Executive Assistant to the CEO

About Withers

A law firm focused on people, performance, and collaboration.

For the past 130 years, we have supported some of the world’s most remarkable people and organizations at defining moments in their lives.

We are united in our commitment to integrity, quality and collaboration. We have a culture of high performance and deliver excellent service consistently across the firm. We provide tailored solutions built on trust and partner with our clients to achieve their goals.

Many of our clients are shaping the future and creating solutions to tackle many of the world’s problems. It makes for a fascinating and challenging practice.

Our role is to get to know each individual client, find out where they want to be, and help them to get there – whether they are building a business, buying a home or protecting and defending their interests.

To meet their unique needs we are exceptionally collaborative, working together across teams and time zones. And we are agile – focusing on strategy rather than rigid ideas and traditional hierarchy.

Join us to be part of a team that is always looking to the future. Where initiative, big ideas and bold moves are always encouraged. Where you can truly be yourself.

What are we looking for?

We are looking to recruit a confident, client focussed and forward-thinking Executive Assistant to work as part of our Executive Assistant team. The role provides high level, proactive support to the Global CEO, as well as the Chairperson and Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) when needed.  

The appointed candidate will act as a trusted partner, enabling the CEO to operate efficiently across multiple jurisdictions, time zones and stakeholder groups, ensuring seamless day to day organisation, prioritisation and coordination of their schedule, communications and strategic activities.

This is an exciting opportunity for an excellent communicator with a high level of interpersonal skills, required to liaise with people across all offices. The ideal candidate will be a self-starter, be very organised and accurate with excellent attention to detail and the ability to use their initiative and exercise judgement in challenging situations.  In addition to strong data presentation and analysis skills, the successful candidate will be expected to take on complex tasks, support projects and be a key point of contact for partners globally. 

Areas of focus and responsibilities

Proactively providing high quality, seamless support to the CEO in both their management responsibilities and client practice as set out below:

Management role:

• Act as principal gatekeeper to the CEO, managing complex and confidential matters with discretion.
• Serve as a key triage point for the CEO, exercising strong judgement to filter, prioritise and manage incoming requests and communications, ensuring efficient escalation of critical matters while proactively resolving or redirecting others.
• Represent the CEO appropriately with internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for Partners, Board members, senior leadership, clients and external advisors, taking full responsibility for handling queries and representing the CEO with discretion and professionalism.
• Own and manage the CEO's calendar with full autonomy, resolving conflicts proactively, ensuring time allocation reflects strategic priorities and any necessary documentation is with the CEO in advance. Anticipate scheduling pressures in advance and implement solutions without requiring direction.
• Manage and triage the CEO's inbox - filtering, filing, drafting responses and escalating urgent matters.
• Manage end to end logistics of the CEO's travel. Produce detailed itineraries, organise flights, accommodation, visas (where necessary) and on the ground coordination.
• Produce accurate, high-quality correspondence on behalf of the CEO, ensuring tone, precision, and professional register are consistently maintained. Provide a same day service or more urgently as required.
• Produce high-quality documentation such as slide decks, email/letter correspondence and other written materials. Manage document version control, formatting standards, and brand consistency across all executive-level materials.
• Keep up to date with and adopt new technologies, including AI, using them to improve working practices, and supporting the CEO to do the same.
• Provide support to the Chairperson and COO on an ad hoc basis where needed.
• Take responsibility for administering the partner voting app and related processes.
• Maintain the Management and Partners Only sections of the firm's intranet system.
• Applications used: Outlook, MS Teams, Zoom, Copilot, Mimecast, Filesite, Bighand, InterAction, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Chrome River.

Client practice:

• Fully assisting the CEO and their clients by email, telephone and all other forms of communication.  This will include in-person engagement with clients e.g. by attending meetings when required, telephone call handling and fielding calls when requested.
• Ensuring client service is maintained by dealing with tasks delegated by the CEO, working with the matter supervisors on client matters.
• Providing practice support such as creating first drafts of forms and documents; drafting and amending correspondence and emails; researching client files; undertaking certain team specific tasks including checking availability of Counsel etc, delegating to a member of the divisional support team where relevant.
• Arranging client conference/video conferences whether by Zoom, MS Teams or other means ensuring that all necessary delegation has been given to hosts.
• Ensuring e-files are kept up to date, with assistance from members of the divisional support team, this includes filing incoming post (digital mailroom).
• Assessing physical mail and documents giving instructions relating to destruction or archiving.
• Coordinating and supporting the hosting of in-office events, activities, and meetings, including overseeing venue and room setup, arranging catering.
• Ensuring the firm's client relationship management system (InterAction) is an effective business tool by updating it regularly with relevant activities, appointments and changes of address, email, telephone numbers, ensuring that duplication is avoided. Working with the marketing team to obtain access to client intelligence when undertaking targeted campaigns or events.

This list of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for the performance of this job, and as such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.

Qualifications and experience required

• Excellent academic background, educated to graduate level or has equivalent professional experience
• Experience supporting a Global CEO or equivalent senior leader, ideally within a law firm or professional services environment, is required
• Previous experience in a secretary / PA capacity, supporting senior partners with a busy client practice is essential
• Experience supporting senior leadership through a period of organisational change would be advantageous
• Fast and accurate typing speed (65 words per minute)
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Teams
• Strong evidence of business writing and numeracy skills

Skills and attributes

• Passionate and enthusiastic about providing exceptional client service
• Absolute discretion, integrity and professionalism
• Ability to manage complexity, competing priorities and ambiguity
• Exceptional organisational and planning skills
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• Proactive self-starter who anticipates needs and takes initiative without waiting to be asked
• Highly collaborative, while able to operate independently
• Outstanding written English, with meticulous attention to grammar and punctuation
• Flexible and adaptable, including willingness to support across time zones
• Have the ability to use own initiative to adapt, and think laterally
• Self-motivated and goal focussed, you will enjoy change and variety, and thrive under pressure

The Essentials

• 9.30am to 5.30pm but flexibility to attend to urgent matters outside of regular hours will be key
• Hybrid working policy with at least 3 days per week worked in the office. Flexibility (and at short notice) is essential to meet the needs of the CEO, Chairperson and partnership as required
• 12 week probation period
• 12 week notice period
• Flexible benefits package including pension, private medical, season ticket loan, subsidised gym memberships, lifestyle discount scheme, on site café and more