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Williams Lea

Global business support for professional services

Floating Personal Assistant

Full-Time
£34k/yr
Mid
Leeds, UK
HybridThree days in the office and two remote after the probation period.
Administrative & Executive AssistanceExecutive Support

About the job

Requirements
  • Demonstrated personal assistant experience supporting multiple stakeholders.
  • Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Ability to work remotely while remaining connected and communicative.
  • Ability to anticipate needs and take proactive action within defined processes and established ways of working.
  • Strong prioritisation skills and the ability to manage multiple competing demands simultaneously.
  • Ability to adapt to varying ways of working.
  • Ability to follow established processes consistently while recognising when clarification or escalation is required.
  • Comfort working within a structured service model where ways of working are defined by the client and existing personal assistant arrangements.
  • Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
  • Ability to manage competing demands and time-sensitive requests while remaining composed.
Responsibilities
  • Manage multiple complex diaries with accuracy, foresight, and adaptability, following established diary structures, stakeholder preferences, and personal assistants' ways of working.
  • Monitor and manage personal assistant inboxes, reviewing incoming correspondence, identifying required actions, prioritising activity, and ensuring timely and appropriate follow-up in line with established guidance.
  • Coordinate internal and external meetings, including logistics and virtual arrangements.
  • Plan and manage intricate domestic and international travel itineraries in line with documented requirements.
  • Provide rapid, precise responses to shifting priorities using established priority guidance.
  • Handle calls, correspondence, and confidential information professionally.
  • Serve as a point of contact for stakeholders across time zones while providing cover and maintaining communication and continuity of service.
  • Maintain accurate records, filing systems, and customer relationship management information.
  • Collaborate with wider teams, offering planned and unplanned cover and providing clear handovers to maintain continuity of service.
  • Understand and adapt to the working practices of different personal assistants and stakeholder requirements when providing cover, without unnecessarily changing established arrangements.
  • Maintain high standards of organisation, structure, and consistency.
Desired Qualifications
  • Previous experience working within private equity or financial services.
  • Experience supporting multiple stakeholders simultaneously.

About the company

Williams Lea provides tailored business support services for financial, legal, and professional services firms around the world. It uses a combination of onshore and offshore centers plus local offices to deliver customized, high-touch services that integrate advanced technology and real-time data. A core differentiator is ENGAGE, its technology platform that enables global automation, governance, and analytics to drive efficient workflows and real-time reporting. The company serves high-profile clients, including many leading law firms, professional services firms, and financial institutions, and generates revenue through service contracts. Williams Lea’s goal is to improve operational efficiency for clients, freeing fee earners to focus on client work, while pursuing ESG initiatives through its Beyond Business program focused on education, diversity, sustainability, and self-betterment.

Company Size

5,001-10,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Founded

1820

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • RRD closed the Williams Lea acquisition on January 31, 2025, stabilizing ownership.
  • Michael Pecnik became chief product officer in March 2024, accelerating AI productization.
  • New leadership appointments in 2024 signal sharper sales execution across financial and legal accounts.

What critics are saying

  • RRD integration likely cuts Williams Lea India finance roles by 45-50% in 2025.
  • Printweek reported 100 EMEA layoffs in 2023, signaling recurring restructuring pressure.
  • If RRD centralizes delivery, Williams Lea loses autonomy and becomes a commoditized unit.

What makes Williams Lea unique

  • Williams Lea serves 50 law firms and 10 of 15 global investment banks worldwide.
  • Its ENGAGE and LogoCloud products automate pitchbooks, transcription, and workflow governance.
  • RRD kept the Williams Lea brand after closing the January 31, 2025 acquisition.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Paid Vacation
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Short-term & Long-term Disability
  • Wellness Program
  • Discounted gym memberships
  • Hybrid Work Options
  • Flexible Work Hours

Company News

Outsource Accelerator
Jan 4th, 2025
RRD Acquires Williams Lea for $1.2B

Williams Lea, a global provider of tech-enabled business support services, has been acquired by RRD, a marketing and supply chain solutions provider. The acquisition, set to finalize in Q1 2025, aims to enhance RRD's business support services. Williams Lea, with $1.2 billion annual revenue and 7,000 employees, will integrate into RRD's Digital, Creative, and Business Support Services segment. RRD generates $5.4 billion annually and employs over 30,000 people in 26 countries.

Citybiz
Dec 4th, 2024
Williams Lea Appoints Hillary McNally as CRO and Alastair Kelly as Managing Director

Global tech-enabled business support services firm Williams Lea announces the appointment of Hillary McNally as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Alastair Kelly as Managing Director, Asia Pacific.

PR Newswire
Mar 5th, 2024
Williams Lea Announces Appointment Of Michael Pecnik As Chief Product Officer

NEW YORK, March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global tech-enabled business support services firm Williams Lea announces the appointment of Michael Pecnik as Chief Product Officer (CPO). Pecnik will oversee product strategy for the company's services and solutions, including its proprietary ENGAGE suite of products and LogoCloud™, an AI-enabled SaaS platform.Pecnik comes to Williams Lea with over twenty years of experience in product management and enterprise software sales. Before joining the business, he led the Global Customer Success Team for Business Applications in the Professional Services vertical at Microsoft.Prior to that, Pecnik spent 12 years in various leadership roles at salesforce.com, BNY Mellon and Cognizant, and he started his career as a product manager at Dow Jones. Pecnik holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a master's degree in information science from the University of Graz."We are delighted to have Michael join our organization at such a pivotal time," said Nick Morgan, CTO of Williams Lea. "The rapid emergence of generative AI is transforming the way our business operates, and Michael's expertise in delivering best-in-class products will ensure we optimize these technologies to drive efficiencies and service excellence for our clients."The addition of the CPO role comes as Williams Lea continues its strategy of tech-enabling its offerings. In 2023, the company launched LogoCloud™, which leverages AI and automation to streamline critical, time-intensive presentation creation tasks for bankers, analysts and consultants.In January 2024, Williams Lea furthered its tech enablement with the launch of ENGAGE Transcribe, an end-to-end solution specifically designed to effortlessly convert multi-speaker and multilingual audio files into text with unparalleled speed and accuracy

Sharecast
Mar 5th, 2024
Williams Lea announces appointment of Michael Pecnik as Chief Product Officer

NEW YORK, March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Global tech-enabled business support services firm Williams Lea announces the appointment of Michael Pecnik as Chief Product Officer (CPO).

AI Magazine
Jan 11th, 2024
Williams Lea launches ENGAGE Transcribe, combining AI and expertise to augment business support for global clients

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Global tech-enabled business support services firm Williams Lea today launched ENGAGE Transcribe, an end-to-end solution specifically designed to effortlessly convert multi-speaker and multilingual audio files into text with unparalleled speed and accuracy.