HR Services Assistant - 12m FTC in Manchester

The HR Services Assistant acts as the ‘front line contact’ for the HR Services team in our Manchester office, providing support and guidance to colleagues across the firm. You will be responsible for coordinating key new joiner activities and handling a wide range of HR queries, including on-boarding, pre-employment checks, performance management, secondments, leavers, retirements, long service awards, and renewal of fixed term contracts. In this role, you will ensure a high standard of customer service, contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, and support the adoption of new HR technologies and processes.

Key responsibilities and deliverables:

• Responding to telephone, email, and online enquiries, taking ownership of each query from initial contact through to resolution and ensuring a high level of customer service.
• Applying curiosity and resourcefulness to investigate and resolve a wide range of HR queries, proactively seeking out information and identifying solutions even where issues are unfamiliar or complex.
• Providing transactional processing and administration for all main HR processes.
• Preparing external correspondence including employment references, mortgage/rental verification letters, and business visa letters.
• Updating documents in response to new legislation or policy changes.
• Updating and maintaining accurate information on the firm’s HR system (Workday) and other filing systems, ensuring data integrity and compliance with data protection requirements.
• Supporting cyclical HR processes such as annual pay reviews, benefits enrolment, and annual leave reconciliation.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with other members of the HR team.
• Proactively identifying opportunities to improve existing HR processes and enhance service delivery, including suggesting and implementing solutions that streamline workflows.
• Supporting HR projects focused on automation and AI-driven enhancements, including the integration and adoption of tools that improve administrative efficiency and the employee experience.
• Handling personal and sensitive data in accordance with firm policies and data protection legislation at all times.

Key requirements (Communication/skills/experience):

Essential:

• You will have proven customer service experience within a professional or commercial environment, with strong communication skills and a consistent focus on delivering prompt and effective support to colleagues.
• You are naturally curious and tenacious — you enjoy investigating queries, finding answers, and seeing problems through to resolution, even when the answer isn’t immediately obvious.
• You have excellent attention to detail, particularly when updating systems and handling employee data.
• You are highly motivated and embrace teamwork in order to achieve KPI targets, actively supporting colleagues and contributing to a positive team environment to deliver shared goals.
• You have a continuous improvement mindset, actively seeking ways to enhance existing processes and willing to embrace new technologies to improve outcomes.
• You are comfortable working with emerging technologies and open to using AI-powered systems and automation tools in HR operations.

Desirable:

• Previous experience of working in a shared services or HR operations team.
• Educated to degree level and/or with equivalent professional experience.
• High level of PC/database skills, including MS Office and Excel.
• Previous experience of using HR technology, particularly Workday.
• Experience or interest in using or supporting AI-driven systems or process automation initiatives within HR or administrative functions.

Inclusion:

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered on the basis of their merit alone. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK in the role in question and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing. Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only if and when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of relevant factors into account (e.g. the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.