Senior Resource Manager

Owen Reed is looking for a Senior Resource Manager for a top law firm in London.

We are working with a highly regarded international law firm to recruit an experienced Senior Resource Manager to support their Energy, Infrastructure, Projects and Construction (EPC) practice. This is a strategic role focused on implementing a structured, data‑driven resource management approach to support performance, collaboration, diversity and inclusion, and talent development across teams and locations.

This is an excellent opportunity for a resource management professional to work closely with Partners, Practice Group Leads and Business Services teams to optimise utilisation, improve engagement and support the firm’s national working strategy.

The Senior Resource Manager will lead work allocation across the EPC practice, ensuring fair, transparent and skills‑based resourcing while supporting career development and firm‑wide talent initiatives.

• Lead the allocation of work across EPC sub‑teams, ensuring equitable and skills‑based distribution of work.
• Improve career development and engagement by aligning work allocation with development needs and aspirations.
• Identify training needs, performance issues and wellbeing concerns in collaboration with Partners, HR, PSLs and L&D.
• Ensure even utilisation across teams and locations to maximise efficiency and collaboration.
• Support allocation of resources against client rates to optimise profitability and support firm strategy.
• Implement and develop a new resource management tool, refining processes and structures alongside third‑party systems.

• Build trusted relationships with Partners, Practice Group Leads and Team Leads to understand practice needs and resourcing pressures.
• Attend team and Partner meetings to embed resource management practices.
• Provide weekly utilisation and capacity reports, with real‑time escalation of resourcing risks and concerns.

• Develop strong relationships with counsel, associates, trainees and paralegals to understand capacity, skills and aspirations.
• Map team skills and experience levels to support development and deployment.
• Monitor and chase weekly capacity forecasts to maintain accurate planning data.

• Work with Practice Management, Finance, HR, Project Management and Business Development on people initiatives and best practices.
• Collaborate with other Resource Managers to establish global best practice frameworks.
• Support internal secondments, recruitment and trainee allocation in partnership with supervisors.

• Deliver weekly and monthly resource and utilisation analysis, identifying trends and recommending process improvements.
• Compare forecasted vs actual utilisation and support corrective actions.
• Track holidays and proactively recommend reallocation strategies to maintain workflow continuity.

• Previous experience in resource management, work allocation or workforce planning within a legal, professional services or corporate environment.
• Qualified lawyer or professional with a law degree or relevant legal sector experience, or a strong resource management background.
• Strong commercial awareness and business acumen.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Proactive, resilient and comfortable driving change in complex environments.
• Able to influence senior stakeholders and manage ambiguity.
• Discreet, confidential and able to handle sensitive matters professionally.
• Advanced Excel skills; experience with resource management software is advantageous.