Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Manager

Manager, Legal Recruiting & Professional Development (EMEA)

4-Month Fixed-Term Contract (Until End of Jan 2027 - Maternity Cover) Immediate Start Available

An international law firm is seeking an experienced Manager, Legal Recruiting & Professional Development to join its EMEA HR team on a 4-month fixed-term contract. This is an excellent opportunity for a legal talent professional to take ownership of graduate recruitment, attorney development initiatives, and strategic talent projects across multiple European offices.

The Role Legal Recruitment

• Lead and manage graduate recruitment programmes across EMEA, from attraction through to onboarding.
• Act as the primary point of contact and subject matter expert for all graduate recruitment activity.
• Manage and mentor junior recruitment team members.
• Develop and deliver recruitment marketing and employer branding initiatives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with universities, careers services, law faculties, and student societies.
• Advise partners and hiring managers on recruitment strategies, candidate assessment, and selection processes.
• Manage vacation schemes, insight programmes, assessment centres, and related recruitment activities.
• Ensure recruitment processes support diversity, equity and inclusion objectives.
• Produce recruitment analytics and management reports to assess hiring effectiveness and candidate pipeline diversity.

Professional Development

• Partner with senior leadership to deliver attorney career development initiatives across EMEA.
• Design and implement programmes focused on trainee and associate development.
• Act as a trusted advisor to lawyers on career planning, development and progression.
• Support associate performance review processes and development frameworks.
• Oversee mentoring programmes, skills training, coaching initiatives and professional development events.
• Monitor attorney utilisation and provide recommendations regarding development and staffing needs.
• Manage exit interview processes and support the continuous improvement of the employee experience.
• Collaborate with global professional development teams on regional and firmwide initiatives.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A minimum of 5 years' experience in legal recruitment, graduate recruitment, talent development, professional development, or legal HR.
• Experience gained within a law firm, professional services, consulting, or international corporate environment.
• Strong knowledge of graduate recruitment and legal talent development practices.

What's on Offer

• Immediate start opportunity.
• High-profile role within a respected international organisation.
• Exposure to senior stakeholders across EMEA.
• Broad remit covering both recruitment and professional development.
• Collaborative and supportive team environment.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.