Legal Practice Manager LSW850

This is a fantastic opportunity for a highly organised and professional individual with a solid Legal Practice Manager/HR background and excellent administrative skills to join a highly reputable and well-established firm with several offices in Devon. This full time and permanent role offers a highly competitive salary and a pleasant, friendly and supportive working environment. Based on the Devon/Somerset border, you will work closely with Senior Management to ensure the smooth day to day running of the practice. You'll need a sound understanding of the operational aspects of a law firm and proven management experience to ensure that the Partners are supported by organising and managing the smooth and efficient running of the Firm. The Practice Manager will also be responsible for driving performance across the business and ensuring best practice in accordance with LEXCEL and ISO9001 standards. A thorough understanding of good governance, quality management systems and administration within a legal practice are essential, as is solid experience of ISO 9001 and LEXCEL/COLP as you will act as the main gate keeper of the Firm's LEXCEL/ ISO 9001 compliant policies and procedures, and along with the Partners, be responsible for maintaining the Firm's LEXCEL and ISO 9001 & 14001 accreditations. An HR background is essential as you will be the main contact for HR functions, including recruitment, following the recruitment process through from start to finish ensuring that any successful candidates have the correct paperwork, references have been taken up etc. Added to this, your role will also require you to ensure that new starters have their work space and IT set up. You will also be maintaining personnel, holiday and absence records and organising annual staff appraisals. You will advise staff on HR policies whilst working closely with line managers to understand and implement policies and procedures. The Practice Manager will also be responsible for maintaining the Staff Handbook to ensure it remains up to date with current employment law and practice. You will be a highly skilled communicator and influencer with the ability to reflect and question positively and effectively, not just because of the HR function of this role but because you will also be managing IT network issues which will require liaison with service providers in order to reach a satisfactory solution. IT issues can range from network problems, PCs and digital dictation to telephone systems! As well as overseeing IT systems, you will also be the main contact for Health and Safety and will manage all offices from a maintenance and general building perspective. Acting as H&S Officer, Fire Warden and possibly even First Aider, you will also ensure that offices are H&S compliant and will assist with resolving any maintenance issues and will liaise with suppliers in order to resolve any maintenance problem. On the business development side, you will manage and organise events, attending as and when required. Event organisation will require liaison with Solicitors and local press and you will also be responsible for proof reading articles, advertisements and negotiating costs. Obviously you will have superior project management and problem solving skills! The compliance aspect of this role will see you ensuring company compliance for Lexcel and CQS/COLP and dealing with the annual renewal process, preparing for and documenting FE monthly visits, maintaining and reviewing general registers, managing accreditation schemes and moinitoring files for breaches in compliance. You must therefore be fully conversant with COLP compliance. Finance experience is desirable i.e. competence in analysing budgets, P&L, balance sheets, cash flows, etc. but in any case you will have strong advocacy skills and sound business management experience. This is an incredibly busy, but exciting role which will require an individual well used to self-managing and with bags and bags of initiative and enthusiasm! In addition, you will be a brilliant multi-tasker. A strong team player, you will be confident but approachable and will perform well under pressure. Calm and reliable, a great sense of humour will also be appreciated. Interested? Then please do get in touch to discuss this amazing role further as we'd love to hear from you! If you are considering relocating to Somerset, please do let us know your reasons for moving and whether or not you have links to the area when applying. Legal Southwest will never, without exception, send out your CV without your prior knowledge or consent so please be assured that we treat every application with the utmost confidentiality. ******************************************************* EXCITING NEW OFFER: Register with Legal Southwest exclusively for 10 days and when you are placed into a permanent position by ourselves you will RECEIVE a ??250 Love2Shop GIFT CARD on completion of your 12 week probationary period - when registering quote Ref: EXL2S REFER A FRIEND AND RECEIVE A ??500 love2shop GIFT CARD - for further information and follow the link to 'Refer a Friend' *******************************************************