Sarah Matthews

Started this position from leaving school and was employed as an office junior working for a team of surveyors/structural engineers. Gained knowledge of general offices duties, answering telephones and switchboard operation.

Attended

College at Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry on day release to gain more office skills and pass NQV level I, II and III in Business and Finance. After two years of training, moved onto secretarial where worked for 3 surveyors which involved the typing of structural reports, specifications, liaising with contractors and clients, arranging meetings, office administration, accounts, banking, archiving and full running of reprographics for the copy of site plans. Also managed the office library implementing quality control and updated versions of BSI literature.

Office Junior / Secretary - THOMASON PARTNERSHIP

(1991-05 - 1996-09)

Started this position from leaving school and was employed as an office junior working for a team of surveyors/structural engineers. Gained knowledge of general offices duties, answering telephones and switchboard operation.

Attended

College at Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry on day release to gain more office skills and pass NQV level I, II and III in Business and Finance. After two years of training, moved onto secretarial where worked for 3 surveyors which involved the typing of structural reports, specifications, liaising with contractors and clients, arranging meetings, office administration, accounts, banking, archiving and full running of reprographics for the copy of site plans. Also managed the office library implementing quality control and updated versions of BSI literature.

Secretary (Temporary Agency) - OFFICE ANGELS

After leaving Financial Connections spent several months with a secretary agency to gain further knowledge of different administration/secretarial roles.

PA (Personal Assistant) to the Director - FINANCIAL CONNECTIONS

(1996-10 - 1997-12)

• Processing mortgage and remortgage applications
• Financial queries
• Audio typing
• Setting up meetings
• Accounting/billing

Secretary - Corporate Department - BERG & CO SOLICITORS

(1997-12 - 1999-10)

Working for a Partner and two fee earners within the Corporate Department

• Arranging meetings
• Liaising with clients
• Arranging travel
• Typing legal correspondence and documents/contracts
• Answering queries
• Processing of invoices

Float Secretary / Trade Mark and Intellectual Property Secretary / Word Processing Operator - ADDLESHAW GODDARD

(2000-11 - 2006-10)

Joined this company as a float secretary covering all departments within Commercial Law including employment, property, tax, litigation and corporate which then enabled joining the Trade Mark and Intellectual Property Department (position held for 4 years). Then worked within the Word Processing department for approximately 16 months.

• Working for a Legal Director and 2 Senior Fee Earners and a Sport Consultant working to tight deadlines involving all contracts for Manchester's Commonwealth Games
• Emailing and liaising with clients
• Arranging travel and accommodation
• Dealing with highly confidential information alongside high profile clients
• Working with international clients and legal documentation
• Copy and audio typing production of commercial legal documentation
• Expense claims and billing and accounting enquiries
• Arranging seminars and diary management
• Working closely with facilities management and reprographics to ensure high quality and production of all legal documentation
• Processing and typing all proposals for new work for all departments within the Company

Secretary - Property Department - Rowlands Solicitors

(2006-10 - 2007-09)

Working for the Head of the Property Department and supporting fee earners within the group.

• Liaising with the Land Registry and Local Authorities regarding property sales and purchases and redevelopment
• Typing correspondence
• Arranging meetings
• Preparing leases
• Producing invoices
• Maintaining travel expenses
• Joining the IT committee which enabled heavy involvement with the new case management system that was due to be implemented within the firm
• Arranging all meetings and reviewing workflows for each department for the suppliers to demonstrate their products to the Partners of the firm

Secretary - Real Estate Department / Property Finance Department - DWF LLP

(2007-11 - 2008-10)

Working within the Real Estate Department for a Partner and fee earners covering maternity for 4 months, then joined the Property Finance Department where worked for a team of four fee earners.

• Answering queries
• Raising invoices
• Reclaiming expenses
• Arranging meetings
• Liaising with clients
• Preparing property finance documents
• Typing correspondence
• Arranging travel for team meetings
• Diary management

Part Time Receptionist/Administrator (night shifts) - Manchester NHS Ancoats Walk in Centre

(2008-04 - 2009-01)

Working as a receptionist for the Minor Injuries Walk in Centre on the front desk being the first point of call and meeting, greeting, liaising and understanding patient needs whether they understand English and may need help or an interpreter to discuss their medical needs.

• Working on the main reception
• Booking in of patients on Lorenzo case management system
• Tracing of patients
• Answering patient queries by telephone
• Liaising with nursing staff and maintenance staff
• Filing of patient notes
• Faxing patient notes to GP's
• Booking in of test results and samples

Secretary / Administrator - Temp Agencies

(2009-02 - 2010-09)

Working on various secretarial assignments for law firms and working for the head of research for Manchester University NHS Trust.

Corporate PA - Turner Parkinson LLP

(2010-11 - 2014-09)

Working as a Corporate PA for the Head of the Corporate/Commercial Department and supporting 2 Partners and 2 fee earners.

• Working with a variety of high profile clients within the music industry, covering all aspects of contract law, acquisitions and mergers and takeovers
• Creating and implementing house style throughout the department and across the firm
• Working to tight deadlines including late nights and weekends
• Preparing all marketing and legal documents, correspondence, accounts and billing and expense claims and invoices
• Projecting future fees for the department and making sure targets are met each month working closely with accounts to chase payments
• Arranging travel and in-house lunches for seminars and training
• Covering reception when needed
• Providing training and support to all secretarial staff on house style whilst implementing digital dictation and the firms document comparison system provided by Docscorp converting pdf documents into text and comparing legal documents with redline and strikethrough
• Adhering to Lexcel accreditation

Waitress (part time) - ORANGE TREE TAPAS BAR

(2016-06 - 2017-04)

• Taking orders and serving food and drinks to customers
• Working behind the bar
• Taking stock checks
• Dealing with cash and credit card payments
• Cleaning restaurant
• Setting table plans for party bookings

Paralegal - RVA SURVEYORS LTD

(2017-08 - 2022-12)

Working as a Paralegal within the legal department following pre-action protocol before issuing a county court claim. Liaising with the client/third party before legal proceedings are issued to reach an amicable solution and being empathetic to the client situation and trying to resolve the legal issues.

• Utilising MCOL court system to issue claims including interest calculation outstanding monies owed
• Investigating, researching liaising with third parties and local authority and also researching on companies house and creditsafe before issuing claim to confirm correct entity
• Reporting back to director with timeline and due diligence of each case before issuing claim
• Entering judgment on MCOL court system, liaising with third parties to recover judgment debt
• Liaising with Courts and attending Courts across the country as representative for the claimant
• Reviewing caseloads, researching and evidencing and producing witness statements to evidence in court
• Reviewing call recordings documentation, contracts, detailed transcripts of conversations and agreements made between the claimant and the defendant
• Using sage accounts system to note all calls and conversations
• Updating the legal spreadsheet with outcomes of cases and crediting remaining monies on accounts if settled

Finance/Compliance Administrator - STERLING FINANCE UK LIMITED

(2024-01 - 2025-10)

Working as a finance/compliance administrator adhering to FCA regulations and completion of onboarding procedures using KARBON case management.

• Daily use of the HMRC portal to onboard clients
• Completion of all 64-8 forms for payroll, self-assessment, VAT, Corporation Tax
• Submitting VAT returns to HMRC
• Chasing HMRC for completion of client requests
• Updating Company HMRC portal with updates
• Overseeing records management
• Liaising with bookkeepers and managers for checked and completed records

DJ/Singer (Part time) - Self Employed

Working as a DJ/Singer providing entertainment for public houses and clubs around Manchester.

St Albans RC High School

NVQ I, II and III - Business and Finance - Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry