The HR team at Allen & Overy provides a first class service to the Firm, offering strategic HR business advice at the business partner level and quality support services in the full range of HR functions through specialist teams such as, HR administration, resourcing, employee relations advice, payroll, reward, global mobility, HR systems, and learning and development.
The UK Early Careers population is overseen by two teams (i) The Early Careers Recruitment team, which has overall responsibility for recruiting school leavers and university students into various entry level roles for the London office; and (ii) the Early Careers HR team, which has overall responsibility for providing HR support in respect of the trainee solicitor and solicitor apprentices populations, recruited into the London office, with a view to qualifying as lawyers of England & Wales.
As we move towards a global HR function, the team will play an increasingly important role in supporting global recruitment processes within Early Careers as well as identifying process improvement and efficiencies. We have already commenced transitioning a number of Early Careers activities from Belgium, Netherlands and France.
About A&O
Allen & Overy is a leading global law firm operating in over thirty countries. We help clients address complex and important challenges and we're respected for our innovation and quality of work. Our culture is inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance, and we nurture an environment where you can belong and excel.
We’re on an exciting journey to create an even stronger offering for our clients and our people: In May 2023, we announced our proposed merger with Shearman and Sterling, with the intention of becoming a new global leader named Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, A&O Shearman for short.
Once complete, the merger will combine two of the world’s most prestigious law firms, leaders in their respective markets, to create an integrated global elite firm. You can read more about this on our dedicated microsite announcingaoss dot com.
What you will do
As an Early Careers Operations Manager, you are responsible for overseeing and managing the Early Careers Administration team in Belfast. You will have seven direct reports - one Specialist, two Senior Administrators and four Administrators, providing an excellent administration service across all processes within Early Careers recruitment and Early Careers HR Teams ensuring a seamless delivery. You will have responsibilities for work allocation and the reporting of team performance and development.
This will include:
Managing the Early Careers Recruitment, and Early Careers HR, administration teams to ensure relevant processes are being delivered efficiently and effectively and ensure end to end delivery, including:
Responsibility for processes relating to the application tracking system (Brassring) and assessment platforms including SOVA / Leap as well as championing the usage and effectiveness of the systems used.
Producing resourcing/graduate MI and regularly report back to the relevant Recruiting/Early Careers Senior Managers.
Overseeing and optimising early careers recruitment administration processes for events, screening, interviewing, ensuring efficiency, scalability and a positive candidate experience.
Supervising the entire offer process for early careers recruitment - reviewing and updating contracts / paperwork as well as managing communications and implementing changes.
Efficiently organising the team to ensure consistent delivery throughout the year, adjusting resources as necessary during busy periods and adapting to market conditions.
Managing the new joiner and onboarding process and ensuring an exceptional candidate experience for all new joiners (including future trainees, during their time at law school); align processes with those which apply in the wider Resourcing function.
Maximising the use of existing or new technologies and applying those to the future, and current, trainee populations (for example, by capturing information on PeopleSoft and moving away from manual processes).
Reporting on trainee headcount and ownership of queries in this regard (to inform discussions about hiring decisions, for example).
Aligning processes in the Early Careers space to those which exist for other populations in the business (for example, rolling out the benefits arising out of the Global Optimisation project to the Early Careers populations).
Managing and co-ordinating queries from other offices who support trainees (such as Dubai and Singapore) to ensure that we are joined up.
Working with the Early Careers Recruitment Senior Manager, and the Early Careers HR Senior Manager, to implement a system which best tracks, and reports on, data obtained at recruitment stage and which can be utilised through to the point of qualification.
Acting as the first point of escalation in respect of queries for the team both internally and in respect of relevant external suppliers.
Contributing to early years recruitment optimisation initiatives, including working alongside global teams to support transition projects to Belfast HR SSC.
Supporting the Early Careers Recruitment Senior Manager, HR SSC senior manager and Early Careers HR Senior Manager, on strategic recruitment, development initiatives and ad hoc projects.
Responsible for the recruitment, training, well-being and performance management of the Early Careers Recruitment and HR teams.
What you will have
Several years of managerial experience managing volume entry level recruitment with people management responsibilities ideally with professional services or legal sector.
Proven experience of managing a team across multiple offices and the ability to identify and develop talent.
Experience of managing recruitment processes and desirably early years outreach events, and experience of the Early Careers HR space (i.e. development work), within a fast paced environment.
Individual who enjoys both the operational and strategic sides of this role and shows great flexibility.
Proven experience of online candidate applicant tracking systems/ event management tools. Experience of using Brassring, and PeopleSoft, is desirable.
Collaborative team player with the ability to nurture and work in intellectually rigorous environment.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels internally and externally as well as the ability to maintain strong working relationships.
Experience of leading and managing projects around process improvement, transition and innovation.
Role models consistent high performance and quality service, being an effective manager of self, team and task to ensure quality services are consistently delivered.
Exceptional organisational and planning skills to drive business resilience and service standards.
What we can offer you
At Allen & Overy, we recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing including GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, online discounts and lifestyle management services.