Residential Real Estate Assistant (ref 1347)

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

The department

The Residential Property Team comprises 60+ members operating out of each office but working together as one team. Within the team, enfranchisement is a specialist and growing sector with three full time fee earners, a paralegal and Team Leader.

Purpose of job

At Birketts, our passion is to provide and deliver high quality legal advice but we also deliver a great experience when it comes to your career too! Through growth, Birketts is now currently recruiting for a Residential Real Estate Assistant to come and join our friendly and proactive team on a permanent basis to work full time (35 hours) in our Chelmsford office.

The Residential Real Estate Assistant is an exciting role where you will work as part of a very busy and rapidly growing Residential Property team to provide professional and dedicated support to a team leader.

Accountabilities

The successful Conveyancing Assistant will work as part of a team, assisting in providing an efficient and accurate administrative service. You will be:

• Able to update clients and agents regularly and provide email and phone cover when team leader is not available
• Drafting contract packs and ad hoc letters
• Preparing files for completion and attending to post-completion matters through to file closure
• Able to show initiative when responding to queries and actively try to seek solutions to problems
• Supporting and building working relationships with the team leader and wider team members
• Effectively liaising with staff from other departments and external contacts as required
• Accurately maintaining and updating client and other relevant contact details on the firm’s database
• Processing all forms including client questionnaires, money laundering form
• Assisting in maintaining compliant and accurate file management and office systems
• Proof reading all work, checking for spelling and grammar
• Preparing report bundles both electronically and manually
• Preparing completion statements and accounts forms
• Scheduling and managing deeds to ensure records are kept up to date
• Immediately clarifying instructions from fee earners should they be unclear or if deadlines are not made explicit

The candidate

Joining Birketts as a Residential Real Estate Assistant you will have a passion for all things 'property' related, you will understand the confidential element of the role and have the ability to work at a fast pace but still have the high level of attention to detail and accuracy.

You will play a key role in the provision of a high quality and responsive admin service, continuously applying improvements to increase client satisfaction, you will work collaboratively to maintain a consistency approach across the team.

Skills required:

• Positive and professional approach
• Able to communicate with a wide variety of different people from first time buyers to multi-million pound investor clients, buying and selling agents and mortgage brokers
• Attention to detail
• Strong organisational skills
• Work efficiently and effectively under pressure and to deadlines
• Self-motivated and reliable with an ability to use own initiative
• Positive and professional approach

Equal opportunities

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.

Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.