Director of Administration – Legal Services industry (Irvine, CA)

Job Description Seeking a Director of Administration to manage the Orange County/Irvine, California office.
This individual will manage the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the office, directly reporting to the Partner-in-Charge of the office and the Partner & Chief Operating Officer and works very closely with the Chief Human Resources Officer as well as other Global Services personnel to achieve Firm-wide objectives.
Has responsibility for the day-to-day human resources management within the office, including compliance with regulatory requirements as well as firm policies and procedures, recruiting, performance management and performance reviews.
The Director of Administration is responsible for promoting and establishing a client service environment in support of the lawyers and Firm’s clients.
Identifies and plans for changing needs of the office, lawyers and staff, while supporting the overall goals of the Firm.
Responsible for management of the office’s administrative staff, including facilities, support services, secretaries, paralegals, reception and records.
Also has responsibility for the preparation and management of the office budget, accounting functions, facilities management and maintenance of contracts and leases.
The successful candidate will have a thorough understanding of administration, facilities management, finance/accounting, Human Resources and purchasing.
Ten or more years of progressively responsible work experience with large-sized legal or other professional service organization.
To maintain effective relationships with partners, lawyers, clients and staff the Director of Administration must possess excellent interpersonal skills.
The Director of Administration role is hands-on and will frequently participate actively in day-to-day operations and administration of the office.
Responsibilities include: Attending all meetings that involve the responsibilities described.
The Director of Administration is a member of any committee whose function affects these responsibilities.
Preparing and managing the annual office budget.
Responsible for planning, forecasting and variance analysis.
Overseeing financial reporting and general ledger accounting.
Reviewing of office expenses, invoice processing, and petty cash.
General knowledge of billing and client invoicing.
Recruiting, selection, training and development of staff personnel.
Preparation of job descriptions.
Projects and anticipating personnel needs.
Conducting orientation programs for new employees.
Providing guidance and leadership to staff to ensure effective and efficient work flow.
Administering staff/secretarial performance evaluations.
Managing Secretary/Attorney Share Group Assignments, and in coordination with other Directors of Administration, overseeing the Team Support function supporting attorneys located in the Firm’s West Coast offices who do not have an assigned secretary.
Paralegal support and allocation of resources.
Ensuring that the workload of subordinate staff is equitably assigned, reassigning work when necessary, and may determine work priorities.
Managing Personnel records.
Monitoring and approving time-off requests for staff members and approving electronic time records for all staff members.
Responsible for employee and office morale, relations, motivating, counseling, discipline and discharging of subordinate staff.
In coordination with the Facilities/Catering Supervisor and the Office Services Supervisor, monitoring management of the office records, storage, facilities, library, reception, support services (copy, mail, messenger/delivery services) and supplies.
Overseeing the assignment of offices/workspaces and the movement of general office furniture and other items in personal offices and work areas as requested by the occupants.
Providing assistance to complete special projects that involve the operations of the firm.
QUALIFICATIONS Thorough understanding of administration, facilities management, human resources and purchasing as normally acquired through a University degree in business administration, human resources management or a closely related field or the equivalent work experience.
Experience in Office Space Lease/Real Estate and working with Building and/or Facilities Management.
Space build-out, refurbishment/maintenance of existing space or office relocation experience highly preferred.
Ability to identify and analyze issues and problems and to recommend and implement solutions.
Willingness to be hands-on, very customer and service oriented.
Flexible, with natural leadership.
Interpersonal skills necessary in order to maintain effective relationships with partners, lawyers, clients and staff in person, by e-mail and by telephone to manage staff, facilitate individual and group meetings dealing with the law office operation.
Ability to travel to private and public buildings locally via private or public conveyance to manage the law office’s business.
Work occasionally requires a high level of mental effort and strain when performing essential duties.
Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with time constraints, interruptions.
Work frequently requires more than 40 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position.
EXPERIENCE University degree in Business Administration, HR management or closely related field, required.
Ten years (10) of progressively responsible work experience with legal or other professional services organization with direct experience in managing business operations including planning, human resources and purchasing functions.
Proficient with MS Office 2010 (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint).
Familiarity with and proficiency in CMS time, billing and accounting systems preferred.
Primary Location: Irvine, Orange County, CA Schedule: Full-time EMAIL YOUR RESUME