Estates Assistant/Receptionist

Job Description

The firm A leading UK law firm with a network of offices from the South Coast to Scotland, working together as one national team. An innovative practice and the first top 50 law firm to achieve "Platinum Standard" Investors in People, our values and culture are notjust words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm. The lack of barriers between departments, a real lack of hierarchy, zero tolerance for arrogance makes Shoosmiths a fantastic place to work. The team Estates Management is the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities. This encompasses multi-disciplinary activities within the built environmentand the management of their impact upon people and the workplace. Effective estates management, combining resources and activities, is vital to the success of any organisation. At a corporate level, it contributes to the delivery of strategic and operationalobjectives. On a day-to day level, effective estates management provides a safe and efficient working environment, which is essential to the performance of any business - whatever its size and scope. Responsibilities of this team include property strategy,space management and communications infrastructure to building maintenance, administration and contract management. The role The timely and efficient delivery and collection of all post for the Belfast Office in accordance with the agreed Facilities Service Level Agreement, deliveries out with the office, photocopying, scanning and other estate management duties including Receptionduties and filing/archiving of files and titles and any other tasks deemed necessary. Main responsibilities

• Delivery and collection of mail in accordance with agreed SLAs
• Record and Distribute recorded and special delivery items for Belfast
• To sort and frank all outgoing mail and ensure that it is ready for delivery at 5.00pm
• Deal with all mail queries/complaints (incl DX, recorded, special and royal mail) and keep adequate records of all queries on file for monthly analysis
• Assist with the preparation of the printing, scanning and copying of documents
• Preparing E-Bibles, accesses passes, and binding as required
• Assist in keeping the building tidy as and when required
• Assist in banking and court run duties as and when required
• Assist in setting up client meeting rooms
• Any courier/administration duties as and when required
• Working as part of a team to coordinate the front of house reception.
• Professionally and promptly, meeting and greeting all of the Firms clients, any visitors and any internal visitors from other offices
• Ensuring front of house, including all meeting rooms and boardrooms, together with the client lounge area, front desk and admin room are completely clear of any clutter and kept neat and tidy at all times.
• Working with the PAs and Legal Advisers to support and understand their requirements, asking questions to ensure all requirements are covered and understood (such as, numbers of attendees for events, numbers of internal and external visitors, cateringrequirements, refreshments, duration of meetings, meeting room set up and IT equipment, name badges and handout notes/paperwork)
• Managing and co-ordinating all client hospitality and client catering for all types of events which can include early morning breakfast seminars, client and staff lunches and evening cocktail events.
• Setting up and preparing the meetings rooms in advance of any meetings or events taking place to ensure all audio visual equipment, furniture requirements and catering is in place and ready and refreshed as required by the meeting/event host.
• Answering the telephone on Reception within 3 rings and providing a switchboard service to the office transferring calls and dealing with incoming queries.
• Dealing with incoming email requests and meeting room requests and ensuring these are checked and processed throughout the day on a regular basis and in a timely manner.
• Conduct daily monitoring checks of the entire reception suite to ensure all areas are ready for use at any time and dealing with or reporting any issues to the Estates Manager.
• There will be a requirement to provide an out of hours service for events and seminars (hours of work to be agreed prior to events with the Regional Estates Manager and the team to ensure all hours are covered).
• Reconcile and process the office invoices for Regional Estates Manager approval.
• Responding to internal personnel change notifications and ensuring all actions are diarised and carried out in advance of the changes/staff arrivals.
• Checking stationery stocks and catering supplies and refilling/ordering replenishments where necessary.
• Identifying any problems and acting on them promptly and efficiently raising points with the Estates Manager if necessary.
• Use Outlook diary to share communications via the event functions where required

Skills and qualifications

• Ability to work accurately with minimum supervision.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines with high levels of accuracy
• Positive and professional attitude with strength of character and determination to succeed
• Maintain high standards
• Work well under pressure
• Ability to identify areas requiring improvement.

Good organisational skills to ensure that tasks are effectively scheduled within working time available. Equal opportunities Our approach to our people is underpinned by our approach to diversity, inclusion and well being. Our ambition is to build a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and talents, and a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognisesand nurtures talent, and has a strong sense of community between colleagues.This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.