Learning & Development Manager / Senior Manager - London

This job is with Reed Smith LLP, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

Description

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced (Senior) L&D Manager – Legal Skills to join our EMEA Learning and Development team. This role could either be a senior manager or a manager level role, depending on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

Although the role will be focused on legal skills, we are ideally looking for someone who also brings broader training experience, and anticipate that this role will include an element of business skills and/or leadership skills within it. As a small team, it is anticipated that the successful candidate will be happy to roll their sleeves up and contribute to a broader range of the team’s initiatives if needed.

Working closely with the Director of L&D – EMEA, this role will be responsible for designing and delivering key legal skills development initiatives through the Reed Smith EMEA region and in alignment with the firm’s Global L&D programming. A s such it is anticipated that the successful candidate will bring experience working as a qualified lawyer in an international law firm, in addition to L&D experience gained in an international law firm and/or within a law school environment.

Close collaboration with the firm’ s knowledge, innovation, and practice and industry group leadership is expected to be a significant element of the role.

As a senior member of the L&D team, this role may have management and mentoring/supervisory responsibilities and will be expected to act as a role model and ambassador for L&D within the firm and externally.

There may be limited travel to the firm’s international offices from time to time. This would be planned well in advance and is unlikely to be more than once or twice a year.

The Firm

Reed Smith is a global law firm with more than 1,700 lawyers in 30 offices throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.

Operating as one global partnership, we represent leading international businesses from FTSE 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises; advising clients on cross border transactions, international commercial disputes and regulation. We specialise in industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, energy and natural resources, entertainment and media, shipping and real estate.

We all share a common culture, with core values supporting the firm’s commitment to add value, achieve excellence, and promote professional development. London is our largest office with approximately 700 people, including over 350 fee earners across the full range of commercial practice areas. Consistent with the firm’s strategy, the office has grown significantly over the past five years. Key to this growth has been our ability to successfully integrate new hires into our business and give them a platform to flourish. We place a huge significance on listening to our people and incorporating their ideas wherever possible.

Responsibilities

People and client groupsCollaborative and able to work effectively across different levels of the organization.Strong leadership qualities and ability to inspire and motivate others.Ability to have impact with senior staff and have robust conversations as required.Excellent communication skills, enabling impactful and influential communication with stakeholders.Work closely with partners, practice group leaders, and KMLs to identify training needs and priorities.Work closely with the Global L&D team to collaborate on our global approach to legal skills development.Serve as a key point of contact for all matters related to legal skills training within EMEA.Ability to adapt to the evolving needs of the legal industry and the firm.Ability to work in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment typical of a leading international law firm.

Relationship Management:Excellent relationship-builder, able to develop a broad international network of relationships across the firm.Build and maintain relationships with external training providers, industry experts, and professional associations.Represent the firm at external training events and conferences.

Line managementPotential line management of junior team members. Acts as a role model, mentor and sounding board.Inspirational and able to foster a collaborative, high-performing and proactive team environment through skill sharing, coaching and mentoring, and demonstration of core values such as integrity, commitment and passion for L&D.

L&D Strategy and ProgrammingContribute to the development of the overall learning and development strategy.Align legal skills training initiatives with the firm’s strategic objectives and with the Global L&D programming.Working with the EMEA leadership – either directly or alongside senior L&D and HR colleagues, ensure that development needs are identified at firm and practice group/office level and devise solutions to meet these needs.Support on business skills and leadership skills programmesSeeks out appropriate assistance from external or internal subject-matter experts / presenters / course designers and manage those relationships to design and deliver sessions.Keep up-to-date on current trends, developments and best practices in the field of attorney, paralegal and staff development by reading professional journals, articles and books, and attending attorney development seminars, conferences and workshops.

Key Skills, Attributes and Experience

Legal skills developmentTake a strategic overview of legal skills development proactively identifying opportunities to add value through engagement with senior stakeholders and with lawyers across EMEA.Excellent organisational and project management skills with an eye for detail and the ability to juggle multiple matters.Work with a range of stakeholders to design and deliver (self or supporting others) engaging and interactive training sessions using a variety of instructional techniques on key legal skills topics including:

Negotiation Skills:

Techniques and strategies for effective negotiation in legal contexts.Drafting Skills:

Principles of clear and precise legal drafting.Legal Writing:

Best practice/house style for producing high-quality legal documents and correspondence.Research Skills:

Efficient legal research methods and resources.Transaction Management Skills:

Managing legal transactions from inception to completion, including legal project management and integrated use of legal tech and other innovations.Supervision Skills:

Effective supervision and mentoring of junior legal staff.

Business and Leadership Skills DevelopmentDesign and deliver (or work with internal/external faculty to do so) a range of business and leadership skills programmes around topics such as communication skills, presentation skills and time management skills.Management of skills training programmes and associated budgets.

Provider managementWork with external providers to ensure continuous improvement, for example in relation to pre-entry programmes, to ensure these meet the needs of the business and represent best practice.

AttributesStrong commitment to high standards with an eye for detail.Integrity – does the right thing even when it is difficult.Resilient and robust.Strong ‘client-service’ attitude and experience of working with key internal and external stakeholders.Able to interpret complex ideas and convey them in terms that lawyers and other professionals can understand.Thinks ‘outside the box’ for L&D initiatives and aligns that thinking to business needs.Possesses high degree of poise and professionalism when interacting with internal and external contacts.Commercial awareness and understanding.Able to manage multiple projects concurrently, working flexibly to tight deadlines, and reacts swiftly to new opportunities.Prioritises workload and solves problems efficiently.Handles stressful situations calmly and interacts successfully with various personalities at all levels in the Firm.Makes sound judgment decisions and adapts to changing work situations.Sensitive to cultural differences and issues.Good team player.Excellent organisational and project management skills with an eye for detail.Ability to be a ‘self-starter’, highly motivated to getting the job done. Willingness to work extra hours as/when required.Continually seeks self-improvement.

ExperienceQualified solicitor with post-qualification experience in an international law firm.Experience in the design and delivery of legal skills and/or legal training programmes, and in business and/or leadership skills programmes.Experience in the professional development or training department of a law firm or professional services firm organization is desirable.Ideally possessing a credible coaching qualification and qualifications in psychometric tool(s).

At Reed Smith, we welcome direct applications either in response to one of our advertised vacancies or on a speculative basis. Please click on the “Apply Now” button to submit your details and we will be in touch.

No search firms/agencies please.

Reed Smith’s success depends heavily on the effective utilization of qualified people, regardless of their race, ancestry, religion, colour, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, veteran’s status, or any characteristic protected by law. As a firm, we adhere to and promote equal employment opportunity for all.

We are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you have a disability or a long-term health condition and require adjustments to be made for you within the recruitment process, please contact a member of the Recruitment team. For more information on our approach to diversity and inclusion please visit our

website .