Branch Manager - Manchester in Swinton

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (interim — moving to Head of Branch Network on appointment of that role)

Base salary: £45,000 per annum – £50,000–£52,000 OTE (base + £5,000–£7,000 performance bonus tied to branch KPIs, paid quarterly)

Hours: Full-time, permanent. Standard pattern Mon–Fri 9–5.

The Branch Manager owns the branch revenue and decides whether to test evening, Saturday, and community activity to grow walk‑in trade and margin – flexing their own week to make those tests work. Not a strict 9 to 5 role.

Please read this before applying: Before you apply, please read this carefully. We have had candidates progress to final interview only to discover the role wasn’t for them. We’d rather be honest now than waste anyone’s time. This is a relentless operational performance management role. You will spend the majority of your week on the branch floor – observing live client appointments, reviewing post‑appointment administration, coaching Legal Advisors side‑by‑side, and holding underperformance to account.

As Branch Manager you own the local revenue fully. That means you own the commercial call on whether to test evening sessions, Saturday trading, community presence, and referral builder activity to grow walk‑in trade, conversion, and margin in your branch – and you flex your own week to make those tests work. If you want a fixed 9 to 5 with no commercial appetite to test trading patterns or own local presence, this role is not for you. You must currently be leading a team. If you’re currently not directly managing revenue generating individuals, the cadence and bar here will not work for you, and you will not be progressed.

About us: At Right Legal Group, we are reshaping legal services to be clear, accessible, and truly client focused. Traditional legal processes can feel overwhelming, but our mission is to simplify them – offering expert guidance with confidence and care. As specialists in estate planning and wills, we go beyond financial security, helping people leave behind emotional legacies, ensuring that their values, stories, and wishes are carried forward for generations. At the heart of everything we do is a commitment to keeping families together, providing tailored legal solutions that offer peace of mind, protection, and continuity. Our team thrives on innovation, collaboration, and meaningful impact – for the clients we serve and the professionals who make it happen.

The Opportunity: We are hiring an experienced and disciplined Branch Manager to lead our Manchester branch. You will own the commercial and operational performance of the site through a small team of Legal Advisors and Administrators selling wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs). The job is to run a tight, high‑performing branch: daily floor presence, live observation of client appointments, honest feedback, structured PIPs where they’re needed, coaching that lands, and a clean P&L month after month. Legal technical expertise is not required. Proven and evidenced operational excellence, current and continuous people leadership, and relentless performance management are essential.

What you will own:

• People leadership and performance management (the core of the role): Lead, direct, and energise Legal Advisors and Administrators to deliver sustained high performance against clear, measurable standards. Spend more than 50% of your time in live observation of client appointments, 1:1’s, and side‑by‑side coaching. Run a disciplined operating rhythm: daily stand‑ups, weekly 1:1s, monthly performance reviews, quarterly talent reviews – protected, never skipped. Relentlessly performance manage against agreed standards: intervene early, address underperformance directly, and own performance improvement plans (PIPs) end‑to‑end. Coach consistently and purposefully – using observation and data, not theory – to lift capability, pace, quality of advice, and quality of administration. Recruit, onboard, and embed new starters to standard from month 3, as they spend their first 3 months in the Training Academy, honing their skills and only pass probation if achieving their quality and quantity metrics. Build a culture of ownership and discipline where high, right first time, every time performance is recognised, and underperformance is addressed openly and quickly. Deliver a strong staff retention number and become the local private client law firm of choice for graduates and people looking to build a career in law, in your area.
• Branch performance and commercial impact: Own the local revenue and cash number. This role is evolving – local revenue and margin are being devolved to the Branch Manager rather than held centrally. You own the decisions that go with that: trading pattern, walk‑in trade, community presence, and referral activity. Own every branch KPI: appointment‑to‑instruction conversion, advisor productivity, average case value, customer satisfaction, complaints, file quality, and revenue. Review performance data daily – and act on it daily. Translate observation and data into specific, named actions for individuals. Drive commercial outcomes through disciplined execution of the RightWill process – not reliance on individual legal expertise. Test trading patterns. Standard hours are Mon‑Fri 9–5; you decide whether evening sessions, Saturday opening, or community events would grow walk‑in trade, conversion, and margin in your branch – and you run the tests, measure the impact, and embed what works. Identify and act on local commercial levers: walk‑in trade, referral partners, demographic patterns, competitor activity. Convert local activity into measurable revenue outcomes.
• Client experience and operational service delivery: Champion right‑first‑time at every appointment, on every file. Reduce rework, delays, and client dissatisfaction. Maintain tight control of workflow through the case management system – accuracy, pace, and visibility from inception to completion. Own CSAT and third‑party review outcomes; respond personally where feedback highlights risk or opportunity. Allocate resources dynamically based on performance data, demand, and capability. Keep facilities professional, welcoming, and brand‑aligned at all times.
• Compliance and governance: Operate fully within the Supervision and Standards, Compliance, and Complaints frameworks set by central teams. Embed those standards across every appointment and every file. Use live observation and file reviews to test adherence – not periodic audits. Maintain audit readiness as business‑as‑usual. Uphold health and safety, data protection, and safeguarding standards as part of daily operations. Act as a visible and credible ambassador for the branch within the local community. Support and deliver local campaigns and community events that strengthen brand presence and feed walk‑in trade. Translate community engagement into measurable commercial outcomes – not activity for its own sake.

What we are looking for:

• A current people leader. You are managing a team right now.
• A relentless performance manager. You hold the line on underperformance. You have specific, recent examples of taking someone from below standard to top quartile – or out, cleanly, with PIP discipline.
• A coach by default. You teach through observation and feedback, not slides and theory. Live observation is your natural mode of operation.
• Operationally disciplined. You run cadences, you protect them, and you stand up 1:1s and reviews that drive accountability.
• Commercially literate and a P&L owner in mindset. The local P&L is being devolved to the Branch Manager – you read the numbers and act the same day, and you treat your trading pattern, walk‑in trade, and community presence as commercial levers you own, not requirements imposed centrally.
• Comfortable being visible. You are on the floor with your team, not in an office. Branch presence is the job – not a side activity.
• Owns time as a commercial lever. Standard branch hours are Mon–Fri 9–5, but you decide whether to test evening sessions, Saturday trading, community events, and referral activity to grow walk‑in trade and margin – and you flex your own week to make those tests work.

This role is not for you if:

• You want a strict 9‑to‑5 clock‑in / clock‑out with no appetite to test evening, Saturday, community or referral activity even when the data and the local market call for it.
• You aren’t currently managing people.
• You prefer head‑office or central work to being on the branch floor.
• You want the operating model and trading pattern handed to you from central rather than owning the local P&L and the calls that go with it.
• You delegate or escape difficult performance conversations rather than owning them.
• You want a sales / business development role rather than an operational leadership role.
• You need legal technical expertise to feel credible – this is operational leadership, not legal practice.
• You expect a base materially above £45,000.

Candidate requirements:

• Currently managing a team.
• Proven experience leading teams in a high‑accountability, target‑driven environment.
• Strong coaching ability using live observation and real‑time feedback.
• Confident using both data and direct observation to assess and manage performance.
• Recent, specific experience implementing performance improvement plans and seeing them through to outcome.
• Excellent planning, organisation, and prioritisation skills.
• High attention to detail and commitment to right‑first‑time.
• Commercial awareness and a focus on strong client outcomes.
• Ability to work effectively with HR, Training, Compliance, Legal, and Marketing teams.
• Legal technical experience is not required – operational leadership is essential.