People Consultant

Freshfields; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm is seeking a People Consultant to support HR business partnering efforts. This role involves advising managers on HR matters, managing strategic HR initiatives, and building strong relationships with stakeholders. The ideal candidate should have a CIPD Level 5 qualification and proven experience in generalist HR and project management. The firm promotes inclusivity and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals.

Benefits

Equal opportunities employer

Continuous learning environment

Qualifications

• Proven HR generalist experience in advising line managers.
• Thorough understanding of UK employment law.
• Excellent organizational skills to manage tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide HR guidance and support to line managers.
• Collaborate with HR Business Partners on tailored HR solutions.
• Assist in coordinating employee engagement initiatives.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Project management

Education

CIPD Level 5 qualification

Degree-level education (preferred)

Tools

Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP)

Job description

Role summary / purpose of job

We are a driven and collaborative HR team supporting each other to deliver the very best people experience.

As a People Consultant you will play a key role in supporting the HR Business Partnering team to deliver effective people solutions aligned with business needs. This role is ideal for someone looking to build strong stakeholder management on top of existing advisory skills gaining exposure to strategic HR initiatives and contributing to a collaborative and high-performing HR function

This business focussed People Consultant will act as a project manager for elements of the People strategy alongside the business partners and will provide professional and proactive advice and guidance on HR matters and cases directly to business stakeholders. These can arise either via escalation from the HR Operations team from HR Business Partners or directly from the business.

The People Consultant will support business partners with strategic People initiatives.

The role will provide support across both our London and Manchester offices.

Key responsibilities and deliverables

HR Advice and Stakeholder management

Build and maintain strong working relationships with business leaders managers and associates acting as a credible and trusted advisor on HR matters.

Provide day-to-day HR guidance coaching and support to line managers helping them navigate people-related decisions with confidence and ensuring consistent application of policies processes and procedures.

Collaborate with HR Business Partners to understand business priorities and contribute to the design and delivery of tailored HR solutions.

Work with business leaders and line managers to support HRBPs in developing and implementing business improvement and change programmes to respond to evolving business needs

Promote the use of HR Operations and shared services ensuring employees and managers are supported through the appropriate channels.

Partner effectively with HR Centres of Excellence (COEs) Operations and other HR colleagues to ensure seamless service delivery.

Project Management

Contribute to the planning and execution of cyclical HR projects including end-year compensation reviews performance and promotions leading or supporting work streams such as project management communications data and stakeholder management.

Leading on secondment agreements between business colleagues HR Operations Global Mobility and internal Legal teams.

Supporting HRBPs in partnering with HR COEs colleagues to design and deliver initiatives and solutions.

Talent Engagement & Development

Assist in the coordination and delivery of employee engagement initiatives including surveys data analysis and follow-up actions.

Support key talent processes such as performance reviews career development planning and succession discussions by preparing materials tracking progress and gathering insights.

Case and risk management

Support managers in handling complex wellbeing reasonable adjustments absence and flexible working cases offering practical advice and guidance involving HRBPs as appropriate.

Work with managers to create performance improvement plans and coaching materials and help facilitate constructive conversations.

Provide support for more complex matters (e.g. disciplinary or grievance) in collaboration with HRBPs and Employee Relations specialists ensuring a fair and consistent approach.

Act as a point of contact for policy and process queries escalating appropriately when needed.

Escalation point for HR Operations for medium to high complex cases.

Data and Analytics

Generating collating and interpreting relevant management information as required and providing a level of analysis and owning dashboards.

Contributing to internal HR continuous improvements by identifying trends and identifying opportunities for improvements.

Key requirements

CIPD Level 5 qualification required; degree-level education preferred.

Proven HR generalist experience including advising line managers and handling medium complexity cases (e.g. performance).

Results focused commercial and a practical approach to working practices with strong analytical and evaluation skills comfortable using HR management information to create analysis.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence and build trust across all levels.

Advanced IT proficiency especially in Excel (e.g. pivot tables VLOOKUP).

Thorough understanding of UK employment law and HR processes.

Able to manage sensitive information confidentially and work effectively under pressure and ambiguity.

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.

Proactive and resilient with a can-do attitude and commitment to continuous learning.

Capable of coaching and training others on HR topics and constructively challenging current practices.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having / securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer : we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence).You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.