ensure new joiners are in the correct telephone pick up group
• Ensure new joiners (fee earners and secretaries) are fully trained on the use of the telephone system and assist all new joiners to set up voicemail
• Ensure all new joiners are fully aware of the firm's Intranet, especially relating to the secretarial side of the business
• Ensure all new joiners are fully aware of any departmental policies
General
• Attend group meetings where appropriate (Workgroups, Admin)
• Put forward ideas to improve working practices
• Act as first point of contact for the team
• Work with other Team Leaders to manage secretarial services across the firm
• Assisting HR in the induction process for fee earners
• Liaise with management and HR on any performance related issues
• Inputting towards secretarial appraisals, obtaining feedback and producing summaries and assisting in their development and objectives for the coming 6/12 months ahead
• Assisting with mid-year reviews
• Attending team leader meetings, preparing agendas and minutes of meeting
• Arranging secretarial meetings within the department and within the firm
• Managing annual leave requests for secretarial team and fee earners, liaising with partners if further approval is required
• Recording sick leave for secretaries and fee earners
• First point of contact for all partner/fee earner/support/administrative issues
• Inputting to management projects on the secretarial function
• Arranging team social events
• Ensuring office space is kept clear and tidy
REQUIREMENTS
Competencies and experience required
• Currently based in Riyadh with a transferable Iqama
• Good standard of education; a legal secretarial qualification is desirable
• At least 3-5 years of experience as a Senior legal secretary in a legal environment
• Prior supervisory/coaching role experience, must have managed a team of legal secretaries
• Good delegator and comfortable in a supervisory role
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent oral and written English and Arabic skills
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Fast and accurate audio typing and excellent attention to detail
• Be organised and able to work to tight deadlines
• Be able to prioritise, work independently or as part of a team and carry out all duties with total confidentiality.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
RecruitME are a specialized recruitment consultancy supplying top tier business support staff to Dubais leading multinational organizations. We carefully source, screen and select only the very best candidates to assist our clients in making easier recruitment decisions faster.
Differentiating ourselves from standard recruitment agencies our consultants have been carefully chosen for their backgrounds in business support for leading multinational organizations. Having been both the client and the candidate previously, we have an insiders understanding of the recruitment process and our clients needs.
What we do:
Specializing in business support positions we can assist in introducing a small selection of experienced administration, finance and human resource candidates with the relevant experience to benefit your business. Our careful screening process ensures that we have met with and can give a concise overview of each candidates skills and current situation before you meet them.
We pride ourselves on sending our clients only the very best available candidates in the market to ensure a simplified, hassle free and timely recruitment experience for all involved.
