Legal Team and Operations Assistant in London

About Us

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere. Build a newsworthy career at the FT.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.

The role

The Legal, Compliance and Company Secretariat team is looking for a highly organised and proactive Legal Team and Operations Assistant. This is a broad team support role, combining high-quality administrative support, legal document coordination and practical support for the department’s systems, processes and operations. This is a role suited to someone with strong experience working in, or supporting, a legal function and wants to build on their exposure to legal operations and technology as part of the next step in their career. You will work directly with the General Counsel and Legal Operations Manager, as well as closely with colleagues across Legal, Compliance and Company Secretarial. You will also liaise with the wider FT business, acting as a reliable point of coordination for queries, actions, systems and shared ways of working.

Main responsibilities

• Executive & Legal Administrative Support
• Provide high-quality document support to the Legal team, including preparing, formatting, checking and finalising contracts and other legal documents, ensuring accuracy, consistency and attention to detail.
• Support the Company Secretariat team with tasks such as maintaining company minute books (paper and digital), obtaining forms and information from Companies House, assisting with audit reviews and the submission of annual accounts and coordinating with filing agents globally.
• Support the Compliance team with operational activities including tracking, triaging and processing requests received under GDPR, and helping to maintain related guidance, templates and records.
• Provide legal administrative support for tasks such as copyright registration and maintaining up-to-date records of all Powers of Attorney and NDAs.
• Assist the whole team with general administrative support, including communications, planning, calendar management, meeting and visitor coordination, signature coordination, travel planning and expense reporting.
• Coordinate recurring departmental meetings and activities, including team meetings, offsites, training sessions and other forums, handling scheduling, agendas, minutes and action tracking.
• Administer shared mailboxes by triaging, routing and tracking queries, maintaining standard responses, and identifying areas for improvement and automation.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders and their assistants across the FT.

• Legal Operations Support
• Work alongside the Legal Operations Manager to document and maintain key operational workflows, playbooks, templates, guidance, FAQs and core reference information, ensuring clear ownership, review cycles and version control.
• Support continuous improvement by finding opportunities for automation or AI, serving as a champion in the department for behavioural change and innovation regarding the use of legal technology and AI.
• Manage the onboarding and offboarding processes for new starters and leavers, maintaining onboarding packs and coordinating access and license-related checklists with relevant internal teams.
• Administer the technology systems used by the department, including managing user accounts, training, troubleshooting, and communicating systems changes and updates to team members.
• Manage departmental suppliers and external counsel, which will involve raising purchase orders, processing invoices and contract renewals, maintaining supplier records, and acting as the departmental point of contact for any P2P related queries or reporting.

Required skills and experience

• Solid previous experience in an executive assistant, legal assistant, legal administrator, or similar support role in a legal context.
• Strong organisational skills to plan, prioritise, and manage multiple tasks, meetings, deadlines, and follow-ups.
• Excellent attention to detail when handling documents, trackers, meeting logistics, expenses, invoices, supplier information, and shared resources.
• Confident partner management skills, building strong relationships across a diverse organisation and at different levels.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to respond to queries professionally and raise issues appropriately.
• Comfortable producing professional documents, presentations, correspondence, meeting notes and routine reports.
• Demonstrate an independent approach to problem-solving by finding creative solutions to challenges, alongside a commitment to learning and mastering new skills, particularly AI systems and new technologies.
• Ability to work collaboratively, use good judgement and provide flexible support in a fast-paced team environment.

Desirable

• Demonstrable exposure or involvement in legal operations, legal technology, process improvement, change management, and/or automation with a clear, genuine interest in developing further in this space.
• Systems & tools experience: Google Workspace, Coupa, Wordsmith (or similar Legal AI products), NetDocuments, ChatGPT, MS Word, DocuSign, Slack, GEMS.

What’s in it for You?

Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here. We currently operate a hybrid model which requires staff to work onsite 50% of the time, subject to role requirements & regular review. While flexible working requests will be considered, not all patterns are suitable for all roles. We believe this balanced approach supports flexibility and protects our culture, making collaboration and communication easier, building stronger relationships and team cohesion, and supporting peer learning.

Accessibility

We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.