Office Administrator - Boston

Job Description Summary:

Fenwick & West is seeking an Office Administrator (“OA”) for our newest office in Boston. This role is highly visible and will aim to ensure successful office management in the areas of general office operations, facilities, office services, information technology and management of administrative staff.
This position requires five days on-site in our Boston, MA office and requires a 40-hour work week supporting an 8:30 am – 5:30 pm daily schedule and additional hours as necessary to support business needs.

Job Description:

FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS:

• Acts as liaison with landlord/building management office for day-to-day matters.
• Manages office moves, including coordination with various departments and managers, working with building to receive deliveries, etc. as needed.
• Provides project management assistance for construction projects, office alterations, and furniture installation or removal.
• Coordinates with Senior Director on office assignments and responsible for updating office maps.
• Responsible for updating the Sr. Director on office and space availability. 
• Conducts weekly walk-thrus and prepares punch lists for recommended repairs, cleaning and building maintenance for all areas of the office including carpeting and other flooring, janitorial, and equipment maintenance. Ensures premises are maintained in a clean, functional, and safe manner.
• Manages ergonomic evaluations, coordinating with the firm’s Safety and Security Specialist, and assists with educating employees regarding ergonomic best practices and procedures.
• Notify and liaise with the Human Resources department on any workers’ compensation matters, as appropriate.
• Provides reception and office services with equipment safety training.
• Build and maintain vendor relationships.
• Manages the facilities department help line/email box to ensure local tickets/requests are processed in a timely manner
• Maintains service contracts on equipment and furniture and schedule repairs/replacements as needed.
• Manages and maintains the set-up and stocking of all new employee offices and workstations. 
• Responsible for all matters related to safety and security, including facilitating building access, security access cards and log, new employee photos, handling emergency situations, and leading emergency drills.
• Responsible for disaster planning and business recovery for the Boston office.
• Provides project management assistance to office services/facilities employees in other offices, as needed.
• Assists with the management and logistics of onsite events, as needed.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

OFFICE SERVICES:

• Manages the mail/copy and hospitality/receptionist/catering functions.  Including office supplies and supplies related to US Mail, Fed Ex, and local courier deliveries.
• Manages the overall maintenance of kitchens and conference rooms to ensure cleanliness, functionality, and safety.
• Assists with staffing and budgeting recommendations and planning relating to office services and facilities.
• Follows firmwide policies and procedures for the management of various office services processes, procedures, and functions, including how to handle process servers.
• Collaborates with event coordinators and marketing department regarding firm events, client events, networking events, and workshops that are hosted in the Boston office.
• Works with Receptionist to manage EMS schedules and input meeting information accurately and per firmwide standards.
• Manages in-house food and beverage expenses, including catered meals, kitchen supplies and equipment. Reviews, codes and processes invoices for catering, equipment, and services.
• Participates in events committee to plan, organize and orchestrate Boston office events.
• Manages office specific information on the firm’s internal web portal.

IT and AV:

• Assists with conference room AV set ups as needed.
• Communicates and collaborate regularly with IT Team on various office needs.

Administrative Management:

• Mentors and trains administrative staff
• Partner with the Senior Director of Legal Administrative Services to hire, train, onboard/integrate and performance manage Legal Secretaries/Executive Assistants as necessary
• Responsible for providing feedback on employees’ performance
• Assists with management of non-employee service providers, vendors, and/or temporary employees as needed. 

• Provide frequent feedback and assists with preparation of performance evaluations.
• Develops and implements local policies and procedures, as needed, to ensure efficiency and coordination of service departments. 
• Ensures firmwide policies/procedures are observed and understood by local staff.
• Responsible for promoting and building local office employee morale and coordination of morale building events, including Staff Appreciation Week.
• Assists with secretarial pairings/coverage for Boston attorneys, paralegals, and other professionals receiving local assistance.
• Responsible for providing coverage for the reception desk during lunch breaks, vacation etc.
• Responsible for acting as backup support for IT in emergencies and as required.
• Reviews and approves timecards and PTO requests for local employees as necessary.

FINANCE:

• Assists Senior Director with local office budgeting and purchasing.  Monitors local budget expenses and reports to Senior Director on budget variances.  Monitors and approves expense reports and accounts payable for office.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies to successfully perform the essential functions of this position:

• Ability to think proactively, strategically, and innovatively.
• Ability to effectively organize, prioritize, and handle multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal oversight.
• Possess strong analytical, written/verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate with personnel at all levels.
• Possess a positive and professional demeanor and the ability to maintain absolute confidentiality.
• Exceptional customer service skills and the ability to handle complicated matters and/or complaints in a calm, courteous, and diplomatic manner.
• Knowledge of space management, move coordination, and building maintenance.
• Knowledge of reception/hospitality, catering, and mail/copy functions.
• Ability to build teams, manage, mentor, lead, and motivate staff.
• Proficiency in MS Office, Excel, MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, EMS software and other software applications required in a legal environment.
• Possess a level of attention to detail to provide error free work product.
• Ability to be proactive and comfortable making recommendations and providing solutions to problems and issues.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced deadline driven environment.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Facilities & Office Operations, the qualified candidate will have 3-5 years of experience in a law firm or professional services firm and have experience managing a team. Previous experience in a client/customer service role, and with facilities and office operations strongly preferred. Experience providing IT Support in a law firm or professional services firm or working with computer system and networks preferred. HR and personnel management experience a plus. Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred.

Benefits and Compensation Details:

At Fenwick, we believe that our partners and employees are our most important asset. Helping you and your families achieve and maintain good health - physical, emotional, and financial - is the reason we offer a comprehensive benefit program. We provide benefits to eligible employees under plans such as Healthcare, Life Insurance, Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, and Wellbeing.

The anticipated range for this position is:

$104,000 - $155,750

Depending on the role, the actual base salary offered may depend upon a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.

A discretionary bonus for eligible employees may also be available based on performance.  Additional information about employee eligibility for benefits and discretionary bonus will be made available upon request.