Receptionist

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 20,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There’s no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That’s Howden.

Why work at Howden?

We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

What is the role?

Being the first point of contact for all visitors to our Howden offices, creating a warm and inviting environment and delivering a five-star customer service experience

What will you be doing?

• Meet and greet clients and visitors in a professional manner and ensuring they are well looked after whilst in our offices

• Rotating daily between 5 reception desks throughout the building, getting to know each floor and their specific duties

• Working as part of dynamic reception team, helping to maintain a high level of service to all clients

• Booking on the day meeting rooms via the Condeco meeting room booking system as and when needed

• Liaising with the Hospitality team on any changes to catering bookings on the day

• Managing the booking of couriers for domestic and international deliveries

• Ensuring seamless communication is in place between the Hospitality and Reservations teams regarding any hospitality requirements or room bookings for all meetings and internal events.

• Ensure that all visitors sign in and are issued with a visitors pass, keeping records up to date of all visitors in the building and any temporary passes assigned and returned or deactivated if not returned, liaising with the Front of House Coordinator

• Maintaining an open line of communication with the CRES (facilities) team and reporting any issues as soon as known

• Complete a weekly temporary and event pass audit when working on the ground floor

• Taking new starter photos for access passes and forwarding them on to the Front of House Coordinator to create them

• Understanding that some tasks may be asked of you outside of your daily tasks and proceeding without issue

• Maintain a high level of understanding of the company’s policies and procedures and applying them to everyday work

• Ensure all reception areas are consistently maintained to a high standard, liaising with the cleaners when necessary

• Assisting the hospitality team in ensuring that all client meeting rooms on the 14th floor are reset after every meeting

• Covering of the switchboard, answering calls for all Howden departments and ensuring they filtered to the correct teams

• Maintain a polished appearance, ensuring your uniform is well kept

• A requirement of being Fire Marshal trained, with the option of becoming a First Aider

What are we looking for?

• Previous experience of working in a similar reception role, where you have gained excellent interpersonal skills to deliver high quality face-to-face contact with clients and visitors

• A strong level of administrative experience

• Excellent customer service skills

• Maintain a professional manner when answering the telephones

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

• Excellent communication skills, in both verbal and written English

• Good time management, with ability to prioritise and multitask

• Basic level of knowledge for all Microsoft Office suites

• Experience of working in the service industry desired

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society’s greatest challenges.

And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work – and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden ‘personality type’. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect – regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

Our sustainability promise

We’re on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It's a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world. You can read more about our sustainability work here.

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs.  Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.