Before you meet us, get to know us

RPC is a modern, progressive and commercially-oriented City legal services business. From our offices in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore we provide advice to both UK and international clients.

What we do

Our legal practice spans a wide range of industry sectors and is broadly split into two discrete areas: insurance and corporates. Working on both contentious and non-contentious matters, our clients range from large multinationals to growth UK corporate firms and other professional practices, and include many household names.

Why we're different

We have a confident, accessible and enterprising approach that sets performance, service and value at the top of the agenda. Our goal is to do the usual things unusually well, make the complex simple and help our internal and external clients build better, stronger businesses.

Business Services at RPC

Working at RPC means being part of a collaborative and creative environment, which is flexible, transparent and friendly. We value our business services teams and recognise that individual contributions at all levels are essential to the success of RPC as a whole.

RPC's business services teams include:

• Brand Marketing & Sales
• Client Services
• Executive Office
• Facilities
• Finance
• Information Technology
• Knowledge
• People & Talent Development
• Risk & Compliance
• Secretarial Support

Role Overview

This role will support the Resourcing and Early Talent Lead to manage the UK Early Talent function (apprentices and trainee solicitors) across our legal practice groups and business services. This will include the whole start to end recruitment process of this population including playing an active role in managing the welfare of our trainees and apprentices both before they join the firm and throughout their two year training contract / apprenticeship. The role will provide a proactive, high quality and forward-thinking service to both internal and external clients. In collaboration with the Early Talent lead, the role will also have responsibility for supervising the Early Talent Apprentice.

Key internal relationships

The Early Talent team work with various business services and legal teams including learning & development, finance, IT, brand marketing & sales, risk & compliance, facilities, apprentices, trainees, associates and partners (in particular the trainee recruitment partner).

Reports to

Resourcing & Early Talent Lead

Duties and Responsibilities include but not are limited to the following and are applicable both in-person and / or virtually:

Resourcing

• Work with the Early Talent Lead to design and implement the UK Early Talent marketing, campus, events and internship campaigns, including; external media, open days, events and presentations, summer schemes and virtual work experience programmes. The role will be responsible for booking and organising the various events and programmes, arranging recruitment collateral, keeping internal and external Early Talent publications and website entries up to date and attending the various events (virtually and in person) as a firm representative.
• Develop existing and new relationships with external consultants, suppliers and third-party organisations.
• Assist the Early Talent Lead to screen apprentice, summer scheme and training contract applications in order to shortlist candidates for the different stages in the recruitment process.
• Responsible for (with the support of the Early Talent Apprentice) managing diaries, booking interviews, setting up psychometric tests, collating packs of assessment materials for both candidates and assessors and organising the distribution of candidate feedback reports.
• Perform a core assessor role as part of the assessment team on trainee and apprentice assessment days.

People Advisory

• Works closely with the Early Talent Lead to assist with the development and delivery of the people advisory service to trainees and apprentices. This will include, but is not limited to; seat deployment, trainee forum attendance, group benchmarking meetings, NQ planning, and trainee seat reviews
• Is the first point of contact for all employee relations and welfare issues within UK Early talent (including future and current apprentices and trainees)
• Pre-joining programme - working with the Early Talent Lead and Learning & Development teams to organise pre-joining events for future trainee intakes (currently 4 events per annum). Includes managing diaries, booking rooms, designing invites, liaising with attendees, booking social venues etc.
• New starter programme - assisting with the preparation of any People elements of the trainee induction annually in September.
• Seat spotlights - assisting the Early Talent Lead to organise the annual round of Seat Spotlights for first seat trainees. This will involve liaising with legal groups, booking rooms and refreshments.

People Processes

• Expert user of online recruitment systems (CVMail, RARE Recruitment, Watson Glaser, Vero, TopScore and Forage) to process candidates through the various stages of their application (submission, form updates, tracking firm contacts, testing, interview scheduling, assisting with offers, reporting etc)
• Expert user of internal HR systems (Success Factors). Manages the starter/leaver/seat move/secondment process for the client group including paperwork and system updates. Working with the Early Talent Apprentice where appropriate and supervising them in these tasks where relevant
• Organises loan, bursary and maintenance payments for future trainee intakes as well as payments for incoming summer scheme students, liaising with the finance team
• Administering all expenses and invoices relating to trainees
• Ad-hoc correspondence - responsible for drafting initial offer paperwork, references, firm updates, invites to pre-joining events, pre-joining instructions, congratulation cards & gifts
• Dealing with ad-hoc enquiries submitted via the graduate recruitment inbox, website or by telephone and escalating where appropriate
• Assisting with the mid-seat and end-of-seat review process for all trainees
• Setting up e-files for new trainee intakes and ensuring they are up-to-date and accurate
• Maintaining accurate e-files of candidate details and scanning relevant information onto the system

Inclusion & Diversity

• Supports the Early Talent Lead and the Engagement & Inclusion Manager to help deliver on the firm's I&D strategy, working closely with internal stakeholders (I&D workstreams) and external stakeholders (SEO, Aspiring Solicitors, Bright Network, Stafford Long etc) to support and implement this
• Keeps abreast of market trends in relation to Early Talent and I&D

Other

• Involved in developing and delivering on People projects when appropriate
• Keeping up to date with key developments in the Legal sector by attending the ISE Legal town hall and other off-site meetings as and when required
• Any other ad-hoc duties and support on early talent recruitment projects that may be required.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Previous Early Talent or recruitment experience within a professional services firm

Attributes

The successful applicant will have/be able to demonstrate:

• Sound knowledge of Microsoft Office - competent in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Excellent organisational skills
• Excellent communications skills (both orally and in writing)
• Solution orientated
• Ability to adapt to shifting priorities and adapt plans accordingly
• Excellent customer service skills, dealing with people and tasks in a professional, polite and considerate manner
• Proactivity and the ability to see beyond the immediate task / problem
• Good initiative and problem-solving skills, but be conscious of when to consult with others
• Have the ability to multi-task and able to manage upwards
• Attention to detail
• Flexibility
• Good team player, but also be strongly self-motivated
• Enthusiastic, approachable and have a positive approach to daily tasks
• Remain calm under pressure
• Proactive nature
• High level of confidentiality and integrity
• Required to work outside of usual office hours during busy periods