Human Resources Assistant

Owen Reed Ltd.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Owen Reed Ltd. in London is seeking an HR Assistant to support the Early Careers Development Team for a leading law firm. The role involves coordinating onboarding, inductions, secondments, and qualification processes, with occasional after-hours work.

You will work with HR Assistants and Administrators, maintain records, support employee relations, and help improve processes, including exploring AI tools to drive efficiency.

Qualifications

• Experience in HR, ideally Early Careers.
• Corporate or professional services background.
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Strong MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Attention to detail and numeracy.
• Ability to manage processes autonomously to meet deadlines.
• Ability to multitask and prioritise.
• High professional ethics and confidentiality.
• Diversity and inclusive teamwork experience.

Responsibilities

• Organise and present at future joiner events.
• Coordinate onboarding, inductions and right to work checks.
• Manage SQE bookings, reimbursements and records.
• Liaise with BPP and other teams on attendance and wellbeing matters.
• Support qualification processes and secondments.
• Maintain HR records and LeA P/People Portal data.
• Assist with employee relations cases and absence management.
• Process invoices and expenses.
• Review policies and update employee handbook.
• Explore process improvements and AI opportunities.

Skills

HR experience

Interpersonal skills

Written communication

Attention to detail

Multitasking

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Owen Reed is looking to recruit an HR Assistant to join the Early Careers Development team for a top law firm in London.

Role Overview

The Early Careers Development Team is part of the HR Department and the wider Business Services function based at the firm’s head office in London. The Early Careers Development Team supports Trainee Solicitors, future Trainees and Solicitor Apprentices through their early careers journey, including law school, onboarding, seat allocations, secondments and qualification. The HR Assistant role works alongside a team of HR Assistants and HR Administrators on a range of generalist HR support activities whilst specialising in Early Careers Development.

The Early Careers Development Team is made up of a Senior Early Careers Development Manager, two Early Careers Development Advisers, and an HR Assistant.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this role are set out below and there may be others which are not listed. You may be required on occasion to work outside our normal working hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm.

• Organise and help present at future joiner events.
• Organise and present at early careers induction and communicate starting details.
• Coordinate early careers onboarding, including pre-joining communications, inductions and right to work checks.
• Help coordinate SQE bookings and results and maintain the relevant records and trackers. Triage reimbursement and loan requests, escalating as required.
• Share information and collaborate with teams across the firm including the Early Careers Recruitment and Learning & Development teams.
• Liaise with BPP in relation to attendance, results, and some employee relations or wellbeing matters, and support the ongoing relationship with the provider.
• Support with the bi-annual qualification process, including producing qualification packs, ensuring meetings are scheduled, producing paperwork, processing leavers, and monitoring the receipt of practicing certificates.
• Support international and client trainee secondment processes including producing secondment paperwork, maintaining trackers, updating HR records and liaising with necessary teams regarding people moves.
• Own the Brussels secondment process, including managing applications, assessing suitability, liaising with Group Trainee Partners and managing outcomes.
• Coordinate cyclical seat rotation process including managing supervisor allocations.
• Oversee and deliver the Continuity Partner and buddy programmes.
• Maintain HR records to ensure LeaP (online learning and performance system) and People Portal records are accurate and reflective of changes.
• Assist with employee relations cases including but not limited to, health and well-being, absence and performance management.
• Oversee trainee performance review completion metrics, working with Group Trainee Partners to ensure reviews are completed in a timely manner.
• Provide ongoing support across trainee processes and other ad hoc tasks as required.
• Maintain all central Early Careers Development trackers and data. Keep accurate and up to date process notes for all processes.
• Be responsible for the Early Careers Development inbox, responding to queries such as holiday or reference requests and escalating as required.
• Review holiday usage metric and send holiday reminders at each seat rotation. Support holiday queries, calculations and annual carry forward processes.
• Review the trainee intranet and seat selection brochure every six months to keep information up to date. Work with the HR Advisory team to review and update employee handbook policies regularly.
• Process invoices and expenses.
• Maintain a good working knowledge of SRA requirements, particularly in early careers.
• Support the Early Careers Development team and HR Advisory team with projects.
• Seek ways to develop processes and efficiencies, including using AI effectively.

Candidate Profile

Candidates for this position must have:

• Experience working within HR, ideally in Early Careers.
• Experience working in a corporate or professional services environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
• A strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office (in particular Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• A high level of attention to detail, strong numeracy, and good use of grammar.
• The ability to manage processes autonomously to ensure all requirements and deadlines are met.
• The ability to multi-task and prioritise as appropriate.
• The highest standards of professional ethics and confidentiality.
• Enthusiasm and a can-do attitude.
• Experience of working in a diverse team whilst fostering an inclusive team culture.