Secretarial Services Manager - London

CMS is recruiting for a highly experienced Secretarial Services Manager to join our London office. We seek a dedicated professional with a proven track record in Secretarial Services management. 

About us

CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 80 offices in over 45 countries and 5,800+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.

We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working.  Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.

About the role

The Secretarial Services Manager will be responsible for leading the Secretarial Services Function in the London office and will report into the Head of Secretarial Services. The successful candidate will be confident, strong, be a positive role model, demonstrate leadership, enthusiasm, forward thinking, initiative to drive change with collaboration and professionalism with the ability to think outside of the box and be solution driven. 
The role will encompass developing and managing the current services being provided as well as considering future changes in line with changes in technology and the needs of the business. The SSM will be required to build strong working relationships within all Practice Groups and across the firm generally. 

In this role, you can expect to get involved in a variety of work including:

•    Line management of the London Assistant Secretarial Services Manager team, the Float Legal PA Team, and a small PA/EA team aligned to Management and others, undertaking formal check-ins throughout the year
•    Undertaking regular fortnightly 1:1 meetings with your ASSM team
•    Fostering a collaborative ‘working together’ approach which encourages cohesion amongst the ASSM team in London
•    Undertaking monthly ASSM meeting which you will lead and invite business services guest speakers, setting agendas, taking minutes, distributing actions, following up, enabling innovation and continued process improvement
•    Working collaboratively and building effective relationships with your peers, SSM for Regional offices and SSM for Scottish and Middle East offices
•    Attend on an ad hoc basis Practice Group secretarial meetings to build your profile
•    Build strong relationships with Practice Group Leaders and Practice Group Heads
•    Build relationships with Business Services colleagues to understand service delivery responsibilities and evaluate opportunities for continued improvement for effective stakeholder support
•    Identify any areas of growth for ASSM team for continued learning and development
•    Provide support as necessary to ASSM team in relation, people management responsibilities including:
o    long term absence
o    disciplinary and grievance procedures
o    salary moderation and annual reviews
o    training and development initiatives
o    coaching and mentoring opportunities
o    headcount and resourcing needs
o    determine and implement standards of service, monitoring productivity and service levels
•    Providing as necessary detailed reporting in relation to headcount and ratios
•    Maintaining relationships with external contacts including Secretarial Services Managers Forum
•    You will ensure a consistent approach across all Practice Groups, adhering to policies and ensuring a fair and measured approach in management
•    Understanding the 3 year Strategy Plans of the Practice Groups to support initiatives which align with secretarial services and supporting the ASSMs where necessary

You will also work closely with the Head of Secretarial Services on projects in identifying and delivering longer term strategies and considering the opportunity to engage with innovation and technology to support the progressive needs of the business. Culminating in the delivery of a future facing secretarial service to support the business in line with future strategy.

About you

We will invest in your ongoing training and development to support your professional goals and help you to thrive in your role from day one. Our opportunities are open to all suitably qualified applicants, so to be considered for this role, you must meet the following skills and experience:

•    Educated to GCSE or A Level preferable
•    A managerial and leadership qualification would be an advantage or willingness to undertake a similar qualification by way of apprenticeship to support development and growth
Essential experience:
•    Experience of managing a similar team in a professional services environment
•    Experience of leading change or project management
•    Strong communication and inter-personal skills with the ability to deal with people at all levels of the business
•    Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines
•    Ability to engage with and gain support from a range of individuals throughout the firm, in particular the secretarial staff partners
•    Ability to motivate and engage the secretarial team
•    Ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy, observing confidentiality at all times
•    Self-motivated and able to work using own initiative and challenge work practices
•    Excellent time management and organisation skills
•    Keeps up-to-date with market developments
•    Strong leadership skills
•    Flexible, professional and proactive
Technical Competencies: 
•    Experience in document production including complex documents
•    Excellent IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)
•    Accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation
•    Fast, accurate typing - speed 60 wpm +

You will provide first class leadership skills to a team of established Practice Group Assistant Secretarial Service Managers (ASSMs) and their secretarial teams. The successful candidate will have proven knowledge and experience in managing a secretarial team in a professional environment. 
A successful approach will involve collaboration, ability to build respectful and strong relationships, leading by example and with integrity and authenticity and being an ambassador for change, ongoing improvements and delivering a service to meet the evolving expectations of our stakeholders.

What’s in it for you?

We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name a few, these include:

•    Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)
•    Flexible, hybrid working policy
•    Generous bonus scheme
•    Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)
•    Holiday exchange scheme
•    Private medical insurance
•    Enhanced parental leave
•    Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits, please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Equal opportunities

At CMS, we place diversity and inclusion at the centre of our culture and the heart of our organisation. As a firm we recognise, celebrate, and embrace the diverse talent our society has to offer because we know that to solve big problems, we need the best and brightest minds available to us.  In support of this goal, we commit to actively breaking down barriers which stand in the way of those from diverse backgrounds and play our part in levelling the playing field. 
 
As a Future Facing Firm, we strongly believe that a career in law should be open to people from all walks of life, because not only does diversity of thought and experience make our firm a stronger and more sustainable business, but it also makes it a more rewarding place to work.
 
When recruiting, we prioritise attracting talented people and we actively promote a flexible working environment which enables all our team members to thrive. If you see a role you are interested in, but don’t feel you meet 100% of the criteria we encourage you to still consider making an application. We also welcome applications from those who may be looking to return to the workforce after a career break. 
 
We are proud to say our leadership in creating an inclusive working culture has been celebrated and recognised externally, including being listed for a number of years in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women and the Social Mobility Index.
 
We are a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer, and we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity throughout our recruitment process and in every element of the employee life cycle. If you require assistance, or if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please contact Becky Lowe at TalentAcquisition@cms-cmno.com who will be happy to support you.

Ready to apply? Here are the next steps.

We look forward to receiving your application online via the CMS careers site. Please contact our Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions. 

Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.

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