HR Specialist - Disputes

A&O Shearman; London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the legal sector seeks an HR Specialist - Disputes to provide essential HR operational support in London. The role involves advising on HR issues, managing onboarding processes, conducting exit interviews, and supporting various HR operations and initiatives within the Disputes department.

Benefits

Occupational pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Health and wellbeing services

Holiday entitlement increasing with length of service

Emergency back-up care support

Qualifications

• Proven HR experience required.
• Strong relationship building and influencing skills essential.
• Good knowledge of employment law is important.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day HR operational support for the Disputes department.
• Manage onboarding and offboarding processes for employees.
• Conduct exit interviews and analyse themes for action plans.

Skills

Relationship building

Influencing skills

Attention to detail

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Commercial judgment

Education

CIPD qualification or similar certification

Tools

PeopleSoft

Excel

Job description

Job Description

We are currently recruiting for an HR Specialist - Disputes to join our London office to provide a high level of day-to-day HR operational support and advice to the Practice Groups within our Disputes department in London. The HR generalist teams sit within the global HR function.

Role and responsibilities
To be a trusted advisor within London Disputes and deliver a fully integrated HR offering including but not limited to:

Operational HR

• Support individual employees on day-to-day HR issues/ policy queries (e.g. maternity/paternity leave, flexible working, leave requests and salary and benefits queries)
• Monitor and report on sickness absence, manage occupational health referrals and conduct check-in meetings as appropriate
• Provide support to secondees (international and client) e.g. through check-ins and collecting end of secondment feedback
• Manage the end-to-end client secondment process e.g. supporting with preparation of the business case for approval, coordinating on-boarding arrangements and briefing and supporting the secondee throughout their secondment
• Manage relationships with trainees, solicitor apprentices and NQs upon qualification, ensuring a smooth transition into the practice group, liaising with BD, Finance and partners as necessary.
• Manage on-boarding and off-boarding processes for new joiners and leavers.
• Conduct exit interviews with leavers, analysing and reporting on themes across practice groups and developing action plans where appropriate.

Reward

• Work with the Senior HR Manager to deliver the salary and bonus review for associates, counsel, practice professionals, PAs and 'support in the line' staff in London Disputes.
• Supporting the Senior HR Manager with monthly payroll checks, ensuring the payroll team are notified of changes and flagging any discrepancies.

Resource Planning and Management Information

• Provide support on key management processes and initiatives (e.g. budget review and preparation, partner review process, My Say analysis)
• Keep up-to-date with all staff movements (leavers, joiners, secondments etc.) to enable effective resource management, ensuring the relevant people are informed of any changes
• Provide monthly and ad hoc reports on quantitative and qualitative data, providing analysis where appropriate and ensuring integrity of data
• Support with recruitment of various roles within the Disputes department.

Performance management / employee relations

• Coordinate and manage the Compass* timetable for associates and practice professionals together with the Senior HR Manager and Senior Legal PAs
• Prepare for and attend quarterly talent discussions, working with the Senior HR Manager to collate and follow up on actions following the discussions
• Provide general support around the Compass engagement strategy
• Assist with the coordination of local promotion processes, including Senior Associate, Counsel and support roles.
• Involvement in performance improvement plans where appropriate
• Support the Senior HR Manager in providing advice and support to managers on ER matters
• Provide ad hoc support to the ER team (e.g. supporting with disciplinary and grievance investigations, subject access requests and disclosure exercises)

*Compass is our approach to discussing career performance and professional development

Talent & Development

• Liaise with the Training & Events team to promote associate training programmes and nominate individuals to attend where appropriate
• Ensure the London Disputes talent pool data and promotion pipelines remain up to date
• Arrange internal and external coaching, mentoring or training where developmental needs are identified

Inclusion

• Work with the Head of HR and the Senior HR Manager to drive forward various inclusion initiatives across London Disputes

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Work with the Senior HR Manager to embed various mental health and wellbeing initiatives across the department including the Mindful Business Charter, promoting resources and events and engaging with mental health allies to increase engagement

General

• Providing day to day HR support to those in the Disputes practice group
• Advising on policies and procedures
• Helping to ensure consistency of practice and application of policy across London Disputes
• Providing confidential guidance and career support
• Liaising with a wide range of stakeholders e.g. Specialist HR teams in London, HR advice in Belfast, BD and Finance
• Working with the Senior HR Manager on ad hoc projects and tasks
• Building good working relationships with other HR Specialists to share best practise and ensure consistency across practice groups

Key requirements

• Proven HR experience
• Ideally CIPD qualified or similar certification
• Can demonstrate strong relationship building and influencing skills
• Good knowledge of current employment law particularly in relation to performance management
• Experience of working with HR systems (we use PeopleSoft)
• Competent in Excel
• Ability to be flexible and work across a wide range of client groups
• Excellent attention to detail, prioritisation and organisational skills
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to combine excellent technical knowledge with sound commercial judgment and to influence decisions
• Resilient; able to understand that credibility has to be earned in this environment and may take time
• Collaborative team player with the ability to work in a fast paced, intellectually rigorous environment
• Proven ability to work well under pressure
• Ability to work with diplomacy and tenacity and able to take the lead to conclude decisions
• Demonstrates a can-do attitude and is proactive and professional in all client contact

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.