Partner Talent Acquisition Manager

The opportunity

We are looking for a Partner Talent Acquisition Manager to join our Global Partner HR and TA team. This role will appeal to a commercially savvy individual with experience in senior level professional services recruitment (whether in-house or within an agency).

The team

Bird & Bird's Human Resource (HR) team's mission is to empower and support all employees to achieve their potential at the firm. We do this by encouraging and building strong relationships across all departments to cultivate a friendly, collaborative environment.

In London, the team comprises of HR professionals across all areas from graduate and lateral recruitment, learning & development to teams specialising in generalist HR, our HR system, Partner HR and TA, corporate social responsibility and diversity; all working alongside our international colleagues in supporting our 32 global offices. From your first to your last day at the firm, we will act as your supportive advisors to ensure that you can perform to the best of your ability in your role. Collaborative and committed to creating a valuable service to the firm, we are focused on providing the best service to all Bird & Bird employees and Partners.

The Partner Talent Acquisition team consists of 5 people, headed by the Head of Partner HR. The team reports into, and works closely with, the Chief People Officer to provide global client groups with a high quality, responsive and proactive HR and Talent service. The team works closely together with the Partner HR team.

What you'll do

The successful candidate will be part of the Partner TA team. Working on a global basis with the Heads of Country, Practice and Sector groups as well as the CEO, CFO and members of ExCom, this role supports and drives forward the recruitment of lateral partners (as individual hires, teams, or as part of a merger) whilst ensuring appropriate partner engagement across the firm.

The main objectives of the role are:

• Working closely with the other Partner Talent Acquisition Managers to ensure efficient and consistent Partner recruitment processes;
• Liaising closely with Heads of Country, International Practice, and Sector groups to determine their strategic growth requirements and, where relevant, initiate one or more hiring processes;
• In conjunction with consideration of our growth plans, liaise with colleagues in Partner HR to understand the internal talent pipeline;
• Acting as an external ambassador for the firm at recruitment events, by means of regular meetings with search agents and recruiters and in all external dealings with potential partner candidates;
• Where necessary and/or commercially appropriate, directly sourcing partner candidates via use of social media including LinkedIn and other relevant platforms;
• Managing the relationship with preferred recruiters and other intermediaries, such that we have agreed terms in place and the recruiters understand Bird & Bird's ideal candidate, our strategy, structure and hiring process;
• Taking ownership of the recruitment process for each partner candidate in order to drive it forward, including being the point of contact between the recruiter and/or partner candidate, the internal partners, and relevant business services teams (Risk, Accounts, Tax, Finance, HR) keeping all parties updated on progress;
• Working with the sponsors and candidates to produce the candidate’s 3-year business case. Managing input from a wide range of sources, including the candidate, the sponsoring partner(s), the Partnership Accounts team and the Risk & Compliance team;
• Advising sponsor partners on the recruitment process such that they understand the documentation required, timelines for approval, how to build support for their proposal across the partnership and how best an offer should be structured;
• Ensuring the candidate understands the partnership structure and profit share model;
• Liaising with Sponsor(s), the Partner HR team, CFO and candidates/agents on remuneration proposals and offers;
• Attending ExCom meetings to present and explain the rationale behind the desire to appoint one or more lateral partner candidates; answering questions from committee members and following up on the same;
• Working closely with the Head of Partner HR and senior management team on recruitment needs arising from potential mergers, including integrating new lateral partners and their teams;
• Identifying and driving through improvements to existing processes within the firm and, where relevant, providing guidance and/or support with resourcing-related project work;
• Managing and assisting with the development of junior resources in the Partner Talent Acquisition Team;
• Operating at all times in line with recruitment best practice in mind and, in an informal capacity, assisting with the development of other recruiting specialists within the wider HR team;
• Working seamlessly with other members of the Partner HR team in order to provide a flexible and collaborative client service to the partners, sharing information, best practice and relevant knowledge to enable the team as a whole to provide the best solution; and
• Providing guidance and assistance on Global Counsel hires.

About you

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to develop and maintain professional relationships across the firm but particularly with the most senior partners and directors across various operational departments.
• Ability to informally lead others and work in a matrixed organisation.
• Ability to challenge constructively combined with high levels of resilience.
• Good time management with the ability to prioritise work and hit deadlines.
• Commercial approach with the ability to navigate the dynamics of a partnership structure, as well as an appreciation of different national and/or cultural perspectives.
• Strong written skills with the ability to prepare concise, commercial papers.
• Comfortable with ambiguity.
• Ability to transfer strategic and complex issues into practical working solutions.
• “Can do” attitude and hands-on approach.
• Result oriented, ability to prioritise work and hit deadlines.
• Bright, flexible and energetic.
• Good presentational skills.
• A self-starter - self-motivated and driven to succeed.

The main responsibilities of this role are outlined above; however, this description is not exhaustive, and the job holder may be required to undertake additional duties from time to time to ensure the smooth running of the department. The role may require some working outside our normal working hours of 9:30am- 5:30pm.

Bird & Bird is committed to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment. We are delighted to confirm that we have achieved Mansfield UK Certification. This certification was achieved by considering at least 30% women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities and LGBTQ+ lawyers for at least 70% of UK fee earner and leadership positions. We are committed to continuing to participate in Mansfield Rule UK and continue to work towards ensuring a diverse pool of candidates are considered for our roles, in line with the Mansfield Rule.

The firm

Bird & Bird opens up a world of possible for lawyers and professionals everywhere. Here you can advise major enterprises and high-growth businesses on matters that are often transformative in nature, and alongside people who are truly collegiate in the way they work with everyone at Bird & Bird. We are one international firm, where over 70% of our work involves teams from across our firm. And that is only going to increase. It is this common purpose and shared approach that makes for a more productive, and collaborative place to work.

Our promise

Bird & Bird is committed to maintaining an inclusive working environment and we are an equal opportunities employer. We will actively support and supervise your professional development. For those with the necessary attitude, experience and skills, we will ensure that the firm is a first-class platform on which you can develop into an industry leader. We support an agile working environment and are happy to discuss flexible working.

We are a disability, neurodiversity and mental health inclusive employer and want to ensure that candidates have a barrier-free recruitment experience. If you need reasonable adjustments for any of your interviews or assessments, please email us at [email protected] for confidential advice. Alternatively, you can call on +44 20 3017 6867 to discuss this.