Senior HR Manager

Summary

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in London, the successful candidate will lead the delivery of high-quality HR support across a large and diverse workforce. The successful candidate will bring extensive UK employment law and regulatory knowledge, a proven track record of managing complex employee relations matters at scale, and experience partnering with leaders across a multifaceted organisation. This role requires a confident Senior HR professional who can balance strategic thinking with operational excellence while driving positive employee outcomes and organisational performance.

This role reports to the Director of Administration.

Responsibilities include

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, providing expert guidance on people strategy, organisational effectiveness, and workforce planning.
• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases, including disciplinaries, grievances, performance management, long-term absence, restructures, redundancies, and settlements.
• Ensure compliance with UK employment legislation and relevant regulatory requirements, firm policies and HR best practice, mitigating people related risk across the business.
• Lead, develop, and oversee the HR Operations function, ensuring the delivery of efficient, compliant, and high-quality HR services across the employee lifecycle.
• Partner with all relevant departments supporting the Associate review cycle including: Partner reviewers, US HR teams, and the Director of Administration to support the associate lifecycle, including performance and development reviews, progression decisions, and associate departures.
• Provide strategic and operational HR support across both fee earner and business services populations, recognising the distinct commercial and people considerations applicable to each.
• Lead and support organisational change initiatives, including restructures, TUPE transfers, integration activities, and wider business transformation programmes.
• Coach and develop managers to build capability and confidence in managing people matters effectively, consistently and in line with firm policies, culture and values.
• Analyse HR metrics and workforce data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, providing actionable insights and recommendations to the Director of Administration and senior leadership.
• Work closely with the firm's CHRO, HR Directors, and international HR colleagues to ensure alignment with global people initiatives while maintaining compliance with UK legal and regulatory requirements.
• Lead and contribute to HR projects that enhance employee engagement, organisational effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, talent development, and workplace culture.
• Drive continuous improvement in HR policies, processes, and service delivery, supporting the development of initiatives that foster an inclusive, high-performing, and engaging workplace

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent) preferred.
• Degree level education or equivalent professional experience.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development.
• Additional qualifications in Employment Law, Mediation, Coaching, or Organisational Development would be advantageous.

Experience

• Significant HR experience gained within a Senior HR Manager, HR Business Partner, or equivalent role.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and current regulator requirements, with the ability to apply this pragmatically in a legal environment.
• Demonstrable experience managing high volumes of complex employee relations cases across a large workforce.
• Proven ability to build credibility and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, including partners and business leaders.
• Excellent judgement and decision-making capabilities, particularly in sensitive and high-risk complex situations.
• Strong analytical skills with experience using people data and HR metrics to inform decision making.
• Experience developing and implementing HR policies, procedures, and people initiatives.
• Ability to balance strategic priorities with operational delivery in a fast paced environment.
• Experience leading and developing HR teams, including operational HR functions.
• Experience supporting organisational change, restructuring, and business transformation initiatives.
• Experience working within a professional services, legal, partnership, or similarly complex environment

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

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For technical difficulties with our online application, please contact us at [email hidden] . Our recruiting support team will respond as soon as possible.

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Gibson Dunn is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities. We strive to ensure an inclusive and accessible hiring experience. The Firm will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable participation in the application and recruitment process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise take part in the recruitment process, please contact us at [email hidden] . Please note, this is a dedicated email inbox established exclusively to assist applicants with accommodation request related to the recruitment process. Inquiries about the status of an application or other non-accommodation matter will not receive a response.