Office & Compliance Manager in Vauxhall

Office & Compliance ManagerPermanentLeeds, Yorkshire and the HumberCommercialHospitalityBox 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.

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We are proud to hold Investors in People Gold accreditation, reflecting our commitment to our people and the working environment we create. The roleWe 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 responsibilitiesOffice managementSupporting the day-to-day running of the Leeds studioActing as a first point of contact for visitors, calls, deliveries and general enquiriesManaging stationery, kitchen provisions, office supplies and equipmentHelping to keep the kitchen and shared areas clean, organised and properly stockedCoordinating maintenance, servicing, PAT testing and external suppliersMonitoring office equipment, workstations, seating and display-screen arrangementsBooking trains, hotels and other staff travelHelping to organise company meetings, social events and celebrationsPurchasing and financial administrationRaising and maintaining purchase orders for goods, services and third-party consultantsReceiving, checking and filing incoming purchase invoicesPreparing a weekly summary of invoices for the company's bookkeeperCollecting and checking monthly staff expenses, including supporting receiptsAdministering office petty cashCoordinating annual insurance renewals and maintaining the relevant recordsThis is not an accounting or bookkeeping position.

Financial control, sales invoicing, credit control and supplier payments are managed by the CEO, other team members and our external accountants. HR and staff administrationMaintaining accurate and confidential personnel recordsSupporting recruitment and the onboarding of new employeesCompleting right-to-work checks and monitoring visas where applicableEnsuring salary reviews and agreed employment changes are properly recordedMaintaining records of professional memberships, qualifications and registrations, including ARB, CIAT and CSCSMonitoring staff training, PPE and time-limited certificationAdministering the practice's timesheet system, following up incomplete entries and producing agreed information from itMaintaining accurate holiday, absence and office-attendance recordsSupporting the CEO with confidential or sensitive staff matters as requiredHealth and safetySupporting the practice's day-to-day health and safety arrangementsMaintaining records of accidents, near misses, training and agreed improvementsOrganising and chairing quarterly health and safety meetingsEnsuring first-aid and fire-marshal training and certification remain currentCoordinating PAT testing, workstation assessments and other routine safety checksMonitoring PPE records and arranging replacements where requiredRelevant training, including first-aid training, can be provided.

Accreditations and complianceManaging the online portals, records, renewals and submissions associated with our certifications and accreditationsMaintaining a clear schedule of deadlines, reviews and annual actionsEnsuring current policies, insurance certificates and supporting documents are uploaded when requiredCoordinating responses to new or updated questions with the appropriate people within the practiceSupporting external assessments, audits and accreditation renewalsEnsuring that important certifications are not inadvertently allowed to expireOur 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 forYou will ideally have: Previous experience in office management, business administration, compliance coordination or a similar roleStrong organisational skills and the ability to manage several processes and deadlinesA self-motivated approach and confidence working with a high degree of autonomyA willingness to take personal responsibility for both practical office tasks and more sensitive or significant mattersGood judgement about what can be handled independently and what needs to be referredA methodical approach to records and document managementGood written and verbal communication skillsConfidence in following up information and actions with colleaguesGood working knowledge of Outlook, Word and ExcelAccuracy, discretion and attention to detailAn approachable manner and the ability to build positive working relationships across the practiceExperience 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 arrangementsThis 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. xohmjla Salary 30,00 FTE plus benefits & Flexible working!