Front of House Lead

Salary: £45,000 per annum plus company benefits

Location: London, EC2N

Contract: Permanent, Full Time

Shifts: 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, between the hours of 8.00am and 6.00pm with 1 hour unpaid break

Work model: Fully onsite

Williams Lea seeks an experienced Front of House Lead to join our team!

Williams Lea is the leading global provider of skilled, technology-enabled, business-critical support services, with long-term trusted relationships with blue-chip clients across investment banks, law firms and professional services firms. Williams Lea employees, nearly 7000 people worldwide, who provide efficient business services at client sites in often complex and highly regulated environments, from centralised Williams Lea onshore facilities, and through best cost company offshore locations.

Purpose of role

As Front of House Lead, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the daily operations of our corporate reception service – a critical part of the client and colleague experience. This is an opportunity for an experienced front-of-house professional who thrives in a corporate environment and knows how to lead from the front with professionalism, polish, and presence.

The successful candidate will lead and develop the Front of House team, drive excellence in service performance, implement continuous improvements and build strong stakeholder relationships.

Key responsibilities

• Leading and supporting the reception team, providing day-to-day guidance, coaching and support to Receptionists.
• Monitoring reception standards, ensuring a consistently professional, welcoming and client-focused front-of-house service.
• Training and onboarding new reception team members including procedures, systems, firm standards and client service expectations.
• Managing daily FOH coverage, ensuring appropriate staffing levels and arranging cover for sickness, annual leave and unexpected absences.
• Monitoring and managing visitor experience ensuring visitors, clients and candidates are welcomed and supported throughout their visit.
• VIP and high-profile client handling, coordinating reception arrangements for important clients, partners, events and meetings.
• Supporting events and hospitality, assisting with the planning and delivery of internal and external meetings, client meetings and hospitality requirements.
• Meeting room management, ensuring rooms are correctly set up, AV/technology is functioning and rooms are reset after meetings.
• Liaising with internal departments, working closely with Facilities, IT, HR, Security, Business Development, Marketing and other teams to resolve FOH issues.
• Liaising with external suppliers and contractors, escalating issues and coordinating attendance where required.
• Security and access control awareness, ensuring visitor procedures, access requirements and security protocols are followed.
• Health & Safety support, reporting hazards, maintaining awareness of emergency procedures and supporting fire evacuation/emergency arrangements.
• Incident and escalation management, taking ownership of FOH incidents and ensuring they are appropriately recorded, escalated and followed through.
• Service level monitoring, identifying recurring issues and opportunities to improve the reception and office-services experience.
• Maintaining FOH procedures and guidance, keeping reception processes, contact lists, checklists and escalation procedures up to date.
• Holiday and absence planning, supporting resource planning and ensuring adequate FOH cover.
• Providing regular feedback to the Account Manager on team performance, service issues and development needs.
• Supporting performance management, assisting with informal coaching and addressing recurring performance or conduct issues where appropriate.
• Auditing reception and FOH areas, carrying out regular checks to ensure presentation, cleanliness, signage, supplies and equipment meet firm standards.
• Stock and supplies monitoring, ensuring reception and meeting room supplies are maintained and replenished.
• Supporting continuous improvement projects, identifying inefficiencies and implementing agreed improvements to FOH processes.
• Maintaining confidentiality and professionalism, ensuring client, visitor and firm information is handled appropriately, particularly given the law-firm environment.
• Supporting business continuity, understanding key FOH procedures for emergencies, system outages and unexpected office disruptions.
• Providing cover for the FOH when required, taking ownership of agreed operational responsibilities in their absence.
• Ownership and management of the Reception/FOH rota, ensuring appropriate daily coverage and contingency arrangements.
• Oversight of catering requirements for meetings, events and client visits, ensuring a consistently high standard of service.
• Conducting regular meeting room booking audits to identify clashes, unused rooms and booking issues.
• Leading weekly Reception/FOH team meetings, communicating key updates, priorities and operational matters.
• Acting as the first point of escalation for FOH issues, taking ownership through to resolution where appropriate.
• Identifying, developing and implementing initiatives to improve FOH service delivery and efficiency.
• Conducting daily/regular FOH walkarounds to proactively identify and address issues affecting client and employee experience.

Personal attributes

• Proven experience leading a corporate or professional services reception team — you’ve set standards, built teams, and delivered exceptional service.
• Strong operational experience managing or owning a service line — you’re confident balancing people leadership with service delivery.
• A natural communicator with presence and polish — someone who can build relationships at all levels, from clients to C-suite.
• Professional, proactive, and solutions-focused — calm under pressure and always one step ahead.

Rewards and Benefits

We believe in supporting our employees in both their professional and personal lives. As part of our commitment to your well-being, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including but not limited to:

• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part time and fixed term roles)
• Salary sacrifice schemes, retail vouchers – including our TechScheme which can be used on a range of gadgets such as Smart TV’s, laptops and computers or household appliances.
• Life Assurance
• Private Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Health Assessments
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Discounted gym memberships
• Referral Scheme

You will also have the opportunity to work for a global employer who is dedicated to offering each and every employee an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding career with future career development prospects!

Equality and Diversity

The Company values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation and will not discriminate because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (each of these being a “protected characteristic” in discrimination law). It will not discriminate because of any other irrelevant factor and will build a culture that values openness, fairness and transparency.

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like to make a reasonable adjustment to enable you to make an interview please contact us at [email protected](we do not accept applications to this email address).

View our Privacy Notice https://www.williamslea.com/privacy-statement