HR Officer

HR Officer

Harper James is a commercial law firm supporting entrepreneurial businesses from start-up through to exit. We provide practical, tailored legal advice and are committed to delivering a modern, accessible service to our clients.

We are looking for an experienced HR Officer to join our People team. Reporting to the Head of People, you will provide broad operational and strategic support across the employee lifecycle.

This is a varied role with scope to develop as the business grows. You will play an important part in maintaining effective HR processes, supporting managers and employees, and contributing to initiatives across learning and development, engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and culture.

Key responsibilities

• Review and improve HR policies, processes, systems and reporting.

• Manage day-to-day people administration, ensuring employee records are accurate, complete and kept up to date.

• Support the Head of People and key stakeholders in the development and delivery of effective line management programmes and activities.

• Produce and analyse People data and reports, identifying trends and supporting action planning where appropriate.

• Support all stages of the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, probation, employee changes and offboarding.

• Lead or support HR projects and initiatives relating to employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and culture.

• Support the introduction of a learning management system and help design and coordinate relevant training for teams across the business.

• Keep up to date with HR developments and good practice, identifying opportunities to improve the People service.

• The role will take primary responsibility for coordinating the monthly payroll process, working closely with our external payroll consultant to ensure all information provided is accurate, complete and submitted on time. This will include reviewing payroll changes, management of employee benefits, absence and leave data, contractual updates and other relevant employee information, resolving queries and supporting the validation of payroll outputs before final approval

• Provide reliable, professional support on HR and employee relations matters, escalating issues as appropriate.

Skills and experience

We are looking for someone with:

• At least five years’ experience in a generalist HR or People role, including practical employee relations experience.

• CIPD qualification (Level 3 or 5).

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

• The ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.

• Good communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence working with stakeholders at all levels.

• A proactive, practical approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint, or the ability to learn new systems quickly.

• Experience of supporting HR projects, implementing systems or developing learning and development initiatives.

• An interest in improving processes and bringing forward practical new ideas.

What we offer

• Salary of £35,000–£40,000, depending on experience.

• Fully remote with travel to Birmingham of Sheffield for meetings and running inductions.

• The opportunity to contribute to a growing business operating in the legal services sector.

• Professional development and career progression opportunities.

• Private health cover and life insurance.

• Salary sacrifice pension scheme.

• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to buy up to five additional days each year.

• Electric car scheme and Vitality membership.

No agencies, please.