People & Culture Advisor (6-month FTC)

The People & Culture Advisor is part of the People Experience team and works within the People & Culture Department. This highly collaborative role supports leaders and teams with seamless HR advice and operational support in a fast‑paced environment. The role is based at our Newcastle office with occasional travel to our London office.

Responsibilities

• Support the People & Culture Business Partner for Disputes EMEA in delivering a proactive, highly responsive, high‑quality, efficient and effective service to the Disputes, Antitrust and Employment client groups and to selected Newcastle‑based teams.
• Provide advisory support and guidance to the client groups and stakeholders on the practical application of employee lifecycle activities, including starters, leavers, secondments, family‑friendly leave, absence/sickness management, wellbeing, occupational health and probations.
• Provide advice on employee relations issues covering performance, probation and sickness absence; participate and support grievance and disciplinary meetings; and recognize high‑risk matters for escalation to senior staff.
• Work closely with the People & Culture Centres of Excellence to ensure seamless operational delivery of key P&C cyclical activities such as recruitment, onboarding, promotions, salary reviews, global mobility, and learning and development programs.
• Conduct exit interviews and manage the overall exit process in collaboration with the People Experience Assistants team.
• Liaise with new hires and hiring managers regarding integration and induction.
• Serve as liaison between client groups and the Global Mobility team for international moves, hires, secondments, work permits, visas and jurisdiction‑related guidance.
• Ensure transactional processes are performed with the People Experience Assistants and HR systems (e.g., WorkDay and ServiceNow) in a timely and effective manner, in line with agreed SLAs.
• Regularly review data‑driven insights for client groups and proactively highlight trends or issues to the People & Culture Business Partner.
• Provide regular updates on case management to the People & Culture Business Partner.
• Demonstrate a sound commercial grasp of client‑group priorities and tailor support to meet those objectives.
• Participate in HR projects and initiatives aligned with business objectives and aimed at improving HR processes, enhancing efficiency and employee engagement.

Continuous Improvement

• Committed to continuously elevating our P&C level of service.
• Collaborate with People Experience Assistants and People & Culture Advisors to share feedback, identify service inefficiencies or opportunities, propose solutions and support implementation of changes, including training and upskilling.
• Proactively focus on professional career development by keeping up to date with People & Culture and broader market trends, using resources such as XpertHR and CIPD, and seeking learning opportunities.
• Strong client and service orientation – proactive in creating solutions and identifying risk for the client group.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and initiating recommendations and options.
• Agile in adapting to change and responsive to evolving business needs.
• Resilient during pressure, remaining calm and engaged.
• Self‑aware and accountable for owning situations and associated actions.

Qualifications & Skills

• Previous HR experience at HR Assistant / HR Advisor / junior HRBP level.
• Previous experience of working in a law firm or partnership structure (desirable).
• Experience managing ER cases.
• Sound working knowledge of UK employment law and its practical application.
• Highly proactive and responsive, committed to delivering customer needs.
• Highly organised and efficient with strong judgement and a commercial outlook.
• Ability to work as part of a team and collaborate effectively.
• Ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders, persuade, challenge and influence effectively.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Able to work in a fast‑paced environment with frequently changing business priorities.
• High accuracy and attention to detail.
• Exceptional IT skills: Teams, Office 365 (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel) and WorkDay.
• Ideally experienced in a Professional Services environment (not essential).
• Ideally holds a CIPD professional qualification (not essential).

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and offer a flexible work model that balances office and remote work.