Strategic HR Partner: Lead People Plans & Leadership in England

As HR Business Partner, you will own and deliver the People strategy for your designated business area, partnering with senior leaders, Partners and line managers to translate commercial priorities into pragmatic people strategies. You will operate as a trusted adviser and constructive challenger, improving organisational effectiveness, leadership capability, engagement and performance, while ensuring robust people risk management and consistent application of employment practice across the firm. This role sits within HR Advisory, working in close partnership with specialist People teams including Performance & Talent Development, Talent Acquisition, Reward/Benefits, HR Operations, and Responsible Business.

Strategic business partnering & leadership influence

• Lead the development and delivery of the People Plan for your client group, aligned to business strategy, growth objectives and operating model.
• Provide high-impact coaching to leaders and managers to strengthen decision making, accountability, and people leadership standards.
• Act as a visible role model for inclusive leadership, collaboration and continuous improvement across the People Directorate and the wider firm.

Commercial and data-led insight

• Build a deep understanding of the business and its commercial levers to deliver a pragmatic, outcomes-focused HR service.
• Use data, analytics and workforce insights to identify trends, diagnose issues and influence decisions (e.g., retention risks, performance patterns, resourcing needs).
• Create and maintain People Plans and regular reporting that translate metrics into actionable insight and measurable interventions.
• Leverage technology/AI appropriately to improve reporting, insight generation and service efficiency.

Talent, engagement, performance & succession

• Drive a coherent approach across the business area to talent identification, development and succession, working closely with Performance & Talent Development and Talent Acquisition/emerging talent.
• Strengthen and drive performance management practice (goal setting, reviews, feedback, development planning), ensuring high standards and robust documentation.
• Support leaders to build sustainable pipelines and capability for future needs, balancing immediate delivery with long-term talent requirements.
• Interpret employee engagement survey data to identify key themes and translate insights into targeted, measurable action plans that improve engagement and organisational performance.

Reward, pay & promotions

• Lead and shape the people elements of annual pay review and promotion cycles for your business area, ensuring fairness, equity and alignment to talent priorities.
• Provide constructive challenge and guidance to leaders to maintain consistency, manage risk and uphold the integrity of decision making.

Employee relations, risk & policy application

• Act as the escalation point for complex employee relations matters, supporting managers through sensitive cases (disciplinary, grievance, performance improvement, conflict).
• Make sound judgement on when and how to escalate to the Employee Relations specialist team, ensuring appropriate handling of higher-risk matters.
• Support compliance with employment law and firm policies; contribute to maintaining high quality, consistent HR policy and guidance, keeping practice current as legislation and business needs evolve.

Organisational design, projects, change & continuous improvement

• Lead the people workstream on business change initiatives, including organisation design, restructuring, role clarity, team effectiveness and adoption planning.
• Act as a change agent and influencer, driving continuous improvement in service delivery, employee experience and manager capability.
• Work collaboratively across the People Directorate to identify improvements, simplify processes and enhance the employee lifecycle experience.
• Lead/support on key projects as required.

Responsible Business / DEI

• Identify inclusion, equity and engagement opportunities and collaborate with Responsible Business and key stakeholders to develop practical action plans that close gaps and strengthen culture.

People leadership (line management)

• Lead and develop your direct report(s), setting clear priorities, providing coaching, and ensuring high performance and a consistent approach across the advisory team.
• Work closely with fellow HRBPs to share best practice, align ways of working and ensure consistent standards across the firm.
• Collaborate with Business Services and other Business Partners to deliver outstanding service to stakeholders.

Experience and Skills Required

• Significant HR experience operating as an HR Business Partner (or equivalent) in a complex, fast-paced environment.
• CIPD Chartered membership or demonstrable equivalent senior HRBP experience.
• Strong experience with HR data/analytics: interpreting trends, building insight and presenting clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable capability in complex ER, including investigations and formal processes, with confident judgement and high emotional intelligence.
• Proven ability to build trust quickly, influence senior stakeholders and deliver outcomes through others.
• Strong commercial acumen and resilience; able to balance competing priorities and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Track record of supporting organisational change and translating business needs into pragmatic people solutions.
• Excellent stakeholder communication skills: listens actively, adapts style, and delivers clear and constructive messages.
• Strong systems, AI and digital confidence, including data analysis and presentation.
• Experience of leading HR projects in areas such as organisation design, service improvement, operating model change, or strategic workforce initiatives.
• Sound understanding of risk and compliance, particularly within regulated environments; able to interpret and apply relevant legislation and ensure organisational adherence to regulatory requirements.

Desirable

• Experience in professional services, ideally with multi-site and/or international exposure.
• Coaching/mentoring qualification (or significant applied coaching experience).

Ways of working / behavioural expectations

• Strategic and practical: can switch from long-term planning to immediate problem solving while staying outcome focused.
• Constructive challenge: confident to question, influence and hold leaders to account in a partnership environment setting the appropriate tone.
• Collaborative and inclusive: partners effectively across People specialisms and business services to deliver a seamless service, leading by example.
• Continuous improvement mindset: positively and actively seeks smarter ways of working and better employee/manager experiences, generating and driving solutions.
• High integrity and discretion: handles sensitive matters with professionalism, fairness and confidentiality.

Shoosmiths is the law firm clients choose for excellent service, incisive thinking and above all for our ability to focus on what matters. From offices across the UK and Brussels, we support some of the world's most exciting and ambitious businesses; amazing clients making an impact. We empower our people to be their authentic selves and deliver together in supportive teams committed to excellence and innovation. The first top 50 law firm to achieve 'Platinum Standard' Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm.

We have an outstanding benefits package to complement our competitive remuneration system. In addition to the competitive salaries, great working environment and high-quality work, we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm through a comprehensive and flexible range of benefits.

Shoosmiths is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term conditions. The Disability Confident scheme replaced the Two Ticks Positive about Disabled People scheme. We had been accredited as a two tick employer for many years - Disability Confident broadens and develops that original commitment, and demonstrates we have adopted a proactive approach to employing disabled people and developing their abilities.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to and usable by everyone. If you have a disability or long-term condition and would like to receive information in a different way, or need us to make any adjustments, changes or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please get in touch with the Talent Acquisition team. We can consider your needs and requirements, and how we can assist you to apply for our roles.

Equal opportunities: Our approach to our people is underpinned by our approach to well-being. Our ambition is to build a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and talents, and a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and has a strong sense of community between colleagues.