HR Manager (Maternity Cover)

Location – London - Liverpool St Station

Hours - 9am to 5pm. This is a hybrid role. Min 3 days in the office

Salary: up to £77k DOE

Start Date – Immediately

Role – 12 month FTC

Industry - Law Firm (must have experience working in a law firm)

Background

A leading professional services organisation seeking an experienced HR Manager to provide comprehensive, proactive and commercially focused HR support across the business. This role requires experience within a legal or professional services environment, with particular expertise in trainee recruitment, vacation schemes and early careers development. The successful candidate will work closely with senior stakeholders while leading and developing the HR team.

Job Purpose

To provide comprehensive, proactive and consistent HR generalist support to allocated business areas and the wider organisation, while supporting the management and development of the HR function. The role will act as a trusted advisor to leaders and managers, ensuring the delivery of effective HR solutions aligned to business objectives.

Job Role

Firm-wide & HR Team Support

• Ensure the effective and efficient delivery of HR support across the organisation.
• Act as an escalation point for HR team members, providing coaching, guidance and support on operational and strategic HR matters.
• Support and lead on employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance management and absence cases.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to manage complex employee relations matters and organisational challenges.
• Review and maintain HR policies, procedures, templates and employee documentation to ensure compliance with legislation and business requirements.
• Support salary benchmarking and reward initiatives through participation in external salary surveys and market analysis.
• Act as key contact for immigration and right-to-work compliance requirements.
• Lead HR communications and contribute to organisation-wide people initiatives.

Internal Client Departments

• Build strong relationships with Partners, Heads of Department and line managers to support business performance and employee engagement.
• Provide practical and commercially focused advice on employee relations, performance management, employment legislation and organisational change.
• Manage absence processes, including sickness monitoring, occupational health referrals and attendance reviews.
• Oversee all employee lifecycle activity, including onboarding, probation reviews, promotions, transfers and offboarding.
• Conduct exit interviews and analyse feedback to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Manage probation processes, ensuring timely reviews and confirmation of employment outcomes.
• Support employees and managers through maternity, paternity, adoption and other family-related leave processes.
• Coordinate and monitor appraisal processes, identifying learning and development needs across the business.
• Manage employee recognition initiatives and service milestone programmes.
• Provide employment, mortgage and tenancy references.
• Support recruitment activities, including drafting job descriptions, interviewing candidates and managing offer processes.
• Collaborate with leaders to identify and deliver learning and development initiatives aligned with business objectives.

HR Systems and Management Information

• Oversee the effective use and administration of HR systems and employee data.
• Manage relationships with HR system providers and external suppliers.
• Ensure HR information published across business platforms remains accurate and up to date.
• Maintain the quality, integrity and accuracy of HR management information and reporting.
• Support diversity and inclusion reporting, including Gender Pay Gap and workforce diversity data.
• Produce regular workforce analytics, including turnover, retention, headcount and absence reporting.
• Provide meaningful people data insights to support business decision-making.

Trainee Recruitment & Development

• Lead all aspects of trainee recruitment and early careers programmes.
• Act as the primary point of contact for trainee and graduate recruitment activities.
• Manage the organisation's trainee and vacation scheme attraction strategy, advertising campaigns and employer branding activities.
• Organise and oversee vacation schemes, including candidate attraction, assessment, onboarding, programme delivery and feedback.
• Manage training contract recruitment, including shortlisting, psychometric testing, assessment centres, interviews and offer management.
• Develop and continuously improve assessment centre methodology and selection processes.
• Coordinate trainee induction programmes and development initiatives.
• Manage trainee seat rotations, qualification pathways and career progression planning.
• Monitor trainee performance and proactively address development or performance concerns.
• Oversee trainee appraisal and feedback processes.
• Build and maintain relationships with future trainees and educational partners.
• Manage professional learning programmes and support individuals through qualification requirements.

Professional Qualifications & Accreditations

• Manage professional practising certificate renewal processes and related compliance requirements.
• Provide guidance and support to employees pursuing professional qualifications.
• Maintain professional regulatory records and ensure compliance with relevant standards.
• Coordinate diversity reporting and regulatory submissions.
• Support organisational accreditation programmes and compliance audits from an HR perspective.
• Review and update people policies and procedures to maintain compliance with regulatory and industry best practice requirements.

Person Specification

Essential Skills

• CIPD Level 7 qualified, or working towards qualification.
• Significant HR generalist experience within a legal or professional services environment.
• Demonstrable experience managing trainee recruitment programmes and vacation schemes.
• Experience designing and delivering assessment centres and selection processes.
• Strong employee relations expertise, including complex case management.
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing decision-making.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills with experience using HR systems and people data.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong communication, coaching and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercially aware, results-oriented and focused on delivering exceptional service.
• Able to identify opportunities for improvement and implement practical HR solutions.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented and capable of managing a varied workload in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including Outlook, Excel and Word.
• Self-motivated team player with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

If you would like to find out more contact Claire -