Business Services Assistant

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in London seeks an experienced Executive Assistant to support senior directors and manage complex calendars. You will coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, arrange travel, and handle document drafting and formatting in Excel/PowerPoint.

The role requires discretion, professionalism, and strong MS Office skills, with hybrid office patterns Monday–Thursday in the office and Fridays optional WFH.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting senior management in a legal or professional services firm.
• Proactive, can-do approach with strong judgment.
• Professional, courteous, and able to build relationships.
• Maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Excellent MS Office knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Gatekeeper for Director allocations and queries, ensuring accurate information.
• Manage complex diaries and coordinate meetings.
• Prepare agendas, book rooms, and circulate materials.
• Arrange domestic and international travel.
• Draft and format documents, emails, and invites.
• Create and amend documents in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Attend team meetings and track action items.
• Assist with budgets and expense claims.
• Support project management and other duties as required.

Skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Discretion

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

MS Outlook

Job description

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has more than 2,000 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles,Luxembourg, Palo Alto, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.

Description/Job Summary

• Act as gatekeeper for an allocation of Directors, answering queries as appropriate and providing accurate information.
• Manage complex diaries and coordinate internal and external meetings.
• Prepare agendas, book rooms, organise training sessions, team events and lunches, circulating materials in advance.
• Arrange domestic and international travel.
• Assist with the drafting of correspondence and documents where appropriate e.g. emails, event invites, training schedules, meetings, etc.
• Amend and format documents and process mark-ups as required.
• Create and amend documents in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Attend team meetings as appropriate to ensure clarity on future actions, following up on actions as necessary.
• Assist with preparing and administering relevant budgets.
• Manage expense claims and process invoices.
• Assist with project management tasks to ensure progress and efficiency.
• Undertake other duties as required to provide comprehensive administrative support to the allocated directors.

Responsibilities/Duties

• Previous experience supporting senior management within a legal or comparable professional services environment is essential.
• A proactive, can-do approach, with the ability to use initiative and exercise sound judgement.
• A professional and courteous manner, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships.
• Maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion at all times.
• Extensive knowledge of MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook and other MS Office products is essential.
• Ability to self-manage and deal with conflicting priorities from different sources.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills with the ability to communicate with staff at all levels, including Partners.
• Ability to work effectively within a team as well as independently.

Details

Salary and Benefits: Competitive

Hybrid: Monday-Thursday in office, ability to WFH on Fridays

Simpson Thacher is committed to ensuring that everyone can reach their full potential, irrespective of background, identity, or circumstance. We know that we are at our best when we bring together diverse experiences and perspectives. This is why we are focused on fostering a collegial environment which maximises collaboration, empowering every individual to thrive and succeed.