A&O Shearman's responsibility to help build a fair and equitable society goes hand in hand with the firm's commitment to its people, culture and clients, and the wider legal sector. Our social impact initiatives enable individuals and communities to access justice, social finance, education and employment around the world, whilst building the skills and perspectives of our people, strengthening our relationships with our clients and tangibly demonstrating our core values and culture.
Role purpose
The Social Impact & Environment Sustainability Apprentice will provide administrative support across both the Social Impact and Environmental Sustainability Teams. The role will provide support for our Access to Education and Employment programmes, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling Foundation (A&O Shearman Foundation), Global Decarbonisation and Environmental Impact Mitigation programme and act as a link between both teams to support common initiatives.
Role and responsibilities
Community Investment
- Create and monitor recruitment opportunities through our global volunteering platform and support international colleagues with administrative guidance to increase engagement.
- Deliver and recruit for educational programmes during the academic year – including co-ordination with charities, room bookings, catering and managing recruitment numbers throughout.
- Administration for participants travel reimbursement for our programs, liaising with participants and Finance.
A&O Shearman Foundation
- Respond to general enquiries from organisations, collate grant applications and ensure relevant paperwork has been provided by the organisation.
- Take minutes, activate payment processes of successful organisations, collate end of grant report forms and assist with reporting requirements.
Environment Sustainability
- Coordinate global environmental data collection and support office-level training and communications.
- Undertake research tasks into Sustainability trends potentially impacting the firm.
- Support maintenance of the Environmental Sustainability Hub.
- Support the Global Sustainability Manager in running the Green Champions network.
- Contribute to development of comms materials and employee engagement.
- Undertake ad-hoc admin tasks related to the team’s day-to-day activities.
General administration
- Assist the team with in-person events including our Global Social Impact Conference to include setting up marketing campaigns (Vuture), printing, managing volunteers and ad hoc requests both in the run up to, during and afterwards.
- Liaise with internal communications and digital support to create digital signage for promotional materials and London news articles.
- Provide technical support to the Social Impact Team through maintaining the intranet and SharePoint sites.
What we look for
- Suited to an enthusiastic, organised candidate with excellent administrative skills and attention to detail
- An interest in or passionate about social impact and sustainability
- Good communication and interpersonal skills
- Knowledge of Word, Excel and Outlook is required
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills/spelling and grammar
- Motivated, with a strong interested in education, employability and environmental issues
- Flexible and adaptable to working hours
- Suited to someone who is an excellent team player but can work unsupervised, demonstrating use of own initiative
Minimum requirements
- To be eligible for this apprenticeship you must hold 5 GCSEs at Grade 6 or above (including Maths and English)
- Applicants must be in either Year 13 or a school leaver without a university degree
- Not undertaking another apprenticeship or government funded qualification at the same time
Academic qualifications
- You will be based in our London office throughout the apprenticeship program and working four days per week with one day studying with the assigned tuition provider (usually online).
- By the end of the apprenticeship, you will have achieved the following qualification: Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioner (Level 4).
Support
During the apprenticeship we will entrust you with a lot of responsibility and fully support you in a variety of ways to ensure you reach your potential.
- You will be assigned a supervisor who will mentor you and assign tasks throughout your apprenticeship. They will also provide training and feedback on how you are doing.
- As well as the apprenticeship academic qualification, you will be able to access the firm’s professional development masterclasses.
Application process
You will be required to submit a CV which details your education history, and any work experience you may have undertaken.
As part of the application, you will be asked to provide a couple of written responses to questions.
Application window
Applications for this role will open on 1 May 2025 and close on 30 May 2025.
Interviews
We will be inviting candidates to attend an interview in our London office during July 2025. The interview will be conducted by members of the Social Impact and Environment Team.
You may also get the opportunity to meet the former apprentice after the interview to hear first-hand about their experience and ask questions. Reasonable travel expenses by public transport will be reimbursed.
Apprenticeship start date
1 September 2025
Additional information - External
A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.
We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.
Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.
What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.
