Head of HR, Dublin

Overview of role

Office: Dublin (60% on-site required)

Working as part of the global Human Resources team, the Head of HR will act as a strategic partner to the Dublin business, with a primary focus on supporting the newly appointed Office Managing Partner and senior leadership team while working in close collaboration with the other three European offices.  With the imminent retirement of the current incumbent, this is an exciting opportunity for a Head of HR to bring bold, forward-looking ideas as the OMP establishes his priorities and vision for the Dublin office. The successful candidate will act as a proactive thought leader, constructively challenging established approaches where appropriate and translating new ideas into practical, commercially focused people initiatives. 

The role requires a commercial, forward-looking approach, using data and insight to inform decisions to attract, develop and retain high calibre talent as continuing to build our long-term organisational capability.

As a visible and credible leader, the Head of HR will set the standard for high-quality HR across the office. This includes leading change and transformation initiatives, continuously improving people processes to increase efficiency and strengthen the employee experience, and making effective use of technology and AI to help the firm compete in an evolving market

Duties, Responsibilities & Person Specification

The Head of HR will have a broad Business Partner remit, including the following:

• STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNERING - Act as a trusted adviser to the Office Managing Partner and senior leadership team, providing creative, innovative and commercially focused HR guidance that supports delivery of the firm's strategic objectives. Translate business priorities into clear and practical people plans, using data and insight to inform decision making and measure impact.

• STRATEGIC HR SUPPORT - Provide strategic HR guidance across workforce planning, headcount management, organisational design, performance management, promotion, reward and succession planning.  Lead HR engagement through the annual performance and promotion cycles, ensuring a consistent and well governed approach, supporting high-quality decision making and alignment with firmwide frameworks. 

• GENERALIST HR AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS - Provide senior level HR advice and support across the employee lifecycle, delivering balanced and commercially sound outcomes. When necessary and working in conjunction with the Senior ER Manager, manage and take responsibility for complex employee relations matters with confidence and discretion, and coach leaders to handle people issues effectively and fairly.

• RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING - Partner with the Resourcing team to ensure hiring strategies support business priorities and future capability needs. Use market research and a broad professional network to inform competitive remuneration packages.  Contribute to senior hiring decisions where appropriate and ensure a high-quality onboarding experience that supports engagement and early performance.

• GRADUATE RECRUITMENT AND EARLY CAREERS – Working closely with the Resourcing team, be accountable for the Dublin office’s graduate recruitment and early careers strategy. Build a strong and diverse pipeline through effective university relationships, targeted outreach and a high-quality candidate experience; oversee selection, onboarding and development activity; and use market insight and programme data to evaluate outcomes and strengthen the firm’s position in the graduate market.

• PERFORMANCE AND TALENT MANAGEMENT - Support and challenge leaders to drive a high-performance culture, setting clear expectations and maintaining consistent standards. Play a central role in the delivery of performance management and promotion processes, ensuring alignment with talent and reward frameworks.

• LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT - Work closely with the Head of Learning and Development to identify capability gaps and future skill requirements. Support the design and delivery of development initiatives, particularly for senior populations, aligned to business needs.

• REWARD AND BENEFITS - Provide commercially informed advice on reward and benefits, supported by data and benchmarking insights. Play an active role in salary review and bonus processes, ensuring alignment with performance outcomes and market positioning.  Manage the benefits across the office and take responsibility for vendor relationships and activity in this space.

• HR BUDGET MANAGEMENT - Lead the HR budget process for the Dublin office, working closely with Finance to ensure accurate forecasting and alignment with business priorities.

• POLICIES, GOVERNANCE AND COMPLIANCE - Ensure HR policies and processes are fit for purpose, compliant with Irish and EU employment legislation and aligned with best practice. Provide practical guidance to managers to support consistent and effective application.

• CHANGE, TRANSFORMATION AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - Lead and support organisational change and transformation initiatives across the business. Use data, technology and AI to increase efficiency, improve decision making and enhance the employee experience.

• CULTURE, ENGAGEMENT AND WELLBEING - Lead initiatives that strengthen employee engagement, wellbeing and organisational culture across the Dublin office. Use employee feedback, workforce data and market insight to identify priorities, develop action plans and support the attraction, retention and development of talent.

• PROJECTS AND GLOBAL INITIATIVES - Contribute to and lead HR projects at office, regional and global level. Support the effective implementation of global initiatives within the Dublin office.

• PEOPLE MANAGEMENT - Lead, develop and support the HR Manager and HR Administrator, setting clear objectives and enabling their ongoing development and performance

Education, Skills & Experience

• HR post qualification preferred (CIPD)
• Educated to a minimum of degree level

• Technically strong HR generalist with a minimum of 8 years’ experience in a legal, professional services or financial services environment, ideally operating across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven experience partnering with senior leaders, including partners and executive or C-suite populations, with the credibility to operate at a strategic level.
• Strong working knowledge of Irish and EU employment law.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver pragmatic, commercially sound HR solutions aligned to business priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and advise confidently at senior level.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise multiple, competing demands effectively.

• Commercial, thoughtful and solutions‑focused approach
• High level of integrity and discretion when handling confidential matters
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement and remain effective under pressure
• Flexible and collaborative, with a willingness to support the wider HR team as needed
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality
• Confident communicator, able to engage professionally with colleagues at all levels
• Intellectually curious, motivated and quick to learn

Please note that Walkers will not accept any applications received from agencies at this time. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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