Vice President | HR Business Partner

Responsibilities

In support of the changing needs of a growing international legal services business, the Vice President – HR Business partner will provide HR support, guidance and expertise to the DWF Group entities in the region and across a global business area, harnessing the Group's Global Operating Model to deliver a best in class service. The role will also p rovide local leadership to a team of HR professionals to deliver the Group HR agenda for the region.

This role will be critical in leading and advising on activities that underpin our Group and Divisional people plans, and in ensuring alignment across people management and organisation design activities for the region and across one of our global business areas. The Group HR function needs to not only keep pace with the demands of the business, but to anticipate change and proactively lead innovative approaches to delivering an engaging colleague experience by working closely with our Centres of Excellence to effect change, lead transformative business practices and grow our business sustainably.

Main Duties include:-
• Reporting to the Senior HR Business Partner and working with the Global HR Leadership Team to lead and deliver operational HR activity for the region, taking into account the need to support current and future business needs through a cycle of change and evolution for the organisation
• Working closely with the wider HR Business Partnering function to define and deliver the specific talent leadership agenda for the region; ensuring alignment and focus on operational activity and addressing the most critical business opportunities/challenges in a consistent and commercial manner
• Be a trusted strategic advisor to global business area leadership, work closely with them to establish and implement the divisional people plan across all global locations, influencing and shaping HR strategies and initiatives.
• Partner with the business to support the design and delivery of the D&I plans in line with wider group wide initiatives. Delivering initiatives that support our targets and contribute positively to the success of the business through its ability to attract and retain diverse talent
• Providing insight and credible advice on HR and Employee Relations issues, providing a commercial and robust view to deliver true business value across all areas of people management.
• Establish and maintain effective influencing relationships with line managers to challenge and coach managers to develop and demonstrate effective leadership and management behaviours across all areas of people management, including performance and attendance management.
• Making use of the Global HR platform to provide sophisticated analytics and insights to inform the work plans for the regional HR team, ensuring that operational activity is directed to the correct part of the function and that business objectives are met in line with Divisional People Plans and the Group's Global Operating Model.
• Apply a 'problem solving squad' approach to delivery of HR activity, underpinned by effective and efficient operational delivery through the Global Operating Model
• Working closely with the Group Centres of Excellence, including Talent Acquisition, Performance & Engagement, and Reward, to create a connected and rounded approach to colleague experience – supporting the Colleague Value Proposition throughout the whole organisation and driving high levels of colleague engagement across the business
• As the lead for HR activity for the region and across the global practice area, taking responsibility for working with the wider Group function in:
• Delivery of cyclical people processes
• Delivery of Divisional People Plans
• Undertake reviews of organisational structures, role responsibilities and performance metrics to design and implement profitable global operating structures to maximise efficiency and value.
• Lead on complex change initiatives and support organisational transformations, in line with wider Business Change roles and responsibilities
• Provide project management support for the CoE at certain points in the year to ensure the cyclical / new initiative lands appropriately at a business area level
• Ensure focus on employee engagement activities in conjunction with the relevant central teams, identifying key areas for improvement and supporting the development and implementation of meaningful action plans
• Challenge business leaders to develop and demonstrate effective leadership and management behaviours, supporting a high performance and positive culture across the business area
• Providing feedback to the Reward function in relation to regional/local nuances on compensation matters and pay review processes
• Contributing to the design and implementation plans for new or upgraded systems and technology to support HR delivery
• Implementing Global policies and procedures, alongside drafting and implementing any local operating procedures
• Supporting hiring managers in local recruitment activity in conjunction with the global recruitment delivery model.
• Advocate and leverage data insights and technology solutions to help inform solutions around the people priorities for your aligned area and wider HR function
• Embrace new ways of work, demonstrate how they can use advances in technology, AI and data insights to deliver solutions to the business
• Horizon scanning for significant insights/developments in the people management space around creating opportunities for the HR function to contribute to business success
• Oversight and management of business change projects (OD; M&A etc) that require strong project management capability to ensure successful implementation – leading on prioritisation and sequencing of major work programmes in the region and liaising with Group HR as appropriate
• Building close collaborative relationships across the Group HR function, to ensure all regional HR activity is closely aligned with business strategy, Divisional People Plans and the Group People priorities, ensuring an excellent colleague experience
• Providing local leadership to a team of HR professionals to deliver the Group HR agenda for the region
• Leading on cross-functional projects as needed

We expect the role will adapt and change according to business needs and the evolution of the Group HR function itself.

What will help you succeed in this role?

The Vice President – HR Business Partner will be an experienced HR professional who has already excelled at building and maintaining relationships across a variety of stakeholder groups, and who has experience of leading operational activity themselves and working at a strategic level.

They will be confident in their technical expertise across Indian and UK employment law, and be able to coach senior leaders and other colleagues as needed. They naturally operate as a partner to their stakeholders (within the Group HR function and across the wider organisation) in order to understand requirements and be able to deliver a strategy and execution plan that meets business needs.

Experience in an international business and familiarity with the people challenges across multi jurisdictions and cultures will be invaluable as the Group continues to pursue its growth ambitions. Detailed and hands on experience of creating colleague-centred strategies, plans and policies is essential, in order to support the organisation in its growth plans.

The Vice President – HR Business Partner will benefit from previous experience of working in regulated, structured corporate environments, in either a professional services or similar environment, in order to be able to operate effectively within the organisational context of DWF as a PE backed business that is seeking to integrate its operations globally.

Whilst technical capability will be important, a key focus for the future talent agenda will be the development of well-rounded business professionals, who have a broad skill set, including client relationship management; business development; people leadership and general business acumen. The Vice President - HR Business Partner will also benefit from having a proven track record in thinking creatively in approaching the people agenda with new ideas that set us apart from our competitors, and contribute to the creation and ongoing development of our unique CVP.

In terms of personal characteristics, the Vice President – HR Business Partner will be action-oriented, technology focused, with strong analytical skills, a desire to deliver tangible outcomes and hold others to account for meeting performance objectives. They will be a self-starter with an appetite to work both autonomously, and as part of a global team, able to galvanise and drive team performance and collaboration.

They will be passionate about delivering the best colleague experience possible, and will place colleagues and our internal customers at the heart of everything we do. They will enjoy tackling challenges and gain satisfaction from driving themselves and others to succeed. They will be comfortable to challenge, lead and contribute as a valued member of both the HR function and the wider business, with a highly commercial outlook on the delivery of our functional objectives.