The Department

The People team play a key role in enabling the firm to attract, develop and retain great people, and giving them the tools and support needed to develop and fulfil their potential, and that of the firm. The team is welcoming, inclusive, driven by providing a 'high touch' level of service, and collaborative in terms of how we work. The team consists of c.50 people in both business-facing, generalist roles (Advisory) alongside specialist teams (Data & Systems; Reward; Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing; Employment, Policy & Engagement; Talent Acquisition, as well as our Academy, which consists of Academy Learning, Academy Tech and Early Careers).

Duties and Responsibilities

Working closely with our Advisors, Managers and Heads of People Advisory, our People Assistants play a crucial role in providing first class first-line HR support to the firm. The role provides excellent opportunities and exposure to the full range of generalist HR, by providing effective and efficient operational support across the whole employee lifecycle.

The role will involve the following:

• Taking ownership of the new joiner process, including the preparation of all related paperwork, conducting right to work checks, and liaising with internal departments to keep the candidate, People Team and hiring manager up to date throughout the on-boarding process.
• Managing the process for employees taking parental leave including, preparing paperwork, advising the employee on their benefits and entitlements, and keeping the relevant internal departments (People Team and relevant departments) in relation to dates of leave.
• Managing the leaver process from receipt of letter of resignation to preparing paperwork, carrying out face-to-face exit interviews, where appropriate and providing analysis on a quarterly basis to the Head of People Advisory on leavers in their areas.
• Taking ownership for accurate and up-to-date preparation and processing of all paperwork relating to employee changes.
• Providing regular ad hoc reports such as headcount, parental leave and absences.
• Assisting with new joiner catch ups and other meetings, where appropriate.
• Providing assistance with the monthly payroll submission.
• Providing cover for the other People Assistants in the team and supporting when necessary.
• Providing support to People Advisors and Managers on a range of tasks, including attending meetings, taking meeting notes, as well as contributing to a variety of different projects and initiatives across the Firm.
• Providing support to People Advisors and Managers on a range of Firm-wide cyclical activities.
• Staying on top of legislative changes that may impact internal processes and proactively flagging these as needed.
• Actively contributing to process improvement and suggesting new ideas.
• Assisting the People Administrators as required.
• Contributing towards People projects and other team initiatives as and when requested.

Skills/Experience

• 1-2 years' experience gained within a Human Resources function is highly desirable.
• Experience working within professional services is highly desirable.
• Strong organisation skills and excellent attention to detail.
• Enthusiastic with a 'can do' attitude.
• Pro-active and takes initiative.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate with others at all levels.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Able to work on multiple priorities at one time and adapt quickly to change.
• Ability and willingness to work flexibly and with multiple people.
• Resilient and calm under pressure.
• Strong IT Skills in Word and Excel, ideally including mail merge.
• Working knowledge of HR database systems.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

About The Mishcon de Reya Group

The Mishcon de Reya Group is an independent international professional service business with law at its heart, employing over 1450 people with close to 670 lawyers. It includes the law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP and a collection of leading consultancy businesses that complement the firm's legal services. We have grown rapidly in recent years, showing more than 40% revenue growth in the past five years alone.

Based in London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Singapore, with an association with Karas So LLP in Hong Kong, the firm services an international community of clients and provides advice in situations where the constraints of geography often do not apply. The work we undertake is cross-border, multi-jurisdictional and complex, spanning six core practice areas: Corporate; Dispute Resolution; Employment; Innovation; Private; and Real Estate.

As of 1 January 2023, Mishcon de Reya and Taylor Vinters merged. The merger delivers on both firms' strategies to support the innovation economy and accelerate our growing share of the technology, media and life-sciences legal and consultancy services market in the UK and in key international innovation hubs globally.

In times of such far-reaching and profound change we want to be the law firm that enables our clients - and our own people - to shape the world's possibilities. We are here to help our clients benefit from new economies, new geographic centres of wealth, the new global movement of people and capital, and the impact of new technologies and new knowledge.

Our purpose remains rooted in our founding values. We take pride in the diverse range of people who make up the firm and are proactive in driving change and continuous improvement across the spectrum of equality, diversity and inclusion. Mishcon Academy , our in-house place of learning, development and new thinking for our people, clients and contacts and our innovative impact strategy, including a commitment to be a net zero carbon business , also play a central strategic role in the direction of the firm. In 2020 we launched Mishcon Purpose , a first-of-its-kind sustainability practice providing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) advice and purpose-driven insight to clients.

The Mishcon de Reya Group comprises standalone businesses MDR Brand Management , MDR Cyber , MDR Discover , MDR One , MDR Mayfair (in London, Singapore and Dubai) and MDRx . Complementary to Mishcon de Reya's core areas of work, each is led by best in class professionals recruited from a variety of non-legal industries and sectors.

We strive to create a fully diverse and inclusive workplace where all our people are empowered to fulfil their potential. We are proud of our agile working culture and are always happy to talk flexible working.

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