Job Purpose:
The Head of Executive Assistants (EA) is responsible for leading, developing, and managing the firm's Executive Assistants. This role ensures the provision of high-quality, consistent, and efficient administrative support to Partners, senior leadership, and teams across all divisions and departments of the firm. The Head of EA will play a critical role in optimising resource allocation, fostering a collaborative and high-performing EA team, and driving continuous improvement in service delivery.
Key Responsibilities:
National EA Management & Strategy:
- Develop and implement a strategic vision for the Executive Assistant function, aligning with the overall Administration Services strategy and firm objectives.
- Oversee the entire national EA team, ensuring consistent standards, policies, and best practices are applied across all locations and support models.
- Manage the overall budget for the EA function, ensuring efficient resource utilisation.
Resource Allocation & Demand Management:
- Develop and manage a robust model for capturing, forecasting, and prioritising demand for EA support from national, divisional, and departmental stakeholders.
- Strategically allocate and deploy EAs to provide dedicated, pooled, or project-based support, ensuring optimal utilisation of skills and capacity.
- Work closely with the Head of Legal Department Support and Divisional Heads to understand specific legal department needs and ensure appropriate EA coverage.
- Regularly review EA utilisation and allocation to ensure responsiveness to changing firm priorities and workload fluctuations.
Service Quality & Consistency:
- Establish and maintain high standards for EA service delivery, including professionalism, confidentiality, accuracy, and proactive support.
- Oversee the creation, maintenance, and consistent application of standard operating procedures (SOPs) across all EA and related front-of-house processes, ensuring parity of service and client experience across all offices.
- Define and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for EA support, ensuring consistent achievement across the national team.
- Implement quality assurance processes and feedback mechanisms (e.g., via ServiceNow) to continuously assess and improve service quality.
Talent & Performance Management:
- Lead the recruitment, onboarding, and retention strategies for Executive Assistants across the firm.
- Oversee performance management processes, including objective setting, regular Check-ins for the EA team.
- Identify training and development needs and collaborate with the Director of Service Transformation and HR to design and deliver comprehensive training programmes (e.g., new technologies, firm-specific processes, advanced administrative skills).
- Foster a culture of continuous learning, professional development, and career progression within the EA function.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement:
- Act as the primary point of contact for senior stakeholders regarding EA support, managing expectations and resolving complex issues.
- Collaborate effectively with colleagues within the Legal Administrative Services leadership team (e.g., Lead Digital Document Services) to ensure seamless integration of services.
- Promote and embed new collaborative ways of working within the EA team and across the wider firm, moving away from individual silos towards a unified, service-oriented approach.
Process Optimisation & Technology Adoption:
- Work with the Director of Service Transformation to identify opportunities for process efficiencies and automation within EA workflows, leveraging ServiceNow and other firm technologies.
- Champion the effective use of technology by the EA team to enhance productivity and service delivery.
Skills and Experience:
- Proven experience in a senior leadership role managing a large, diverse administrative or Executive Assistant team, ideally within a professional services or law firm environment.
- Demonstrable experience in resource planning, allocation, and demand management across multiple stakeholders and locations.
- Strong understanding of best practices in administrative support, including diary management, travel coordination, document management, and stakeholder liaison.
- Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with a track record of motivating, developing, and managing high-performing teams.
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence and build strong relationships with Partners and senior leadership.
- Experience with change management initiatives, particularly in transitioning teams to new operating models and technologies (e.g., ServiceNow).
- Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving abilities and a proactive approach to service improvement.
- High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and experience with administrative management systems (e.g., ServiceNow).
- Ability to manage complex priorities and work effectively under pressure.
Key Relationships:
- Head of Shared Administration Services (Direct Manager)
- Director of Administration Services
- EA Leads
- Divisional Heads
- Senior Leadership
- Head of Legal Departmental Support (LDS)
- Head of Location, Facilities and Services (LFS)
- Head of Service Transformation
- HR
- IT
Performance Measures:
- Achievement of defined EA service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Stakeholder satisfaction with EA support services.
- Effective resource utilisation and capacity management of the national EA pool.
- Successful implementation of new operating models and technology enhancements within the EA function.
- Employee engagement, retention, and development within the EA team.
- Contribution to overall Administrative Services strategic objectives.
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