Graduate – HR Programme – Cardiff - 2026

Company Description

Legal & General (L&G) is a leading UK financial services group and major global investor. We’ve been safeguarding people’s financial futures since 1836, and strive to build a better society, while improving the lives of our customers and creating value for shareholders. We are one of the world’s largest asset managers and provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these underpin our retirement and protection solutions: we are an international player in pension risk transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our Group Functions provide the services that all areas of the business need. This requires a talented and diverse team behind the scenes, who enable everyone at L&G to do what they do best. Joining us means helping to improve the lives of our customers and contributing to the success of the business every day.

Job Description

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to earn while you learn? The HR Programme has been designed to help you reach your full potential. You will develop your skill set, gain valuable hands‑on experience and complete a fully funded professional qualification, all whilst earning a competitive salary with access to outstanding employee benefits. With support every step of the way and access to core skills training, you will contribute to the success of a team and be supported by your line manager. As part of a cohort of graduates, you will also have the opportunity to connect with your peers and colleagues through networking opportunities and social events.

What you might work on

The HR Graduate Programme is a great opportunity to get to grips with the fundamentals of HR. In this role, you will join us on a full‑time permanent basis and receive on the job training and coaching from your Line Manager, Programme Lead and team to help you expand on role‑specific and soft skills, as well as business acumen and data literacy. Alongside this you’ll study for an industry recognised Professional Qualification (CIPD Level 5). Combined, these will fully equip you to be successful in your role, with the knowledge and skills required to apply to real world business challenges. Over the course of the two years, you will be given experience in four different rotations designed to provide practical experience across the HR specialisms Employee Relations/Policy, Talent & Capability, Reward and HR Business Partnering. You will be expected to travel to our other offices throughout the course of the programme.

During the programme you can expect to develop your skills by:

• Identifying opportunities for continuous improvement to HR processes, ways of working and technology
• Support the development of talent by contributing to learning initiatives and assisting in the delivery of programmes that build future capability across the organisation
• Delivery of reward activities by helping with pay, benefits and recognition processes, contributing to benchmarking work and ensuring reward initiatives are administered accurately and consistently across the organisation.
• Managing HR‑related change, including process mapping and stakeholder engagement
• Contribute to HR projects by supporting research, coordination and delivery activities, helping to implement improvements, track progress and ensure project outcomes align with wider HR and organisational priorities
• Responding directly to employee and line manager HR queries, ensuring an exceptional employee experience throughout the employee life cycle
• Supporting a varied Employee Relations caseload including disciplinaries, grievances, absence, sickness, performance management and occupational health
• Producing HR Management Information (MI) and insights
• Assisting with annual HR processes like pay and performance reviews
• Having the opportunity to network with new colleagues and work collaboratively across the organisation

What we’re looking for

We are looking for people with an inquisitive mind and a desire to learn. We’re not expecting prior industry experience, but we’ll want to see that you have the tools to develop quickly. These include:

• 2.1 Degree in any subject – we are open to all subject backgrounds
• A genuine passion and interest in HR and pursuing a career within the field
• The ability to build effective working relationships with key stakeholders by communicating clearly, managing expectations and supporting collaborative decision‑making
• Analytical skills, with a high level of numeracy and a good understanding of basic data analysis approaches
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Flexible and a team‑player
• Curiosity and an eagerness to learn
• Competent IT skills, including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint

Additional Information

Whatever your role, we reward ability, performance and attitude with a package that looks after all the things that are important to you. Your hard work will be rewarded when you join us. At L&G, we believe it's possible to generate positive returns today while helping to build a better future for all. If you join us, you’ll be part of a welcoming, inclusive culture, with opportunities to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences. Guided by leaders with integrity who care about your future and wellbeing. Empowered through initiatives which support people to develop their careers and excel. We care passionately about outcomes rather than attendance and are therefore open to discussing all kinds of flexible working options including part‑time, term‑time and job shares. Although some roles have limited flexibility due to customer demand, we accommodate requests when we can. It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet every single criterion in this advert. Instead, think about what you excel at and what else you can bring in terms of strengths, potential and connection to our purpose.