Assistant, People Operations

Join Goodwin’s Global Operations Team, and make a real impact on a global scale. At Goodwin, we work with some of the world’s most successful and innovative investors, entrepreneurs and disruptors in the life sciences, private equity, real estate, technology and financial industries, and where they converge.

As part of the Global Operations Team – all business professionals at the firm – you’ll collaborate with colleagues from varied backgrounds and experiences, fostering an environment where cross‑functional learning, networking, and collaboration are at the core of what we do. Here, we’re not just supporting a law firm; we’re partnering with attorneys and clients to deliver cutting‑edge solutions in high‑stakes litigation and dispute resolution, world‑class regulatory compliance and advisory services, and complex transactions. Our commitment to integrity, ingenuity, agility, and ambition drives us, and we’re proud to have been recognised as the “Best Business Team” by The American Lawyer. This is your opportunity to grow professionally in a dynamic, global environment, surrounded by forward‑thinking peers.

The Assistant, People Operations will support the full life cycle of people transactions for the Europe and Asia offices at Goodwin Procter LLP. The Assistant supports the Manager, People Operations as well as the People Team in the UK, the HR & Office Managers in Europe and Asia, the Director, People Operations, and IT and Office Administration to proactively handle all new hire transactions and all necessary administration to ensure a successful and smooth onboarding process within our Europe and Asia offices. This is a critical role to ensuring data integrity of all personnel data and efficient processes. The Assistant operates as a key point of contact for the wider HR and Office Administration teams, providing high quality service and delivery.

What You Will Do:

• Assist with data integrity and data entry of all data in the HRIS system for Europe and Asia including onboarding, off‑boarding and life‑cycle changes.
• Oversee regular accurate maintenance of firm data, including reviewing data entry completed at the local level and regularly auditing the information and following up with correct parties to solve for inaccuracies.
• Conduct pre‑employment background checks and additional screenings to meet compliance and strategic needs.
• Assist with all system and onboarding related activities entered by the HR and Office Managers in Europe and Asia and the Recruitment team in the United Kingdom, following up for clarification, as necessary.
• Support the Manager, People Operations to ensure payroll deadlines are met, including on‑time timecard approvals by employees and managers, timely completion of data changes impacting payroll, and finalisation of onboarding documents, with necessary follow‑ups prior to monthly deadlines.
• Support Workday Time, troubleshoot issues and errors that occur in the system.
• Partner with the HR team to support leave and absence management plans and ensure the system provides the intended result.
• Coordinate pre‑hire activities, including scheduling orientation meetings, right to work checks, collection of onboarding documents and preparing online new joiner information packs.
• Conduct new joiner induction meetings.
• Support the off‑boarding process for Europe and Asia by partnering with local HR & Office Managers to check holiday entitlements, prepare leaving checklists and confirm leaving details.
• Support Manager, People Operations with immigration and global mobility matters.
• Understand GDPR and data privacy regulations.
• Prepare ad hoc data reports, e.g. UK headcount reports.
• Support the Managing Director, People – Europe & Asia, Director, People Operations, Manager, People Operations and the People organisation in various projects.
• Maintain electronic personnel files for the UK, continental Europe and Asia offices, including routine file audits to ensure compliance standards are met.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 2 years related work experience preferred.
• Law firm or professional services industry experience a plus.
• Minimum of 1 year of experience working with HRIS systems; Workday or comparable HRIS experience required.
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills, professional demeanor and ability to interact effectively with all levels of firm personnel, as well as external clients and vendors.
• Exceptionally strong organisation skills and ability to prioritise changing and competing projects and tasks.
• Ability to multi‑task numerous requests.
• Innate integrity and excellent judgment and decision‑making abilities.
• Ability to respect, protect and maintain highly confidential and sensitive information.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Copilot or ChatGPT and other technologies.
• Proven experience in applying technology to project management to improve efficiency and service.
• Customer service‑oriented mindset and strong attention to detail and curious mindset.

Professional career paths at Goodwin offer you more – and less – than you might expect. You’ll find less hierarchy and more meritocracy. You’ll have more chances to work across departments and offices, and fewer roadblocks to getting the job done. We believe people are happiest when they’re not limited by a ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’ approach, so we encourage a more imaginative and collaborative working environment.

Our Global Operations Team – what we call our GO Team – brings a level of professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment to work each and every day. Goodwin embraces responsible and ethical use of AI in the Hiring Process.