Personal Assistant

About us

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 45% of our partnership.

The work you will be doing

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• Manage and maintain the CEO’s calendar by scheduling meetings, appointments and events, and proactively managing diary conflicts and changes;
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• Ensure sure the CEO is well informed of and prepared for upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately;
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• Act as the point of contact among Partners, Directors, clients and other external contacts;
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• Professionally and politely handle communication on behalf of the CEO (when required), including emails, phone calls and written correspondence – ensuring timely responses and effective prioritisation;
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• Arrange travel itineraries for the CEO. This will include arranging transport, accommodation, business requirements and processing expenses;
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• Arrange and co-ordinate regular and ad-hoc meetings, forums and events including Partnership Board meetings, ExCo meetings, Partner Appraisals Where appropriate, this will include scheduling the events, preparing meeting agendas, documents and presentations, taking minutes and coordination of the logistics of the meetings including venue booking, catering and AV set-up;
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• Create, collate, edit, and proofread documents, reports, and presentations on behalf of the CEO, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and professionalism;
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• Assist the CEO in managing ad-hoc projects and initiatives providing research, coordination, and administrative support as needed.
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• Administer the firm’s complaints procedure, maintaining the complaints log and ensure all is order for internal and external audits.
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• Support the CEO in his external commitments related to Birketts, including attendance at community events, committees and other groups.
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Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

What we are looking for

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• Previous experience as a PA/Senior Administrator ideally within a legal or professional services environment.
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• Experienced and advanced user of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and Outlook).
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• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to perform and prioritise multiple tasks with excellent attention to detail.
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• A confident, positive and professional approach - able to build and maintain professional and effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
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• Highly resourceful with a proactive approach to problem solving
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• Able to maintain a high level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.
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• Accurate and detailed minute taking skills
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Hybrid Working

Due to the nature of work required, this role is fully office based.

We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application.

Benefits

As a Birketts colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of benefits:

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• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
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• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
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• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
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• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
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• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
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• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
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• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
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• Paid CSR Day
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• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
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• Subsidised gym membership
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• Electric car scheme
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• Dress for your Day Policy
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You can find out more on our website: https://recognition-reward-benefits/

Inclusivity and Culture

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

If you require this advert in an accessible format, please visit https://company/birketts/

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

At Birketts, we recognise the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession and recruitment. We welcome innovation and understand that candidates may use AI tools to support their job applications. However, we expect all applicants to use AI responsibly and ethically.

Our expectations regarding AI use in applications:

• Your application should reflect your own voice, experiences, and insights. AI may assist in structuring or refining your responses, but it must not replace your personal input.Do no