
Clifford Chance
Senior HR Business Partner
- Contract
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Experience 5 - 10 yrs
Job expiry date: 30/09/2025
Job overview
Date posted
16/08/2025
Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Salary
AED 20,000 - 30,000 per month
Compensation
Comprehensive package
Experience
5 - 10 yrs
Seniority
Senior Manager
Qualification
Masters degree
Expiration date
30/09/2025
Job description
Clifford Chance is seeking a Senior HR Business Partner on a fixed-term contract (starting November 2025) to cover maternity leave. The role partners closely with regional leaders to develop and implement people priorities aligned with the firm's global People & Talent strategy and practice area objectives. You will act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, lead HR initiatives, oversee talent development, manage employee relations, and champion inclusion and wellbeing.
Required skills
HR strategy
succession planning
workforce planning
talent management
performance management
employee relations
compensation and benefits
data analysis
budget forecasting
labour law compliance
reward frameworks
career development planning
people analytics
reporting dashboards
HR policy design
Key responsibilities
- Partner with key stakeholders to develop and deliver the people and talent strategy aligned to the practice area/regional business function strategy.
- Partner with key stakeholders to embed the firm's people priorities across the practice area, bringing together outputs of key regional processes, shaping the regional talent agenda (e.g. succession planning) and working on key talent processes.
- Actively contribute to the people strategy formation by representing client groups, collaborating with relevant HR colleagues (regionally and globally) and bringing market knowledge of leading practice HR to shape and deliver global and regional HR projects linked to the strategy.
- Be a trusted advisor to key stakeholders, providing HR support, coaching and direction on HR related and people issues.
- Manage, lead, and develop HR team members in implementing the people strategy with due regard to all applicable policies; monitor the quality and timely delivery of all activities and support the professional development of the team.
- Lead and participate in regional and global strategic projects aligned to People and Talent strategy as and when required.
- Oversee the strategic Early Talent programs for the region and be an ambassador for these schemes in the market.
- Work with key stakeholders to determine headcount forecasting and budget changes aligning to business plan and strategy.
- Understand and interpret business and commercial metrics and combine this with relevant interpretation of people data, analytics and reporting to support and optimise effective decision making.
- Use broader data from other sources of employee listening from across the firm, e.g. people survey, exit data, inclusion focus groups, etc. to give a broader perspective and insight on inclusion and wellbeing across the practice area.
- Be a trusted advisor to the senior stakeholders on employee relations issues, anticipating risk and likely consequences, and identify early interventions.
- Provide, where appropriate, confidential employee counselling, guidance and coaching with the aim of resolving situations informally when possible.
- Provide input to help shape employee related policies to ensure all employee related policies are implemented fairly and consistently.
- Provide guidance and support in relation to ER for Partners and stakeholders.
- Support Partners and stakeholders through the performance and reward frameworks and positively challenge them in order to influence objective and fair performance and reward outcomes that are consistently applied across the region, and which align to the firm's performance and reward strategy.
- Support leaders with specific performance management as needed e.g. poor performance, probations.
- Work with key stakeholders to develop a regional resourcing plan that anticipates demand and capacity needs, future skills, and attrition, including analysing data, identifying trends and finding creative solutions in order to develop the talent pipeline and ensure optimal organisation structure.
- Use exit themes and other forms of employee data points (e.g. engagement) to develop, drive and embed solutions with key stakeholders that will drive change to attract, retain and motivate talent.
- Lead on talent and potential programs to identify critical talent segments for the future, including collation and analysis of key themes, gaps and actions including development.
- In conjunction with the relevant CoE develop, design, conduct impact analysis and create and deliver implementation plan for changes to structure, roles and workforce transition.
- Use outputs of talent reviews, employee listening, people data and analytics, succession planning, etc. to identify career development opportunities and plan for key roles, high performers and diverse talent.
- Work with key stakeholders to develop top talent in alignment with business strategy and support raising their profiles within and outside their function/practice area, including potential opportunities that may be available in other areas (including different locations).
- Work with key stakeholders to identify development needs of employees and objectives to be achieved and provide ongoing support and solutions to ensure continued development.
- Advise on appropriate development program through the Clifford Chance Academy to deliver alongside the Learning and Leadership team.
- Initiate the market data benchmarking process for the region.
- Partner with Reward CoE to analyse results, combine market knowledge, data from employees to advise on the reward and benefits strategy.
- Support the RHOHR to execute the year end compensation processes.
- Understand compensation arrangements for Partners, to prepare and support relevant stakeholders for the discussions that will take place in the review cycle.
- Provide market insights on employee benefits and use this and other data sources to suggest how to enhance and improve the employee offering.
- Manage the annual health and life insurance renewals.
- Proactively build knowledge and understanding of the key inclusion pillars and strategy.
- Proactively build knowledge and understanding of the wellbeing strategy, enablers and priorities.
- Frequently engage in a wide range of employee listening methods to identify key themes and inform timely solutions to protect and enhance people's wellbeing.
- Proactively participate in initiatives led by the wider HR team and be an ambassador of a high performing, inclusive and healthy people experience.
Experience & skills
- Extensive experience as a Senior HR Business Partner, ideally having worked in a professional services organisation.
- Experience of working in a matrixed/global environment is strongly desirable.
- Significant HR experience across all areas, combining operational and strategic levels.
- Proven track record of developing and implementing HR initiatives that contributed to business objectives and performance.
- Specific knowledge in reward and learning preferred.
- Experience of partnering with and influencing management teams and working collaboratively with stakeholders.
- Strong commercial awareness and ability to analyse data and assess risk.
- Knowledge of labour laws and best practice in DIFC, ADGM, UAE onshore, and KSA.
- Knowledge of a Partnership environment and the common law legal system.
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree or HR qualifications preferred.