Early Careers Development Manager

Flex Legal Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A progressive legal services firm is seeking an Early Careers Development Manager to oversee trainee development and support their journey to qualification. This role involves leading coaching and mentoring programs, engaging with trainee supervisors, and enhancing the overall trainee experience. The ideal candidate will possess strong emotional intelligence, a passion for client outcomes, and the ability to adapt in a dynamic environment. If you are energetic and solutions-focused, this role could be a perfect fit.

Qualifications

• Energetic and emotionally intelligent individual.
• Ability to influence and enhance trainee experiences.
• Aligned with entrepreneurial and human-centric values.

Responsibilities

• Lead meetings with trainees and provide tailored guidance.
• Support trainee well-being and manage HR-related issues.
• Develop and support trainee and supervisor engagement programmes.
• Assist with attraction and recruitment processes.
• Ensure operational compliance and enhance records management.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Influencing skills

Solutions-focused mindset

Passion for client and trainee outcomes

Job description

The Early Careers Development Manager will report to the Head of Trainee Success and play a pivotal role in supporting our Trainee Solicitor cohorts throughout their journey to qualification.

Trainee Development & Support

• Lead meetings with individual trainees, providing tailored management and guidance.

• Monitor trainee study progress, support exam preparation, and track attainment.

• Review and track trainee development against SRA QWE framework, ensuring accurate and timely documentation.

• Play a key role in supporting with Flex Trainee Readiness Programme, including the design and delivery of training sessions.

• Work closely with the HR Manager to support trainee well-being and manage HR-related issues.

Coaching & Mentoring Programmes

• Support and develop the trainee coaching programme, including planning, scheduling, and supporting the Flex Trainee Ambassador with continuous improvement of coaching sessions.

• Manage the industry-wide mentoring programme; attract and engage new mentors, facilitate introductions, and monitor outcomes to ensure a high-quality mentoring experience.

Supervisor Engagement & Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with trainee supervisors across partner organisations.

• Take a lead role in developing and delivering a supervisor engagement programme, including supervisor events, communications, and learning content.

• Manage the onboarding process for new supervisors and trainees, developing and delivering welcome sessions and onboarding presentations.

Talent Attraction & Recruitment

• Support the Talent team with attraction, recruitment, and assessment centres, bringing insight into candidate development and early careers best practice.

Commercial & Client Support

• Work closely with the commercial team to support business development, joining client meetings where appropriate and acting as an ambassador for the programme.

• Maintain an understanding of the competitive early-careers landscape, ensuring Flex Trainee remains responsive to industry trends and client needs.

Operations, Compliance, & Programme Management

• Provide operational and administrative oversight of the Flex Trainee programme, including maintaining accurate trainee records, supporting performance review processes, and managing QWE documentation.

• Collaborate with the Operations Manager and commercial team to ensure all onboarding documentation and contracts are completed efficiently.

• Support the Tech team in evolving and improving the Trainee records management system and associated processes.

• Use all Flex systems and processes effectively, ensuring compliance with internal and external data policies.

• Troubleshoot and resolve issues proactively, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability in a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial, scale‑up environment.

• Attend networking and industry events, acting as a confident and credible ambassador for Flex Legal and Flex Trainee.

Flex Legal is looking for someone who is:

• Energetic, emotionally intelligent, and able to influence others while helping to shape the future of the Flex Trainee offering.

• Aligned with Flex’s values of entrepreneurial, trusted, and being human.

• Passionate about delivering exceptional outcomes for both clients and trainees.

• Quick‑thinking and solutions‑focused, with the ability to respond effectively to challenges.