International Projects Co-ordinator

Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance their most important assets - their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.

With offices in London, Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong, we are recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture, market-leading practice areas, sector focused approach and for providing solutions to complex, multijurisdictional business challenges, with a pragmatic and human touch. We have two things at our core: people — both ours and our clients’— and a focus on creative, tech and innovative businesses.

Our culture is encapsulated by an ethos of bravery and kindness, guided by our values of Integrity, Clarity, Unity and Excellence (our ‘I-CUE’). We aim to provide a supportive environment for our people, clients and wider community and embrace diversity & inclusion, ensuring people are able to bring their full selves to work.

The Employment, Immigration & Reward Division is one of the leading employment law practices in the UK, with 34 employment and immigration Partners and around 100 other specialist lawyers. Consistently top ranked by independent legal directories, we have more recognised experts in employment than any other UK firm.  The majority of our lawyers are based at our London office in Chancery Lane but we also have offices in Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong and other lawyers who work remotely.

The work of the team as a whole is a mix of contentious and non-contentious matters, for a wide range of clients. The lawyers undertake a significant amount of business development including giving seminars and producing Lewis Silkin branded publications. There is a significant international element to the Division’s work, largely on account of its membership of the Ius Laboris international alliance of employment lawyers.

The Employment, Immigration & Reward Division’s International Team, which is made up of a mix of partners, solicitors, an international project manager and paralegals, is focused on delivering international projects to our global clients in a responsive, commercial and cost-effective manner, in conjunction with colleagues in the Ius Laboris international alliance of employment lawyers (www.iuslaboris.com) (of which Lewis Silkin is the UK member).  International work can range from one off projects to multi-country ongoing international arrangements, which require significant project management support.

Reporting Structure

The role can be based in our London, Oxford, Cardiff or Manchester office (depending on your preference and location), (although travel to our other offices may be expected from time to time) and will report to the office head, although day to day management of the role will be by senior members of the International Team.

The overall objective of this challenging and busy role is to provide fee-earning and project management support to the Employment, Immigration & Reward Division’s International Team with a view to ensuring that international projects are co-ordinated efficiently and cost-effectively.

Coordinating and managing International projects will be the key focus of the role, and tasks will include (but not limited to):

• Working closely and collaboratively with our international project manager and international projects assistant
• Supporting the relevant Lewis Silkin lawyer and liaising with the client and support services to prepare detailed project plans
• Assisting in the management of ongoing international arrangements, developing strong relationships with clients
• Developing and maintaining trackers for large international projects
• Liaising with firms in the Ius Laboris alliance to obtain cross border advice to include reviewing advice from overseas lawyers to ensure that it is clear, commercial and tailored to the client’s needs
• Working pro actively and collaboratively with members of the Finance team to ensure an efficient and cohesive approach to billing and project delivery
• Maintaining an understanding of the factors which can impact profitability of international arrangements (e.g. currency fluctuations) and work with the relevant lawyers and Finance team to minimise risk
• Tracking progress against matter plans, alerting relevant stakeholders promptly to variances and recommending changes and developing contingency plans where necessary
• Managing the Division’s international know-how
• Assisting with International Request for Proposals from clients/potential clients
• Supporting to the International Team’s legal work
• Legal research
• Assisting in the various International Team led marketing initiatives including, in particular, researching and assisting lawyers in preparing for conferences and other speaking engagements
• Providing assistance with billing, narratives and administration
• Contributing copy to our websites, writing articles and other commentary pieces

Candidate profile

The successful candidate will have:

• Excellent academics
• Advanced organisational and influencing skills, flexibility of style, attention to detail and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment
• Excellent presentation, written, communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent IT skills, in particular Microsoft Project, Office 365, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Skype for Business, DocsCorp PDF Docs, Word Compare (DocsCorp CompareDocs), Document Management System (Netdocs), although full in house training will be provided.
• Strong numeracy/finance skills

Candidates above all, must be a team player with a passion to work with a fast-paced professional and friendly team. Previous project management experience and knowledge of employment law would be advantageous. The role offers opportunities for the successful candidate to progress and shape their role based on their experience and career aspirations.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to finding the right person for this role and are open to discussing flexible working patterns and office location.