HR Manager

About the Role
The HR Business Partner/Manager role is crucial in aligning human resources with the overall business strategy, working closely with business leaders, including Partners, to ensure HR strategies support the organisation’s goals. This role primarily supports the fee-earner side of the business across the Firm’s Middle East and Africa offices. It involves strategic planning, talent management, and organisational development to drive business performance through effective people management.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Business Partnering

• Position HR as a strategic business partner within client groups, building strong relationships and commercial understanding of the business, its strategic drivers and financials to develop practical people solutions aligned with business strategy, performance, and objectives.
• Support the Head of HR to develop the HR function and ensure that it is meeting the strategic objectives of the firm and region.
• Collaborate with Centres of Excellence (COEs) and other global HR Business Partners to develop effective people solutions that support global practice-area objectives, enhance employee engagement, and foster a positive organisational culture.
• Collaborate with other Business Services leaders, including COO, Finance, Business Development, and Risk, to provide coordinated, commercially focused services and solutions that support Partners and other fee earners in achieving their business and client objectives.
• Utilise HR analytics and metrics to inform decisions and measure the effectiveness of HR initiatives. Continuously assess and adjust strategies based on data insights.

Workforce Strategy and Regional Delivery

• Collaborate with business leaders to develop and implement strategic workforce and capacity plans aligned with organisational goals, including identifying future workforce needs and skills gaps, monitoring utilisation, productivity, headcount, and other relevant financial metrics and translating insights into practical resourcing and cost-management actions.
• Partner with business leaders and relevant specialist teams to develop and deliver workforce nationalisation plans across the region, including Emiratisation and Saudization requirements, and embed these into recruitment and workforce planning activity.
• Adapt people initiatives and HR advice to reflect the legal, cultural, and business context of the different MEA jurisdictions, working with local stakeholders and specialist advisers where appropriate.
• Partner with Reward, Payroll, and Finance teams on regional remuneration and benefits matters, including allowances, statutory end-of-service benefits, payroll compliance, and mandatory social insurance requirements.
• Support international mobility, cross-border transfers, and secondments across MEA, coordinating employment, immigration, tax, and relocation considerations with relevant internal teams and external providers.

Talent, Performance and Leadership

• Facilitate the effective regional delivery of global cyclical people processes, partnering with business leaders and Centres of Excellence to plan, communicate, and implement performance management and moderation, talent reviews, succession planning, promotions, salary review, and employee engagement surveys, ensuring appropriate follow-through on agreed actions.
• Coach and support Partners, Managers, and Team Leaders to strengthen their people-management capability, set clear expectations, provide effective feedback, address underperformance, and recognise strong performance, helping to drive a consistent high-performance culture.
• Work with the senior HR team to communicate and share expertise with the wider team.

Organisational Change and Employee Relations

• Work with the senior HR team, practice areas, and wider business to assess organisational structures and plan and deliver change-management projects, including reorganisations, restructurings, redundancies, and transfers, securing stakeholder support and effective implementation in line with strategic aims.
• Foster a positive and inclusive workplace culture by managing complex employee relations matters, including performance concerns, grievances, conflicts, and mediation, ensuring issues are addressed promptly and appropriately in accordance with employment law and firm policies.
• Work with and support the HR Advisors as appropriate on the implementation of various people-related policies and practices.

Essential Skills & Experience
Professional Background and Qualifications

• Proven experience as an HR Business Partner, preferably in legal or professional services.
• Experience in working within a matrix structure with delivery through COEs within a HR function.
• Graduate or equivalent and ideally GCIPD qualified.

MEA Regional Expertise

• Practical experience of applying employment law across the Middle East and Africa region, with the ability to identify jurisdiction-specific requirements and obtain specialist advice where appropriate.
• Experience of supporting international mobility, cross-border transfers, and secondments across MEA, including work permits, visas, residency requirements, and associated employment, tax, and relocation considerations, working with internal stakeholders and external providers.
• Experience of supporting workforce nationalisation requirements across the region, including programmes such as Emiratisation and Saudization, and integrating these requirements into workforce planning and talent development.
• Demonstrable cultural awareness and experience of adapting HR approaches effectively across diverse MEA jurisdictions, cultures, and business practices.
• Knowledge of regional reward and benefits practices, including allowances, statutory end-of-service benefits, payroll compliance, and mandatory social insurance arrangements.

Strategic and Functional HR Capability

• Strategic thinking and planning.
• Talent management and development.
• Organisational development and change management.
• HR functional expertise.
• Commercially astute and a good understanding of the practical application of HR.
• Ability to use data and metrics to drive decision-making.

Leadership and Stakeholder Skills

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
• Strong influencing skills and able to build credibility quickly with the ability to inspire confidence and respect at all levels.

Benefits and Commitment
This firm is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. Our values encourage us to support fairness, celebrate diversity, and prohibit all forms of discrimination in the workplace to allow everyone to excel at work. We welcome and encourage all applications from suitably qualified individuals, regardless of background or identity.