Senior HR Advisor

The role

The Senior HR Advisor will support the achievement of business and people objectives within the firm and is responsible for delivering professional, commercial and pragmatic HR advice and services to our line managers and people across the Middle East, which includes the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and two offices in Saudi Arabia.

You will work directly with the regional HR team servicing the firm’s partners and lawyers across the Middle East region. You will have a proactive, accountable and efficient approach to work, and be willing to work to the firm’s values of being Collaborative, Bold, Exceptional and Supportive.

The regional (and at times international) scope and varied nature of this role means candidates will have exposure to all areas of HR activity across the business, receiving a unique opportunity to develop their career as a result of the rounded knowledge they will obtain. Candidates with previous employee case management experience in an international business or professional services firm are preferred.

This job description is not designed to be exhaustive and can be varied, as required, to develop or fulfil the requirements of the role.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides the primary source of line manager advice and guidance on HR related policies and practices
• Provides coaching to line managers to encourage effective communication & objective problem resolution
• Partners with line managers to manage employee relations casework including dispute resolutions, disciplinaries, grievances, absence, retirement and redundancy, drives resolution in line with legislation and internal policies and best practice.
• Supporting the Head of HR in driving the annual calendar of people initiatives, e.g. performance and talent reviews, promotions, pay review etc.
• Collaborate with international Centres of Expertise (CoEs) when required, e.g. Talent & Inclusion, Talent Acquisition, Reward, Partner & Employee Advisory and our teams supporting our HR services in Poland (the latter when applicable) to help drive and deliver our international people priorities and ensure aligned with firm-wide procedures and policies.
• Opportunities to support international and local projects and initiatives, e.g. Learning & Development; DEI, Health & Wellbeing
• Provide analysis of people data as required such as absence statistics or exit interview feedback, and work with them to instigate action where required.
• Carrying out high quality routine people administration, including liaising with key business functions, e.g. Property & Workplace, IT, Finance etc.
• Working closely with the international Talent Acquisition team, manage resourcing requirements for both business services and fee earning staff by providing advice and solutions to managers including alternative solutions to lateral recruitment.
• Providing a seamless service to new employees throughout the onboarding process, and leavers throughout the relevant departure process.
• Supporting managers during the annual Performance Management review (PMR) process and advising on approach to performance concerns and commit to developing top talent within their functions.
• Continuously monitor and review HR policies and processes and propose changes where necessary, collaborating with international specialist teams where required.

ABOUT YOU

The ideal candidate must:

• have a good level of understanding and experience in HR management across all core areas of HR – case management and employee relations, recruitment, reward, talent and performance management and learning & development
• ideally have a working knowledge of UAE and other GCC labour laws, procedures and processes;
• have proven experience of managing cases through to conclusion, balancing the needs of the business and the individual
• demonstrate excellent stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills, with the ability to build strong working relationships based on trust and exercise empathy, tact and diplomacy
• be confident operating on their own initiative, owning projects and seeing them through to conclusion with limited supervision
• demonstrate a professional approach in terms of commitment and internal client care
• be able to demonstrate experience in dealing with a demanding workload and conflicting priorities
• be able to multi-task and work to deadlines, be methodical and logical, as well as thrive in a robust and changing environment
• have the ability to see delegated tasks through to completion at a high standard
• have the ability to stay calm and composed in often demanding situations
• display a consistently positive attitude and adopt a ‘can do’ approach as well as being able to work well on own initiative and also as part of a wider team; collaborative working style
• be IT literate – experience of Excel, Word 2010 and Outlook is essential; experience of using SAP based HR systems or similar (ideally SuccessFactors) would be beneficial
• have a professional qualification (CIPD or equivalent) (desirable)
• demonstrate ability to understand and identify with the firm and its objectives and values
• a bilingual Arabic/ English speaker would be advantageous

ABOUT US

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.

OUR VALUES

In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

• Be Supportive – we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully
• Be Collaborative – we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships
• Be Bold – we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions
• Be Exceptional – we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

HYBRID WORKING

We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That’s why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.

PRE-ENGAGEMENT SCREENING

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits and where relevant, we will conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and work-related references.