DIRECTOR OF ASSOCIATE RECRUITMENT

Strictly Recruitment; Washington; On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Strictly Recruitment USA is partnering with a leading global law firm to appoint a Director of Associate Recruitment. This pivotal role shapes the firm’s U.S. associate hiring across offices, reporting to senior global and Americas talent leaders.

You will own the U.S. associate recruitment strategy, drive campus and lateral hiring, manage budgets, and lead a nationwide recruitment team, influencing practice groups and onboarding experiences in New York and Washington, D.C.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in large-law-firm recruitment or equivalent
• Extensive knowledge of law-school, summer associate, lateral hiring
• Experience leading and developing a recruitment team
• Ability to advise senior partners and leadership
• Track record of managing complex, multi-office programs

Responsibilities

• Lead the firm’s national associate recruitment strategy across U.S. offices
• Direct U.S. campus recruitment and law-school programming
• Shape candidate selection, engagement and offer-conversion strategy
• Oversee the national summer associate program across all U.S. offices
• Develop lateral associate hiring strategy aligned with practice-group demand
• Oversee judicial clerk recruitment with a cohesive national approach
• Build direct-sourcing and relationships with leading search firms
• Drive adoption of recruitment technology and efficient processes
• Lead the U.S. associate recruitment brand and candidate experience
• Own recruitment budgets and onboarding/summer programs
• Use data and competitive intelligence to influence firm decisions
• Mentor and develop recruitment professionals nationwide

Skills

Leadership

Law-firm recruitment

Campus recruitment

Data-driven hiring

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Change management

Tools

ATS software

Candidate relationship management

Job description

Some roles offer progression. Others have the potential to define your career.

Strictly Recruitment USA is partnering with a leading global law firm to appoint a Director of Associate Recruitment. An exceptional opportunity to shape the future of associate hiring across a major U.S. platform.

This is far more than a traditional recruitment leadership role. You will take ownership of the firm’s U.S. associate recruitment strategy, leading how it attracts, recruits and retains the next generation of legal talent across its offices. Reporting directly to two of the firm’s most senior global and Americas talent leaders, you will operate as a trusted adviser to firm leadership, office managing partners, practice leaders and recruitment committees.

As you would expect with a role like this, your remit will be significant:

• Lead the firm’s national law-school recruitment strategy and broaden its network of talent sources
• Direct U.S. campus recruitment and multi-office law-school programming
• Shape candidate selection, engagement and offer-conversion strategy
• Lead the national summer associate program, creating a genuinely integrated experience across every U.S. office
• Develop a sophisticated lateral associate hiring strategy aligned with practice-group demand and workforce planning
• Oversee judicial clerk recruitment and ensure a cohesive national approach
• Build direct-sourcing capability and manage relationships with leading search firms
• Drive the adoption of new recruitment technology, platforms and more efficient processes
• Lead the firm’s U.S. associate recruitment brand and candidate experience
• Own substantial recruitment, onboarding and summer-program budgets
• Use data, market intelligence and meaningful metrics to influence firmwide decision-making
• Lead, mentor and develop recruitment professionals across the United States

You will also have the opportunity to modernize systems, introduce new ideas and influence how associate recruitment operates across an evolving global organization. We are looking for a highly credible legal recruitment leader with deep knowledge of the large-law-firm market.

Required experience:

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in large-law-firm recruitment or a closely related environment
• Extensive knowledge of law-school, summer associate, lateral associate and judicial clerk hiring
• Experience leading and developing a recruitment team
• The confidence and judgment to advise senior partners and firm leadership
• A track record of managing complex, multi-office programs and competing priorities
• Strong commercial, analytical and operational instincts
• A genuine curiosity about technology, innovation and the future of legal recruitment
• The ability to turn strategy into action—and bring people with you

Location: New York or Washington, D.C.

If you are an established legal recruitment leader or an exceptional senior professional ready to step into a broader national remit, we would welcome a confidential conversation.