Office & Compliance Manager in Leeds

Box Architects is an established architectural practice with studios in Leeds and London and colleagues and consultants working across the UK and Europe. We are a close-knit practice and place considerable importance on trust, fairness and working together as one team. We are proud to hold Investors in People Gold accreditation, reflecting our commitment to our people and the working environment we create.

We are looking for a dependable, self-motivated and highly organised Office & Compliance Manager to support the smooth running of the practice. This is our sole dedicated administrative role, providing central support to colleagues in Leeds, London and further afield. It is a trusted and varied position, covering everything from the practical day-to-day running of the Leeds studio to confidential HR administration and the management of business-critical accreditations and compliance systems.

The role reports directly to the CEO and will involve regular contact with him to agree priorities, provide updates and progress matters requiring a decision. However, he divides his time between our studios, home, client meetings and construction sites. The successful candidate must therefore be comfortable managing their own workload, working independently and taking ownership of recurring responsibilities without close day-to-day supervision.

The range of work is deliberately broad. On any given day, the role might involve receiving a delivery, emptying the dishwasher, checking staff expenses, following up timesheets, supporting a sensitive HR matter or completing an important accreditation submission. We need someone who understands that each part of the role matters and will approach both the everyday and the business-critical tasks with the same care and reliability.

Key responsibilities

• Office management
  • Supporting the day-to-day running of the Leeds studio
  • Acting as a first point of contact for visitors, calls, deliveries and general enquiries
  • Managing stationery, kitchen provisions, office supplies and equipment
  • Helping to keep the kitchen and shared areas clean, organised and properly stocked
  • Coordinating maintenance, servicing, PAT testing and external suppliers
  • Monitoring office equipment, workstations, seating and display-screen arrangements
  • Booking trains, hotels and other staff travel
  • Helping to organise company meetings, social events and celebrations
• Purchasing and financial administration
  • Raising and maintaining purchase orders for goods, services and third-party consultants
  • Receiving, checking and filing incoming purchase invoices
  • Preparing a weekly summary of invoices for the company’s bookkeeper
  • Collecting and checking monthly staff expenses, including supporting receipts
  • Administering office petty cash
  • Coordinating annual insurance renewals and maintaining the relevant records
• HR and staff administration
  • Maintaining accurate and confidential personnel records
  • Supporting recruitment and the onboarding of new employees
  • Completing right-to-work checks and monitoring visas where applicable
  • Ensuring salary reviews and agreed employment changes are properly recorded
  • Maintaining records of professional memberships, qualifications and registrations, including ARB, CIAT and CSCS
  • Monitoring staff training, PPE and time-limited certification
  • Administering the practice’s timesheet system, following up incomplete entries and producing agreed information from it
  • Maintaining accurate holiday, absence and office-attendance records
  • Supporting the CEO with confidential or sensitive staff matters as required
• Health and safety
  • Supporting the practice’s day-to-day health and safety arrangements
  • Maintaining records of accidents, near misses, training and agreed improvements
  • Organising and chairing quarterly health and safety meetings
  • Ensuring first-aid and fire-marshal training and certification remain current
  • Coordinating PAT testing, workstation assessments and other routine safety checks
  • Monitoring PPE records and arranging replacements where required
• Accreditations and compliance
  • Managing the online portals, records, renewals and submissions associated with our certifications and accreditations
  • Maintaining a clear schedule of deadlines, reviews and annual actions
  • Ensuring current policies, insurance certificates and supporting documents are uploaded when required
  • Coordinating responses to new or updated questions with the appropriate people within the practice
  • Supporting external assessments, audits and accreditation renewals
  • Ensuring that important certifications are not inadvertently allowed to expire

Our current accreditations include ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, Investors in People Gold, Constructionline Gold, CHAS, Cyber Essentials and RIBA Chartered Practice status. Some of these systems are business-critical. Maintaining our Constructionline Gold status, for example, is essential to our relationship with a key client and can directly affect the processing of payments. Specialist technical knowledge is not required, but careful administration, persistence and dependable follow-through are essential.

The person we are looking for

• You will ideally have previous experience in office management, business administration, compliance coordination or a similar role
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage several processes and deadlines
• A self-motivated approach and confidence working with a high degree of autonomy
• A willingness to take personal responsibility for both practical office tasks and more sensitive or significant matters
• Good judgement about what can be handled independently and what needs to be referred
• A methodical approach to records and document management
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Confidence in following up information and actions with colleagues
• Good working knowledge of Outlook, Word and Excel
• Accuracy, discretion and attention to detail
• An approachable manner and the ability to build positive working relationships across the practice

Experience of HR administration, purchasing, health and safety, ISO systems or professional accreditations would be helpful but is not essential. Experience within architecture, construction or another professional consultancy would also be useful, although full training and support will be provided.

Working arrangements

This is an office-based position because many of its core responsibilities require a physical presence in the Leeds studio, including receiving visitors and deliveries, answering calls, overseeing the workplace and providing an accessible point of contact for the team. The number of people in the studio varies as colleagues divide their time between the office, home, client meetings and construction sites. Some days will be busy and people-focused; others will provide quieter time to progress administrative and compliance work independently. We can discuss some flexibility in how the 25 hours are arranged across the working week, subject to maintaining suitable office coverage.

Salary £30,000 FTE plus benefits & Flexible working