Executive Assistant – Tax Services Group (TSG)

Job Type: Permanent Location: Bristol

Saffery are looking for an experienced Executive Assistant to join our Tax Services Group within the southern regional offices. This role will be based in Bristol and is a full time permanent position.

Organisation:

  • Complex diary management for Partner and Director, using own initiative to arrange meetings and conference calls and liaising with other secretaries and external clients during Partner absence.
  • Comprehensive e-mail management – checking, prioritising and summarising e-mails daily and dealing with correspondence where necessary in the Partner and Directors’ absence; including collation of any action points.
  • Collating documentation for meetings – letters of engagement (LOEs), reports, proof reading and circulating agendas in advance; carrying out research as may be required.
  • Booking video and conference calls, meeting rooms and required refreshments, and lunch and dinner reservations.
  • Booking attendance at meetings, conferences and seminars (including travel) and organising trip itineraries and logistics.
  • Taking a proactive approach to building relationships with clients and their secretaries in a professional manner.
  • Handling telephone enquiries in a professional and polite manner, taking accurate messages and following up on any agreed actions.
  • Submission of expense claims.
  • Passing of TSG (Tax Services Group) Data Admin team information for entry into the firm’s Practice Management system.

AML and billing:

  • Taking ultimate responsibility for the Anti Money Laundering (AML) process for new clients which includes delegation of appropriate tasks to TSG Data Admin team; tasks include filling in the required data before onward circulation to the relevant case handler; following up on outstanding AML forms and proactive liaison with the AML team.
  • Taking ultimate responsibility for the billing process (where required), to include delegation of appropriate tasks to TSG Data Admin team; tasks include raising bills, running reports, maintaining a detailed tracker of distributed and paid bills and the follow up with debtors.

Documents/Correspondence:

  • Drafting and typing of confidential matters for partners.
  • Printing of agendas, presentations and meetings papers specific to allocated partners/fee-earners.
  • Production of PowerPoint presentations as may be required.
  • Proof-reading of all documents to ensure the delivery of work of the highest quality.
  • Carrying out PDF to Word conversions and vice versa.
  • Any general correspondence as may be required from time to time.

Support of other functions/activities:

  • Working with the Marketing Team as required, to include helping produce tenders, credential sheets, events, pitches, etc.
  • Managing administrative marketing activities as required, to include the processing of any handouts for client events/seminars.
  • Attending team meetings and taking minutes as required.
  • Involvement in committees and steering groups relating to secretarial/administrative support/processes for the wider firm.

The team

The Tax Services Group of Saffery is split across 4 offices in the South of England. Ranging from Trainees/Graduates all the way to Directors/Partners, with plenty of support at all ends. TSG roughly has 40-50 staff members across the 4 offices.

The office

This position is based within our Bristol office in Clifton, with flexibility of working from home as part of our Agile Working Policy

You

  • Previous experience of working within a busy corporate environment is essential.
  • Professional service experience desirable. Excellent client care skills – the ability to deal with queries from internal and external clients in a professional and polite manner and be the first point of contact for external clients.
  • Excellent organisational skills – the ability to take responsibility for own tasks and prioritise work in a calm and efficient manner.
  • Highly developed time management skills – the ability to work to very tight deadlines while maintaining a high standard of accuracy.
  • Highly developed communication skills – the ability to communicate in a confident and professional manner with people at all levels within the business.
  • Demonstrate flexibility/adaptability in meeting internal and external clients’ demands – in both the nature of the work undertaken and working additional hours as required to complete the task(s).
  • Demonstrate proactivity and the ability to work on own initiative.
  • Maintain high levels of confidentiality and discretion at all times.
  • Reliable with a strong work ethic and a ‘can-do’ approach.
  • Acts as a positive role model at all times.

Skills and knowledge

  • High levels of IT literacy in Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint, plus NetDocuments and Advance.
  • A fast and accurate typist with excellent attention to detail, use of language and grammar.
  • Any specific skills as may be required within particular department.

Salary/benefits

  • 35-hour working week with flexibility around the core hours of 10am-4pm
  • Paid overtime or time off in lieu (pre-approved and only where required).
  • Working from home allowance of £25 a month.
  • Eligibility for the firm’s Profit-Sharing Plan that runs from October to September each year. The scheme enables staff to share in the profits of the firm. Payment is usually c£1,000 for the full year. Paid in December.
  • Salary reviews annually in October.
  • Twenty days annual leave with an additional day added after each years’ service. On 1 January, after 1 year’s service, the entitlement will be increased by 7 hours and thereafter by a further 7 hours on 1 January following completion of 2, 3, 4 and 5 years’ service, giving a maximum of 175 hours after 5 years’ service.
  • In addition, under the flexible benefits programme, employees are entitled to buy or sell up to five days (35 hours) holiday a year, subject to staff partner approval.
  • Six-month probationary period.
  • Life assurance cover of four times salary,
  • Private Medical – Staff have access to a private medical scheme through the flexible benefits programme.
  • Contributory pension scheme (The firm will contribute 4% of salary on a matched basis with employee from their date of joining)
  • Access to a number of additional benefits with preferential rates under the flexible benefit programme, health cash plans, health screening/GP support, critical illness cover, dental and travel insurance, Techscheme, Cyclescheme, Gymflex and a Workplace ISA.
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