We are a leading European intellectual property firm, advising some of the world’s most innovative and successful companies. Together, we help to improve lives by supporting innovation.

We hire talented and passionate people who think creatively and enjoy a challenge. Working collaboratively, we share our knowledge and experience across teams, actively learning from each other in a friendly and sociable environment.

We are passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Diversity of thought is vital to our business; it’s how we approach challenges differently and offer our clients creative and original solutions. Through our work with organisations such as IP Inclusive, Stonewall and Business in the Community via the Race at Work Charter, we are putting the right steps in place to make sure that all our people feel supported and empowered to be themselves.

A healthy work/life balance is very important to us, and we run regular wellbeing events in addition to the large number of clubs and social activities that are available to everyone at the firm. We are also enthusiastic supporters of our local community through partnerships with the Social Mobility Foundation and Holborn Community Association.

The role

Reporting into the Director of Legal Operations, your principal responsibility will be to lead and manage the department that provides IP administrative support to the firm’s fee earners. This comprises a group of c.35 people, divided into teams, each with a Team Manager.

Our Records and Formalities team play a crucial role in the efficiency within our organisation. We collaborate closely with our attorneys to provide support from first filings through to grant and registration for our Patents, Trademarks, Transactions and Dispute Resolution teams, ensuring legal documentation is always accurate and up to date.

You will be responsible for the provision of highly professional, precise, effective and efficient support to the fee earners.

We are embarking on a period of change, to improve client service, move a greater share of administrative tasks away from fee earners, develop and embed efficient processes and build and develop the knowledge and capabilities of the support teams.

A major part of your role will be in establishing a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement across your team, providing the leadership and support required and ensuring that the people, systems and processes are well aligned.

This is an excellent opportunity for a knowledgeable and effective leader who shares our ambition to provide outstanding professional service to our clients and fee earners.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide leadership and management of the IP administrative support function, building a culture of operational excellence, professional pride, ambition and achievement in your team.
• Manage change and assist in implementing new technology, processes and procedures.
• Play a major role in helping to identify the requirements of our clients and attorneys and to propose changes to our operations, people, processes and systems to improve our services.
• Manage team performance and ongoing development, by establishing development goals, setting objectives, establishing priorities, and providing ongoing performance feedback.
• Lead and develop your managers and support them with the management of their teams.
• Identify issues, investigate and resolve items arising therefrom, determining root causes and managing reparative actions.
• Ensure that clear. defined and up to date Standard Operating Procedures are in place for every key task.
• Identify training needs and ensure that your team have appropriate training, experience, skills and tools to do their work to the highest professional standards.
• Carry out regular performance and development reviews of your managers and support them in the reviews of their teams as necessary.
• Monitor existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and propose others as appropriate.
• Monitor resourcing, workloads and quality including compliance with documented procedures, creating or updating these as required.
• Manage team member allocation through optimised scheduling and cross-training and through fostering a strong sense of teamwork.
• Join the Management Team meetings and work closely and collaboratively with the Directors and Managers of other business services departments.
• Serve on the firm’s Task Groups (TGs) or other teams and committees as directed by the Director of Legal Operations or COO.

Skills and experience we’re looking for

• Significant management experience, ideally gained within professional services is essential.
• Previous experience as a Manager in IP Administration or Legal Services required.
• A proven track record of being a recognised leader and manager of people in a customer service intensive environment.
• Change management experience.
• Legal knowledge, experience and qualification an advantage.
• Experienced in the use of technology to deliver effective client service.
• Demonstrated ability to develop managers and to lead and manage teams.
• Knowledge and experience of client expectations within professional services.
• Excellent attention to detail and highly organised.
• Self-motivated, results and delivery focused.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Resilient and calm under pressure.

The recruitment process

Applicants can expect a welcoming two-way interview process, where there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions about the opportunity and to discover more about life at the firm.

Typically, there will be two or three stages consisting of the following:

• Interview with the Director of Legal Operations
• Interview with the Director of Legal Operations and COO
• Interview with member(s) of the partnership

We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are treated equally and fairly, allowing them to perform at their best during the recruitment process.

If you have a disability, if you’re neurodivergent, or if you have a condition that you believe may affect your performance during our recruitment process, we encourage you to share your requirements for any adjustments in the relevant section of our application form, or via your recruitment agency. A member of our recruitment team will be in touch to discuss how best we can support you during each stage of the process.

Examples of adjustments may include:

• allowing extra time for assessments.
• providing some extra information about what to expect.
• additional rest breaks.
• adjusting room setup.
• a time of day that works for you.

What we offer

We offer a competitive benefits package that currently includes the following:

• 25 days’ holiday, increasing by 1 day per year up to our maximum of 28 days.
• Employer pension contribution of 5% in your first year, with a minimum 3% employee contribution, increasing to 10% employer contribution after one year’s service.
• Holiday buy scheme, with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
• Holiday bonus, starting at £400 per year, increasing each year up to a maximum of £2,000.
• Private medical insurance via Bupa, where you’ll be eligible to join the month following your start date. You will also have the option to add dependants, subject to a monthly cost.
• Free confidential access to 24/7 medical, mental, legal and financial wellbeing support via Health Assured and WeCare from your first day of employment.
• Access to internal Mental Health First Aiders, all of whom have completed the Mental Health First Aid England accredited training programme and champion wellbeing across the firm.
• Life assurance of 4x your base salary.
• Income protection, with cover for up to 5 years and compensating for up to 75% of your base salary.
• Cycle2Work scheme.
• Season ticket loan.
• Access to Payroll Giving or Give As You Earn (GAYE) which allows you to donate to charity through your monthly pay.
• We’re passionate about the benefits of corporate volunteering and offer all employees 1 paid volunteer day per year.

We’re very proud of our collegiate culture and the value that working together brings. Through our commitment to enabling everyone to do their best work, we offer a range of family and life-friendly policies.

This includes competitive enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, surrogacy and shared parental leave schemes, if you’ve been with us for at least 26 weeks. Furthermore, our fertility policy aims to assist employees with both the logistical and emotional aspects of undergoing fertility treatment. This includes paid leave of up to five days for fertility treatment.

We also recognise the needs of balancing home life around the requirements of your role. Depending on the work you do and your team, we offer informal arrangements such as hybrid and agile working, as well as more formal arrangements such as flexible hours and part-time working. We’re very happy to discuss flexible and life-friendly working options during the recruitment process and upon joining us.

We are proud of our inclusive culture where individual differences are celebrated, and we are committed to providing equal opportunities to all employees and job applicants. We do not tolerate discrimination either directly or indirectly on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, pregnancy and maternity, or any other characteristic protected by law. Our approach is embodied in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, as well as our diversity and inclusion programmes.