Bates Wells
Emerging Talent Recruitment Advisor - 9 month FTC
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Executive Summary
We're looking for an Emerging Talent Recruitment Advisor to lead the delivery of our early careers recruitment and attraction activity whilst our Emerging Talent & Development Manager is on maternity leave. The role is expected to run from January 2027 to August 2027, covering the firm's peak recruitment period.
This role will be responsible for the day-to-day management of our Solicitor Apprenticeship, Vacation Scheme, and Training Contract recruitment programmes, ensuring a high-quality experience for candidates and stakeholders throughout the recruitment process. The successful candidate will coordinate multiple recruitment activities and assessment processes and help the firm attract and appoint exceptional future talent.
This is a hands-on role with responsibility for managing competing priorities, coordinating a wide range of stakeholders, and maintaining the smooth running of our emerging talent programmes through a particularly busy period in the recruitment cycle. The role reports into our Senior HR Business Partner and sits as part of our HR Advisory Team.
The Role
The role offers an excellent opportunity for an established Emerging Talent Advisor who is keen to hit the ground running and take ownership of the delivery of our Solicitor Apprentice, Vacation Scheme, and Training Contract recruitment cycle.
You will play a central role in ensuring our recruitment activity is delivered efficiently, consistently, and professionally, providing an excellent experience for candidates and internal stakeholders from attraction through to offer and onboarding.
Working closely with the Training Principal, hiring stakeholders, and external providers, you will coordinate multiple recruitment activities and assessment processes, manage candidate communications and recruitment data, support EDI monitoring and reporting, and maintain effective processes and records throughout the annual recruitment cycle.
Whilst the Development side of our Emerging Talent function will be managed by other members of the team, there may be occasions where you will be required to support with processes such as coordinating seat moves and helping to organise our NQ process.
As a maternity cover position, a key aspect of the role will be keeping our existing programmes and processes running effectively, ensuring recruitment activity remains well-organised, accurate, and effective, and handing over programmes in good shape on the return of the Emerging Talent Manager.
Key Responsibilities
Recruitment & Selection
- Coordinate the end-to-end recruitment process for the firm's Emerging Talent programmes, including Solicitor Apprenticeships, the Vacation Scheme, and Training Contracts.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with internal stakeholders involved in the recruitment process, including assessors, hiring teams, and the Training Principal.
- Liaise with third-party suppliers on screening; conduct second-stage screening of shortlisted applications, assessing candidates against agreed criteria to support a high-quality and diverse talent pipeline.
- Assess candidate suitability and make recommendations on progression through each stage of the recruitment process.
- Manage interview and assessment centre logistics, working with the HR assistant to confirm scheduling, candidate invitations, stakeholder coordination, and on-the-day delivery.
- Participate in assessment centres, partnering with other interviewers to run candidate assessments and interviews, evaluating performance against agreed competencies and role requirements.
- Facilitate assessor wash-up discussions after each stage of the process, collating feedback to support fair and consistent progression decisions.
- Brief the final interview panel ahead of the final stage to discuss candidate performance and highlight any competencies to explore further.
- Partner with the Training Principal and final interview panel to support final hiring decisions and provide recruitment recommendations.
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Candidate Experience & Onboarding
- Maintain accurate and timely candidate communications through the firm's applicant tracking system, ensuring an excellent candidate experience throughout the recruitment journey.
- Provide unsuccessful candidates with feedback on their performance during the recruitment process.
- Deliver verbal and written offers to successful candidates and support them through the pre-boarding process.
- Support future joiners with queries relating to their post-graduate study, including course enrolments and maintenance grant payments.
Data, Reporting, and Systems
- Act as a superuser of the applicant tracking system, ensuring vacancies are set up and managed effectively, with consistent workflows, folder structures, and candidate communications to support efficient recruitment delivery.
- Maintain accurate recruitment records, candidate evaluation data, and selection documentation in line with firm processes and regulatory requirements.
- With support from the HR assistant, produce and maintain recruitment and EDI reporting, supporting the monitoring of candidate progression and recruitment outcomes across all emerging talent programmes.
- Prepare post-campaign reporting and recommendations for the following recruitment cycle, including lessons learned and handover documentation for the returning Emerging Talent & Development Manager.
Vacation Scheme Delivery
- Alongside the HR assistant, coordinate the planning and delivery of the firm's two-week Vacation Scheme programme, ensuring a positive and engaging experience for participants.
- Manage programme logistics, including timetabling, departmental rotations, supervisor allocation, and stakeholder communications.
- Co-facilitate induction sessions and provide ongoing support to vacation scheme participants throughout the programme.
External Partnerships & Brand Representation
- Act as a key point of contact for external Emerging Talent partners, universities, and industry organisations, including Aspiring Solicitors, Legal Cheek, AllAboutLaw, Chambers, Making The Leap, City Century, and Forage.
- Represent the firm at recruitment events, promoting the firm's emerging talent opportunities and employer brand.
- Lead liaison with external partners and internal stakeholders to confirm the 2027/28 schedule of recruitment events, including our internal mini-series of webinars, with the HR Assistant providing support to diarise and schedule activity.
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Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise
Required/Essential Skills
- Previous experience in Emerging Talent recruitment in a law firm environment.
- Experience coordinating assessment centres and recruitment processes with multiple stakeholders.
- Experience assessing candidate applications and making recruitment recommendations.
- Good working knowledge of the routes to qualification in the sector.
- Previous exposure to analysing recruitment data and producing insights.
About You
- You are passionate about Emerging Talent, effective recruitment practices, and EDI.
- You are enthusiastic, proactive, creative, and organised, with a good eye for detail, as well as the bigger picture.
- You are excited by the challenge of working on a fixed-term contract and able to hit the ground running.
- You are a confident communicator and quick to establish relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
- You are motivated by developing future talent and helping others succeed.
- You share our values and want to create a positive contribution to the firm.
Benefits
Impact-Driven Purpose
We align profit with social purpose to create lasting positive impact for our people, communities, and planet.
Committed to the Climate
Through our Climate Programme, we reduce environmental impact and drive a just transition to net zero.
Championing Inclusion
We foster a diverse, inclusive culture where creativity and innovation thrive.
Flexible and Hybrid Working
Our hybrid model supports balance, with part-time options and at least two office days weekly.
Progressive Benefits
We offer green pensions, IVF support, private healthcare, and more for your well-being and growth.
Recruitment at Bates Wells – The Use of AI
At Bates Wells, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our recruitment processes. We understand the importance of ensuring that our methods align with best practices and respect the privacy and rights of all candidates.
We would like to clarify that we do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, sift, score, reject, or approve any recruitment decisions, at any stage of our recruitment process. Our recruitment decisions are made by hiring managers and the HR team, ensuring a personal and thoughtful approach to each candidate.
We do utilise AI technology in a limited capacity to enhance our recruitment process. Specifically, we use Metaview to record and transcribe interviews. This tool helps us maintain accurate records of interviews, to support objective scoring of answers based on evidence, and ensures that we can review and reflect on the conversations held during the recruitment process. Importantly, Metaview is not used to evaluate candidates or make any decisions regarding their suitability for a role.
We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of privacy and fairness in our recruitment processes and will continue to review and update our practices to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and guidelines.
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