Learning & Development Assistant (Full time role with Apprenticeship)

Watson Farley & Williams was established in London in 1982 and is an international law firm dedicated to client care, legal excellence and investment in its people.  The firm has offices in Athens, Bangkok, Dubai, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, Rome and Singapore.

The firm has seen rapid expansion in size and geography.  Having started as a maritime law firm, in which it remains pre-eminent, the firm is today recognised for its specialist focus on five core sectors: Energy & Infrastructure, Maritime, Natural Resources, Real Estate and Transport in which it provides a full suite of services including finance, corporate, dispute resolution, tax, employment and regulatory.

We are looking for a Learning & Development Assistant to join our Learning & Development team who will play a key role in administering the Firm's training events held in our London and International offices. The role will be based in London but will support all of our 14 international offices. The successful candidate will be the key administrator of our learning management system and learn how to deliver training themselves.

Alongside the day to day activities of this role, the successful applicant will undertake the Level 3 Learning & Development Support Apprenticeship. This apprenticeship is fully CIPD accredited, and the successful applicant will achieve the CIPD Level 3 Certificate in Learning & Development Practice at the end of the academic course. The academic element of this role will be delivered as a blend of online and remote learning as well as face to face workshops. There will also be an element of ‘off the job training’ to help support the academic needs of this role.

Our core office hours are 09.30 to 17.30.  There will, however, be a need for flexibility as there is a requirement to start at 08.30 on days when training events are scheduled to start at 0900.  This usually happens 2/3 times a week, but can vary.

• Administer training events in the London office supporting the L&D Co-ordinator

• Assist in the administration of training events in International Offices assisting local office managers

• Administer the running of the learning management system globally

• Assist with day-to-day L&D budgeting

Administering the Firm's Learning Programmes

• Administer all face-to-face training sessions in the London office, assisting the L&D Co-ordinator

• For each session;

  • Liaise with IT/Reception/Catering/Facilities to arrange all requirements

  • Ensure the room is set up correctly

  • Procure And print any slides and handouts

• For certain London Legal Skills sessions;

  • Liaise with international offices re-joining via Skype and with IT to enable

  • Film the session, manage camera and sound, minor editing and publish onto LMS

• Assist the L&D Co-ordinator in managing our external training provider relationships, including;

  • Details for coming in, dates and times, room set-up, course material etc.

• Liaise with Information & Research (I&R), to materials add them to KM system

• Liaising with international offices re certain local learning programme, including Legal and Professional Skills and Compliance

• Co-ordinate and schedule timetable with external law school for PSC (core modules and electives)

• Ensure all trainees book on to and complete the required further PSC electives throughout their training contract and monitor their progress

Management of the LMS and L&D Intranet Pages

• Responsible for the maintenance of the Firm's learning management system (LMS) – by Cornerstone, including:

  • Enabling staff to book onto in-house workshops

  • Loading and testing new e-learning.

  • New starters

  • Level 1 support for LMS problems and issues

  • Trouble shoot any issues with the LMS and escalating problems to Cornerstone

• Continuous improvement of the LMS to improve the user experience by creating smarter ways for the user to access what they need

• Compliance training management

WFW Induction

• Provide support for the WFW new starter induction including:

  • L&D induction and mandatory compliance training

Management of CCR (formerly CPD) records for E&W lawyers globally

• Responsible for maintaining CCR records

• Answering queries relating to CCR.

• Showing Fee-earners how to access their own CPD record on the LMS.

• Provide regular reports on the CPD activity of the firm

• Create Quarterly Reflection Log for each quarter via the performance section of the LMS

• Monitor responses for Quarterly Reflection Log to ensure completion by the firm’s fee earners

General L&D Support

• Diary Management for the Global Head of L&D and L&D Co-ordinator (mostly done by Exec PA)

• Taking minutes/notes as required.

• Document production /course material management

• Reports - create monthly reports for:

  • Compliance module completion

  • Administration of the training budget

  • Assist HR with the reports required for the annual bonus.

• Support Global Head of L&D in the role as chair of the Knowledge meetings

Projects

Undertake/participate in one off projects, as required.  For the next 12 months these will/may include

• Continuing Competence Regine

• CPD assistance to international offices (with Global Head of L&D)

• Bespoke training programmes as required (with Global Head of L&D and others)

• Training Needs Analysis for fee earners and Business Services Staff

• ROI and Measurement of training impact

• GCSE grade C or above in Maths and English.

• Well organised and pro-active with a keen eye for detail and completer/finishing

• Excellent written and oral skills and an understanding of how to use the right medium to engage and influence commitment to learning

• Confidence in dealing with internal clients and external providers

• Ability to streamline processes in order to reduce time spent on administration

• Client orientated but confidence to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their learning

• High degree of IT literacy, i.e. at least intermediate level in Word, Excel and Powerpoint

• Self-starting with high energy levels

• Experience of working in a law firm training or business development environment

• Recent experience of managing a training and/or events database, ideally Cornerstone

• Technical knowledge of Camtasia and Captivate

• Ability to challenge the status quo and to think laterally when faced with work challenges

• Experience of delivering training and/or inductions

• Creative thinker, able to see problems from different angles and suggest alternative solutions

At Watson Farley & Williams we value diversity and promote a culture of respect for each individual. We encourage workforce diversity at all levels and in all aspects from recruitment and selection to appraisal and promotion. All decisions relating to employment practice will be objective and based on merit and ability.