HR Manager

HR Manager (Maternity Cover)

Published 4 days ago

Location:

City of London, London

Salary:
Up to £77,000 per annum + bonus and benefits

Job : J7281_

Start Date:

Ideally June/July to allow for a thorough handover. A phased or part‑time onboarding period prior to the full start date is possible.

Duration:
Expected to be a 12‑month Fixed Term Contract.

Salary:
Up to £77,000 DOE plus benefits.

Location:

London office, hybrid 3 days office, hours of work Mon to Friday 9am‑5:30pm

We are seeking an experienced HR Manager to provide comprehensive, proactive and consistent HR generalist support across the business during a maternity cover period. This role requires strong HR expertise, excellent relationship‑building skills, and the ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders in a professional services environment. HR experience within a law firm; ideally exposure to trainee recruitment, assessment centres or graduate recruitment.

Minimum CIPD Level 5 required (Level 7 or working towards preferred).

• Provide consistent HR generalist support across the organisation.
• Support the HR Advisors on employee relations issues, coaching and guiding them through processes.
• Support the Head of HR on more complex ER matters.
• Maintain HR policies, standard documentation and staff manual, ensuring compliance with legislation and business requirements.
• Complete and coordinate salary surveys to support benchmarking activity.
• Act as point of contact for the organisation's UKVISA account.
• Contribute content for internal HR communications.

• Work closely with Heads of Department and line managers to support effective people management.
• Advise managers and employees on employee relations queries.
• Monitor absence and sickness trends, manage documentation, and coordinate occupational health referrals.
• Manage leaver processes, including correspondence, exit interviews, data updates and feedback reporting.
• Oversee probation monitoring, reminders, outcomes, and related documentation.
• Support processes related to extended leave (maternity, paternity, adoption), including entitlement guidance, updates to payroll and HR systems, and communication with managers.
• Manage appraisal tracking, monitor outstanding reviews, and report on training needs.
• Assist with the creation of job descriptions, interview participation, offer paperwork, and induction coordination for new joiners.
• Work with managers to identify learning and development needs and ensure opportunities align with business objectives.

• Oversee effective use of HR systems and management information.
• Manage relationships with HR systems providers.
• Ensure HR content on the intranet is accurate and up to date.
• Oversee data quality and integrity in HR reporting.
• Support publication and verification of D&I and Gender Pay Gap data.
• Produce and maintain turnover statistics.

• Work closely with the Training Principal to manage the full training contract lifecycle.
• Act as the main point of contact for trainee solicitor recruitment and development.
• Manage branding and advertising for the Vacation Scheme and Training Contract programmes.
• Lead the Summer Vacation Scheme, including preparation, recruitment, delivery, and feedback.
• Oversee the full Training Contract recruitment process (advertising, shortlisting, assessment centres, interviews).
• Plan and facilitate trainee induction and coordinate learning and development opportunities.
• Manage seat rotations in line with business needs and trainee development goals.
• Oversee qualification processes and compliance with SRA requirements.
• Monitor trainee performance and address emerging concerns promptly.
• Manage trainee appraisals and ongoing engagement with future trainees.
• Oversee PSC course coordination and support trainees completing SQE2 where required.

• Manage the practising certificate renewal process (SRA, CILEx and others as applicable).
• Support paralegals pursuing qualification routes such as CILEx.
• Maintain the organisation's mySRA online account.
• Manage the bi‑annual SRA diversity reporting…