Office Administrator (Chicago)

Ropes & Gray•Chicago, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

About Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer. Overview The Office Administrator oversees the day-to-day management of the office, including, but not limited to, direct responsibility for the Legal Executive and Administrative Assistants, Reception and matrix management of Office Services, IT/AV, Facilities and Conference Services team members. This position is the office go-to person for the office and ensures administrative operations run smoothly. This position reports into the Director of Office Administration with an indirect report to the Office Managing Partner.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or the equivalent in Business, Finance or a related discipline plus 5-10 years of directly related experience managing legal secretaries and/or administrative support.
At least 3-5 of those years should be in administrative management in a law office of more than 15 lawyers (preferably a branch office of a large law firm).
Ability to work in a matrix management environment.
Strong influence, facilitation, motivation, and resolution skills.
Thorough understanding of legal secretarial role and responsibilities and attorney/secretary relationship.
Must demonstrate the ability to manage and solve complex problems, establish priorities and organize work.
Ability to be flexible and able to manage conflicting deadlines and requests.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
Ability to utilize interpersonal skills to motivate individuals toward common goal or influence change.
Working knowledge of computer software programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

Provides day-to-day oversight of the office including direct management of Legal Executive and Administrative Assistants and Receptionists, and matrix management of Office Services, IT/AV, and Conference Services teams.
Manages team assignments, holiday and team coverage, workflow, training, and performance expectations for Legal Executive Assistants.
Conducts bi-annual performance evaluations.
Hosts regular 1-1 and group meetings with team members.
Collaborates with the HR Department in managing and resolving performance and employee relations issues.
Represents the office to firm-wide department management and provides point of contact for communication and coordination.
Works closely with the HR Department in proposing recruiting sources, participates in the interview process for potential candidates as required.
Manages and conducts orientation of new business support.
Coordinates with Legal Recruiting department to support new associate programs and lateral associate and partner onboarding.
Partners with the Office Managing Partner to support the office strategic plan.
Proactively organizes and hosts fun and creative social events to increase engagement, strengthen relationships, and maintain office morale.
Collaborates with Conference Services and Events team to support office-wide events (staff appreciation, holiday party, etc.) as well as other internal and client meetings/events.
Initiates, organizes, facilitates and participates in community service efforts sponsored by the firm or local office.
Negotiates with firm’s contractors and vendors.
Manages and supervises all contractors and vendors.
Conducts regular reviews of vendors and contracts in place to ensure proper service levels are realized.
Recommends changes and ensures smooth transition to new vendors as necessary.
Recommends partner, associate, paralegal and other business support office assignments to the Office Managing Partner.
Plans and executes all internal office moves to ensure minimum disruption to the operational working of the firm.
Interfaces with property manager for day to day building services issues.
Local subject matter expert and local lead for office build-outs and/or move activity.
Coordinates with local vendors and other firm personnel to execute against plans.
Works with firm-wide operations managers to ensure that all operations’ Infonet pages are up-to-date, particularly with respect to local office page, business continuity and emergency procedures.
Ensures the security of the firm’s buildings and real estate.
Monitors leasing and any sublease arrangements and responds to subtenant requests; coordinates tenant improvement construction projects.
Maintains proper financial controls, contributes to planning the annual budget in collaboration with Office Managing Partner and Director of Office Administration.
Works with the Manager of Business Continuity to develop, maintain and communicate the local office particulars of all business continuation plans for emergencies, disasters or pandemics.
Plans and supervises emergency evacuation drills and CPR/AED training for business support.
Implements an environmental policy for the office.
Addresses the health and safety of the office, and implements a Health & Safety policy ensuring the firm is compliant with all relevant law & regulations.
Undertakes ad-hoc related projects as and when required.