Early Careers Specialist

We have an exciting opportunity to help shape the next generation of DLA Piper lawyers. As an Early Careers Specialist, you will play an important role in how we attract, select and engage emerging legal talent, helping create an outstanding candidate experience and build our future talent pipeline. This is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity based in Melbourne or Sydney.

You will join a collaborative and supportive team, working closely with our Early Careers Manager, Graduate Partners and colleagues across the firm to deliver our national clerkship and graduate recruitment programmes.

You will be involved across the full Early Careers lifecycle, from university engagement and candidate attraction through to assessment and selection, clerkship programmes, graduate offers and onboarding. With a national remit, exposure to senior stakeholders and the opportunity to bring new ideas to how we attract and engage emerging talent, this is a role where you can make a meaningful impact.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end national clerkship recruitment process and key elements of graduate recruitment, playing an important role in identifying and securing future talent for the firm.
• Plan and deliver clerkship programmes across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, creating an engaging and memorable experience for our future lawyers.
• Partner with Graduate Partners, assessors and HR colleagues to deliver fair, consistent and inclusive approaches to assessment and selection.
• Build relationships with universities and student societies and coordinate careers events and attraction activities that strengthen our profile with emerging legal talent.
• Build strong relationships with candidates and stakeholders, using data, feedback and market insights to bring forward ideas and continually enhance our Early Careers programmes and candidate experience.

About you

• Experience in Early Careers recruitment, ideally within legal or professional services.
• Experience delivering recruitment or programme activity involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• A natural relationship builder who enjoys engaging with candidates and is confident working with senior stakeholders.
• Highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to keep multiple priorities moving.
• Collaborative, proactive and genuinely passionate about creating an inclusive and high-quality experience for emerging talent.

About us

We're a global law firm helping our clients achieve their goals wherever they do business. Our pursuit of innovation has transformed our delivery of legal services. With offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we deliver exceptional outcomes on cross-border projects, critical transactions and high-stakes disputes.

At DLA Piper, we understand that inclusion is not a one-size-fits-all concept. We embrace and celebrate the range of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences that each individual brings to our firm. By fostering a culture that welcomes and appreciates all aspects of our individuality, we ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Our commitment to inclusion and positive social impact enables us to provide exceptional service to our clients and communities, while nurturing a unique and inclusive culture for all our people. 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.

We are committed to being accessible and accommodating any reasonable adjustments needed throughout the recruitment process to ensure an inclusive experience for all. If you need any support or adjustments, please let us know.

Where local legislation permits, we will conduct relevant pre-engagement screening checks prior to your first day.