HR Business Partner, Practice Groups and Business Services (12 month FTC) Fixed Term in London

The Opportunity

Key responsibilities

• Business Partnering and day to day operations

• Work closely with leaders to understand how HR can support their people and operational priorities;
• Act as a trusted adviser and sounding board for lawyers, partners and Business Services employees;
• Support for the HR Managers with aspects of business partnering as determined necessary;
• Where relevant, attend and actively participate in management meetings to facilitate the resolution of operational people issues and to help drive the people strategy;
• Produce and analyse data to support decision-making and make recommendations for change as appropriate;
• Deputise for the HR Manager as needed.

• Act as the first point of contact for employees in relation to HR issues; provide guidance and support to ensure that all employee issues are resolved, with the emphasis on building excellent relationships and instilling trust;
• Co-ordinate the delivery of performance management, performance review and salary review and bonus processes;
• Successful implementation of new employment policies and practices;
• Conduct exit interviews where deemed necessary, communicating the feedback to the business, working with the HR Manager in identifying potential solutions for trends identified from exit feedback;
• Support the HRBPs in conducting new joiner conversations, collate feedback and communicate to the appropriate people as necessary;
• Oversee the probation review process;
• Work with the Employee Relations team to ensure all Employee Relations matters are dealt with in accordance with precedents across the London Practice groups and Business Services;
• Act as a champion for mental health and provide proactive support for lawyers requiring assistance under the firm’s global mental health strategy;
• Support investigations and disciplinary and grievance hearings across the London office as required;
• Assist the HR Manager with providing expert guidance and supporting line managers with redundancies and restructures.

• Co-ordinate the delivery and communications of lawyer performance reviews and the bi-annual talent management process, with support from the HR Manager(s) as required;
• Support the annual salary review process in conjunction with the Reward team, with support from the HR Manager(s) as required;
• Act as an ambassador to encourage groups to engage in regular “check in” conversations with their supervisors;
• Support annual headcount planning/budgeting with Finance. Refer to this budget when identifying resourcing needs in the business and work with the Recruitment team to provide cost efficient and effective recruitment solutions;
• Lead the talent discussions with senior management in Business Services groups, with support from the HR Manager as required;
• Assist with the inbound and outbound international and client secondments movements within the practice groups and liaise with the International mobility and tax teams on any complex queries.

• Attend meetings with Learning and Development Managers when required;
• Work with the coaching team to respond to requests for coaching and to arrange internal/external coaching for senior associates and partners as required;
• Support the HR Managers and Heads of HR, with implementation and delivery of the partner performance review process in the UK;
• Support the division in identifying and managing its talent by co-ordinating the annual review of talent across the division with partners;
• Support the HR Manager in succession planning, identifying potential talent to be considered as nominees for development programmes or promotion opportunities;
• Liaise with the Trainee HR Manager to manage Apprenticeships in Business Services.

• Assist with or lead (where applicable) regional people initiatives on behalf of the practice group HR team;
• Support the HR Manager with local actions to drive cultural change initiatives e.g. furthering D&I initiatives in line with people and culture strategy;
• Support the Practice Manager(s) and other business services teams such as Business Finance with ad hoc requests and projects.

• Working alongside the HR Manager, promote learning and development options with partners to ensure identified development needs for them and their teams are met;
• Liaise with L&D in respect of lawyer development needs and attendance at business skills programmes;
• Encourage the use of the Internal Coaching Faculty to deliver high performance.

Qualifications, skills and experience

• A minimum of 3 years generalist HR and business partnering experience at the Business Partner level, preferably within a law firm. Those with less or more experience will be considered provided they can demonstrate the core skills and experience required for the role;
• Solid understanding of UK employment legislation;
• Good knowledge of employee relations processes, particularly performance management and disciplinary/grievance procedures;
• Strong communication skills, verbally and in writing;
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills;
• Commercially aware;
• Proactive, determined and robust approach to getting things done;
• Empathetic and collaborative;
• Driven to provide excellent client service;
• Able to take decisions and work autonomously, as well as part of a team;
• Experience of leading junior team members;
• Ability to prioritise and delegate effectively;
• Experience with and/or a curiosity about AI and emerging technologies.

Competencies

• Personal Leadership

• Positively impacts those around them, makes quality decisions and develops themselves both personally and professionally;
• Demonstrates sound knowledge in their field;
• Anticipates potential problems and identifies a range of possible solutions;
• Adapts their interpersonal style to suit different audiences in a genuine way.

• Takes time to get to know people beyond their role;
• Treats people with respect and in a fair and consistent way;
• Recognises when colleagues are under pressure and volunteers to assist them where possible.

• Works within teams and across boundaries to share knowledge and achieve results;
• Identifies and builds relationships required to achieve the best outcomes for the firm;
• Engages people with the right skills, knowledge and expertise to provide advice and assist with tasks;
• Connects other people in the firm who have mutual interests or work objectives;
• Generously shares their time, knowledge, expertise and talent to support others’ success.

• Creates opportunities to enhance the experience of the firm’s clients through their daily tasks;
• Behaves consistently with the firm’s values in their interactions with others;
• Conducts themselves in a way that reflects positively on the firm’s brand, both inside and outside the firm.

• Maintains focus and drive to achieve quality outcomes;
• Focuses their time and efforts on issues that will have the greatest impact on agreed objectives;
• Anticipates responses and plans their approach accordingly;
• Looks for the most effective way to achieve outcomes;
• Maintains perspective and optimism when faced with setbacks.

Team

Human Resources

Working Pattern

Full time

Location

London

Contract type

Fixed Term Contract

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives. We see this as essential to our success, including our ability to innovate and achieve sustained high performance. This is a key part of our Values—Human, Bold, and Outstanding.