Senior Resource Manager in Norwich

This is a high-impact role, combining responsibility for day-to-day work allocation with the strategic development and expansion of the firm's central resourcing function, SmartSource. The Senior Resource Manager reports to the Head of HR Operations and sits within the People Team led by the Chief People Officer. This is an important role, ensuring the effective utilisation of associates and supporting resource planning across the Corporate & Commercial and Regulatory and Public & Commercial Disputes National Service Lines (NSLs). Success in this role depends on strong relationships with stakeholders across the firm, including NSL leadership, Partners, and lawyers. A deep understanding of how the business operates is critical to driving consistency, best practice and continuous improvement in work allocation processes. The role also provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to an upcoming technology project.

Responsibilities

• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to listen, persuade, influence, and diplomatically challenge stakeholders at all levels.
• Advanced project management expertise with a track record in driving change, ensuring smooth adoption of new processes, technologies, and resourcing models.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong organisational capability, balancing business-as-usual activity with strategic priorities and projects.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data, generating insights that support resourcing decisions and wider utilisation of SmartSource.

The activities

• Manage resource requests efficiently, considering capacity, skills, experience and commercial needs.
• Allocate work fairly, consistently and in line with diversity and inclusion objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor to Partners, gaining a detailed understanding of client requirements and business needs.
• Monitor matter-related hours, utilisation, and staffing patterns; take proactive steps to address imbalances.
• Work with individuals and teams to improve productivity where needed and support groups experiencing high demand.
• Meet regularly with Partner groups to present data and discuss trends, including Associates with consistently high or low chargeable hours.
• Line-manage two Resource Managers within the SmartSource team.
• Maintain a visible presence across all Mills & Reeve offices and attend team and practice meetings where possible.
• Build internal and external networks to stay informed of trends and best practice in resource management.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

The Benefits

As you’d expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits.

Pre-employment screening

If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three-year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

The firm

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve. Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning, and receive consistent experiences with no surprises. We tell them what they need to know when they need to know it. We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need. And if clients need things we don’t offer, we draw on our network to give recommendations. Our 1,450 plus people and over 850 lawyers share one vision – achieving more for clients. By joining Mills & Reeve, you’ll have the chance to build your skills and experience within a firm that’s not only ranked in the top 50 UK law firms, but also one that truly values their people. We’re also ranked in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list, and have been awarded Platinum Investors in People. Our mantra is “Achieve more. Together.”, which we feel embodies our purpose and is more than just a catchphrase! Our values are the principles that help us fulfil our purpose. Our people shaped them and live them every day.

Our values

• We’re ambitious - We aim high, we embrace new ideas and we’re passionate about our work.
• We’re open - We communicate openly and honestly to build trust, and we do what’s right.
• We care - We’re committed to each other, our clients, our communities and the planet.
• We collaborate - We’re easy to work with, we offer help willingly and we get things done – together.

And finally, everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We’re committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these.