Legal Talent Acquisition Manager - Continental Europe and Luxembourg

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The role

Talent Acquisition is critical to our people priorities to allow our business to be agile in anticipating and responding to demands, so that ultimately the Firm is able to deliver an exceptional service to our clients.

One Europe* has 15 offices in 10 countries and, within that, Continental Europe has 13 offices in 9 countries. It is the largest region in terms of hiring activity in the firm. Working with the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, the Country head of HR based in Luxembourg and Co head of HR, One Europe*, as well as with the regional management team (RCOO, regional Practice area leaders and regional business managers aligned to practice areas), and working day to day with the talent acquisition teams in each location, you will build on the  strategy to implement a comprehensive and innovative talent acquisition approach for legal early talent and  legal lateral hiring in the Continental European offices, ensuring alignment with global talent acquisition strategies and business goals.

In addition, you will be responsible for managing entry level legal and experienced lawyer hiring into Luxembourg, working with the partners in the office on recruiting needs as required, both on planned campaign recruiting (early talent) and ad hoc experienced hire single head requisition hiring.

*One Europe refers to the firms UK and continental European businesses which have combined.

Who you will work with

You will collaborate with stakeholders across the organisation to understand talent needs, identify key trends, and provide data-led insights to inform talent acquisition decision-making.

You will also collaborate with the regional HR business partnering teams as well as the local HR specialists in each CE office on end-to-end recruitment processes. 

What you will be responsible for

You will lead, manage, develop and coordinate the talent acquisition teams across the Continental European locations, providing guidance, support, and coaching to drive performance and success. You will also be responsible for recruiting activity across legal early talent and legal lateral hiring in the Luxembourg office.

What you will do

Planning & Strategy

•  Implement and deliver talent acquisition initiatives targeted at law students and lawyers, building on a strong employer brand. Develop multi-location activities to benefit each of the offices in having a stronger presence, building shared talent pools, and creating events and initiatives to ensure a strong talent pipeline for the region.
• Embed best practices and improve operational excellence and commercial discipline, by aligning to global processes where possible and to the HR operating model.  Ensure all locations have strong data points, high candidate satisfaction, and common metrics, as well as – where possible – improving processes by utilising resources and technology already globally available.
• Take part in global and regional TA initiative and projects – coordinating resources across the CE locations to fully embed global projects such as the people proposition.

Team Management

• Manage, through direct reports, the Talent Acquisition Teams across the Continental Europe region and ensure alignment with overall company goals and objectives.
• Provide ongoing guidance, support, and coaching to team members to drive performance and success.
• Facilitate regular meetings to encourage idea-sharing and collaboration across different countries within the region.
• Conduct performance reviews of direct reports, provide feedback, and implement development plans to enhance team performance.
• Develop and execute strategies to improve regional operations and drive performance and success.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between regional teams and senior management, ensuring clear and effective communication.
• Address and resolve any issues or conflicts within the regional team promptly and effectively.
• Prepare and present regular reports on regional performance, challenges, and achievements to senior management.

Operational

• Manage end to end recruitment process for lateral legal hires whilst providing an excellent service delivery.
• In collaboration with the regional HR business partnering team, partner with the leadership teams and hiring managers to identify and shape current and future resource needs.
• Define market maps and research in collaboration with the Global Research team, with the objective of approaching agreed targets on behalf of the business.
• You will run both online and in-person university events on campus, including skills sessions, in person, virtual and hybrid events – depending on the need of the talent and the local talent competitor landscape
• Manage the smooth end-to-end running of interviews and events for law students, ensuring an excellent candidate experience and maximising the efficiency of fee earner time.
• You will run wash-up discussions where appropriate, taking responsibility for ensuring that all assessment materials and documentation is recorded and stored appropriately.
• You will be responsible for obtaining interview feedback from candidates and interviewers and suggesting areas of improvement. 
• You will manage the candidate offer process and oversee the onboarding process to ensure a smooth onboarding experience.

Relationships

• In collaboration with the regional HR business partnering team, provide Partners and hiring managers with professional direction and guidance, ensuring that they have the skills and tools to hire talent effectively.
• Influence at all levels to ensure the balance of best practice and the needs of the Firm are met.
• Build strong relationships with candidates, promoting the Firm's employee value proposition and delivering an exceptional candidate experience.
• Approach prospects and develop niche talent pools.
• Manage 3rd party recruitment agency relationships; ensuring alignment with our inclusive recruitment practice and promote the firm effectively.
• Manage specific university relationships and drive brand awareness to increase the number of applications and hires.

Process and Metrics

• Adoption of ATS technology throughout the whole candidate and hiring manager life cycle.
• Continuously evaluate and improve talent acquisition processes, tools, and technologies to drive efficiency and effectiveness in the recruitment cycle.
• Utilisation of global support resources and the relevant technology to improve metrics such as time to hire, time to fill, candidate experience and time to interview.
• Monitor and analyse recruitment metrics to identify areas of improvement and provide recommendations for enhancing talent acquisition strategies.
• Ensure compliance with local legislation and regulations, as well as adherence to the company's policies and procedures.

Your experience

Skills

• You will have an analytical mindset with strong commercial acumen.  You will understand how to demonstrate the business impact of recruitment via measures and metrics.
• You will have flexible and effective communication skills with proven experience of building and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• You will be adept in providing solutions to often complex issues.
• You will be exceptionally organised, and you will have the ability to manage multiple projects effectively and efficiently, ensuring all deadlines are met.

Experience

• You will have experience of recruiting early talent and lateral hire professionals, ideally within a law firm or professional services firm, and you will have experience across the broad Continental Europe region.
• You will have experience of interviewing candidates and administering assessments.
• You will be able to demonstrate experience in developing employer branding and marketing campaigns.
• You will have had experience of team management, line management, coaching and developing team members, and giving feedback and delivering appraisals.
• You will have experience of sourcing candidates directly through e-recruitment tools, social sourcing platforms, social media, networking, market mapping and approaches.
• You will have experience of using application tracking systems and candidate relationship management systems to drive successful outcomes.
• You will have experience of project management, with the ability to gain buy-in from stakeholders, manage expectations and communicate progress effectively.

Knowledge

• You will be able to demonstrate a strong knowledge of recruitment methodology and candidate engagement for early talent and lateral talent. 
• You will be able to demonstrate strong curiosity in developing a deep understanding of internal client groups and their strategic objectives.
• Fluency in English is a key requirement for effective collaboration across the CE offices. Knowledge of one or more European languages would be desirable but not essential.

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and development your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning. 

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society. 

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. 

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.

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