Human Resources Manager

Kirkland & Ellis; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Kirkland & Ellis in Boston is seeking an experienced Human Resources Manager to serve as the primary HR partner for the office, balancing strategic initiatives with hands-on execution.

Reporting to the Associate Director of HR, you will advise leadership, manage employee relations, onboarding to offboarding, and collaborate with Talent Acquisition and Centers of Excellence to support engagement and development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive Human Resources experience.
• Significant employee relations experience, including investigations and performance management.
• Demonstrated experience supporting the full employee lifecycle.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with strong organizational, project management, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to build trust and collaborate across all levels.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality in sensitive situations in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary onsite HR resource for the Boston office, aligning local people initiatives with broader business and talent strategies.
• Act as a trusted advisor to office and practice group leadership on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, change management, and people-related matters.
• Manage employee relations matters, conduct investigations, support conflict resolution, and performance management processes.
• Lead onboarding, orientation, offboarding, and employee transitions, including leaves of absence.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition on recruiting strategies and development planning.
• Oversee internship programs and university relations.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR efficiency with automation and AI tools.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws, firm policies, and talent procedures.

Skills

Employee relations

Communication skills

Project management

Organizational skills

Confidentiality

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

PHR or SHRM-CP certification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don’t just meet the standard for legal excellence — we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 24 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers’ commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

What You’ll Do

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Human Resources Manager to serve as the primary HR professional for our Boston office. This role is ideal for a collaborative HR professional who thrives in a fast-paced, professional services environment and enjoys balancing strategic partnership with hands‑on execution

Reporting to the Associate Director of Human Resources, you will act as a trusted advisor to office leadership while partnering closely with Talent teams and Centers of Excellence across the organization. You will play a key role in supporting the employee experience, driving talent initiatives, managing employee relations matters, and ensuring operational excellence across the full employee lifecycle.

• Serve as the primary onsite HR resource for the Boston office, aligning local people initiatives with broader business and talent strategies.
• Act as a trusted advisor to office and practice group leadership on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, change management, and people‑related matters.
• Act as the primary HR contact for attorneys and business professionals managing employee relations matters, conducting investigations, supporting conflict resolution, and supporting performance management processes.
• Lead onboarding, orientation, offboarding, and employee transition processes, including coordinating employee leaves of absence and other key milestones.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition on recruiting strategies, support talent management and development planning, collaborate with local affinity groups on engagement and community‑building initiatives that strengthen workplace culture, and support evolving business needs.
• Serve as the local resource for employee benefits and leave‑related matters, partner with firmwide benefits teams on leave administration, accommodations, open enrollment, wellness programs, and related employee communications.
• Oversee the local execution of undergraduate and high school internship programs, ensuring meaningful developmental and learning experiences.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, leverage automation and AI tools, and enhance HR service delivery to focus on higher‑value strategic work.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws, Firm policies, and Talent procedures, identifying and escalating employment‑related risks when appropriate.

What You’ll Bring

Required

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive Human Resources experience.
• Significant employee relations experience, including investigations and performance management.
• Demonstrated experience supporting the full employee lifecycle.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with strong organizational, project management, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to build trust and collaborate across all levels.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality in sensitive situations in a fast‑paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred

• PHR or SHRM-CP certification.
• Experience within a law firm, professional services, consulting, accounting, or similarly complex client‑service environment.
• Experience supporting attorneys, partners, or senior professional staff.

Compensation

The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in Boston. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations. At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including comprehensive healthcare, paid time off, and retirement. We also offer personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.

Compensation Range:

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.