Senior HR Specialist, Warsaw HUB

Company Description

Whatever your area of expertise, you will find a range of career opportunities at Clifford Chance. And wherever you’re heading, Clifford Chance is where you can be true to your ambitions.

Our Firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. In a world where commercial success increasingly relies on globalisation, we offer clients a truly international perspective, and we offer our people a rewarding and stimulating career.

We are proud of our approachable, friendly, and team-based way of working. Highly professional and self-assured, with an entrepreneurial streak, our people are more than happy to share their expertise and knowledge.

Job Description

Based in the Warsaw Hub, you will work closely with the Warsaw Hub Lead, the Country Head of HR and HRBPs, playing a pivotal role in supporting the firm’s People & Talent Strategy. You will be responsible for day-to-day local HR operations, processes and procedures. Your focus will be on standardising, automating, and continuously improving HR processes, ensuring operational excellence and compliance. You will champion the modernisation of people practices, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and deliver seamless HR support throughout the employee lifecycle.

You will act as a trusted advisor on all aspects of local HR topics, as well as lead automation and process review efforts across all CE offices.

You will:

Policies and Processes

• Oversee and manage all local HR processes; ensuring all HR policies, contracts, and practices comply with Polish Labour Code and other relevant regulations, including hiring, working time, leave entitlements, and termination procedures.
• Monitor regularly legal and regulatory changes; work closely with the compliance team on the drafting of new local policies and/or updating existing ones.
• Establish and maintain a strong partnership with the local payroll provider to ensure accurate and timely payroll processing.
• Lead the on-boarding and integration programming for all new joiners in collaboration with Global Service Delivery teams.

Operational Excellence: Process Standardisation, Automation & Continuous Improvement

Within the Hub, and over time, across CE offices

• Champion operational excellence, driving efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness across all HR activities.
• Oversee HR service support for all employee lifecycle events, ensuring seamless processes from onboarding to offboarding.

• Drive change processes to simplify and standardise local processes to administer efficiently, fairly, consistently and within agreed timescales (i.e. probation periods, references, visa documentation, exit documentation).
• Provide support to ensure all employee related policies are communicated and implemented consistently e.g. absence management, parental leave, disciplinary.
• Ensure the ongoing transition of end-to-end HR business processes to Global Service Delivery (GSD) and highlight further opportunities to deliver a seamless HR experience to key stakeholders.
• Analyse current HR operations to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Engage with stakeholders across the business to gather requirements, communicate progress, and secure buy-in.

Employee Relations

• Work closely with relevant stakeholders including HR BP team on employee relation matters as well as oversee all employee relations and administration, including terminations while ensuring a lean management.
• Instruct and/or strongly influence key stakeholders including HR BP team on sensitive ER issues, and on the appropriate approach to resolve conflict.
• Works with key stakeholders including HR BP team to prepare scripts for ER related conversations including exits.

Compensation and Benefits

• Support the year end compensation process as well as provide advice on local compensation and benefits queries.
• Act as the primary point of contact for health and life assurance, in charge of the relationship with the external provider; managing long-term sickness matters and supervising social security related procedures.

People and Talent Strategy

• Contribute to the development and deployment of all global and regional HR projects.
• Foster a positive organisational culture and drive employee engagement initiatives.
• Work closely with Learning and Development Team on training and development programmes.
• Proactively build knowledge and understanding of the key inclusion pillars and strategy.
• Drive a culture of inclusion and diversity and empower business leaders and Partners to do the same. Assist wit