Office Manager - Sidley Austin LLP

Summary

Sidley’s Palo Alto Office is seeking a strong office manager that is able to work harmoniously with multiple levels of personnel to provide excellent resources and support to our lawyers, staff and clients while overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office.  The office manager works to provide functional and thoughtful leadership, ensures operational excellence, creates an inclusive and creative office culture and demonstrates an ability to support the multi-faceted needs of the lawyers, staff and office. 

In partnership with the West Coast Director of Administration (DOA), the Office Managing Partner (OMP), and firmwide, regional and local management, the office manager has responsibility to supervise support staff, office operations, human resource activities (performance evaluations, staff development, conflict resolution, life/safety), coordinate office activities and social events and has responsibility for  overseeing facilities functions (leasehold improvements, space planning, and coordination of internal and external moves).

The office manager should exhibit excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills and demonstrate an ability to work independently and exercise good judgment.    

Duties and Responsibilities

• Finance and Accounting. Responsible for coordination of daily accounting functions, including but not limited to operational invoicing, reconciliation of catering and facilities billing, preparation and monitoring of budget for the Palo Alto office and oversight of compliance with local time entry and billing deadlines. 
• Firmwide Support.  Works to support firmwide needs on the local level by coordinating office staff and functions, including, but not limited to regional resource sharing, participation in departmental meetings, coordination of new hire training and coordination of local marketing, recruiting and diversity events.
• Facilities. Manages facilities functions (reception, catering, conference center, furnishings, maintenance/repairs, office services and maintaining supplies), communicates effectively with vendor resources, including but not limited to landlord/property manager/engineer in lease, sublease and building operations matters.
• Regional Management.  Works with regional management to maintain adequate staffing for secretarial, paralegal and project support, billing, IT and local office staff.  Meets regularly with regional management to maintain harmony among staff and resolve conflicts in the department. Responsible for maintaining and improving morale, make recommendations to resolve problems and ensures staff maintain quality production of work.
• Supervisory.  Supervises non-legal staff, including recommendations for hiring, firing, performance evaluations, performance counseling, work allocation and problem resolution.  Demonstrates the ability to develop personnel and promote excellence by providing training, team meetings and clear direction. Participates in reviews of all local office non-legal staff and collaborates on employee relations issues and disciplinary meetings.  Supervises daily functions of on-site outsourced personnel. Works collaboratively with regional and firmwide management to coordinate administrative functions and has an appropriate working knowledge of technology infrastructure and event planning.  Possesses leadership skills with the capacity to motivate and guide a team.
• Client relations. Foster positive client relationships by addressing inquiries, coordinating meetings, and ensuring exceptional client service standards are maintained.
• Miscellaneous.  Performs miscellaneous job duties as needed for support of the office, region and firm.
• California Applicants: Salaries may vary by location. In Northern California, the estimated target salary range of this role is $160,000 - $240,000, in addition to bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefit package. Salary determinations are made based on numerous factors, such as, but not limited to, the relevant market and the skill, experience, class or graduation year, and education of the selected candidate.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities (Duties) above satisfactorily and meet the requirements below.  The requirements listed below are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.  If you need such an accommodation, please email staffrecruiting@sidley.com (current employees should contact Human Resources). 

Required:

• Minimum of 5 years’ leadership experience in office management in the legal, professional services or large enterprise context, including human resources, facilities and technology.

Preferred: 

• Bachelor’s degree

Other Skills and Abilities:

The successful candidate is able to:

• work harmoniously and effectively with others
• preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion
• work under pressure
• manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities and attention to detail
• present strong written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills
• provide analytical and problem-solving skills
• exercise strong judgment

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer