HR Manager

What We Will Offer

We will offer you a place where you can be yourself and where there are no limits on what you can achieve. With us, you can take ownership of your career and have honest conversations throughout. You would join an ambitious firm with a clear strategy for profitable growth where you can gain early responsibility and early involvement in growing the business. Here you can expect a competitive and fair reward as well as recognition based on all round performance. This forms part of our internal promise to you, The Deal, between the firm and its employees.

YOU CAN EXPECT

• A competitive salary and a host of family friendly policies.
• Life assurance and private health cover.
• We support the causes you care about, by giving you one day per year off to volunteer with any charity that you are involved with outside of work.
• A wellbeing strategy that focuses on preventative measures to maintain overall health, and tools and support for when our people experience physical or mental difficulties. The strategy focuses on four pillars: physical, emotional, financial and social aspects.
• We are an equal opportunity organisation, committed to having a diverse workforce. We aim to create a culture where everyone can be themselves and is valued for their strengths and unique perspectives
  
  

Team Structure

The HR and T&D department comprises of 50+ people globally and is responsible for the effective management of all matters concerning the employment and development of people within Stephenson Harwood. This involves carrying out appropriate initiatives, providing guidance and support to partners, managers and all employees alike, as well as supporting the creation of an environment which enables people to make the best use of their capabilities and realise their potential to the benefit of the firm and themselves.

This means that we are involved in a wide range of activities including:

• Implementing our people and talent strategy in line with business objectives
• Recruitment of all partners and employees, including graduate 'trainee' recruitment
• Talent and career management
• Reward strategy and salary review
• Supporting the appraisal and performance management process
• Employment and personnel administration, including payroll and benefits
• Policy and procedures setting and the practical application of these across the business.
  
  

Main Responsibilities

A key member of the Athens office, the HR Manager will deliver a consistent, high-quality, and seamless HR service to internal clients. This dedicated role focuses on HR operations and the employee lifecycle, working independently while collaborating closely with the global people team and one of the HR Managers in London.The HR Manager will also maintain a strong working relationship with the Office Manager to ensure effective communication and alignment across business support functions. This is an admin-heavy position designed to support all groups within the Athens office.

Responsibilities

The HR Manager role is varied and acts as the first point of contact for general HR queries and support across the entire employee lifecycle. Main responsibilities include:

Generalist HR administration

• Take ownership of all end-to-end HR processes, ensuring accuracy and escalating any issues as appropriate.
• Manage changes to terms and conditions, including flexible working arrangements and extensions of fixed-term contracts.
• Oversee maternity leave processes and ensure compliance with relevant legislation.
• Manage immigration matters and facilitate intra-company and client secondments.
• Monitor and report on employee absence, leave, and holiday records.
• Handle employee relations matters, including grievances and disciplinaries, providing guidance and support throughout.
• Lead end-of-year summary and salary review administration.
• Accurately input and maintain all HR data in Workday.
• Provide ad-hoc support on cyclical HR projects and initiatives.
• Create and manage spreadsheets, using Excel formulas to manipulate HR data.
  
  

Employee lifecycle management

• Lead the onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring a seamless experience for all employees.
• Process pre-employment background security screening for new hires.
• Coordinate induction programmes for employees at all levels, including partners.
• Manage joiner administration and act as the first point of contact for new joiners.
• Arrange interviews, draft offer paperwork and contracts, and support the resourcing team as needed.
• Schedule and conduct exit interviews, ensuring effective offboarding and feedback collection.
  
  

Payroll And Benefits

• Produce timely and accurate information for the accounting team
• Liaise regularly with the accounting team regarding joiners, leavers, and other changes.
• Ensure efficient and accurate use of HR and payroll systems for all updates and changes.
• Escalate payroll and benefits queries to the global reward team as necessary.
  
  

HR systems

• Proactively and accurately use the HR information system to log and report on headcount, absence, holiday, diversity, and other employee data.
• Produce regular and ad-hoc HR reports for management and global colleagues.
  
  

Policies, Know-how, And HR Function Development

• Ensure all employment contract templates, HR policies, procedures, and guidelines are compliant with Greek law and firm standards, and are regularly reviewed and updated.
• Align annual global HR processes—including budget, performance review, and salary review—with firm timelines and local regulations.
• Develop, maintain, and update local HR templates, guides, and best practices for the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, induction, and offboarding.
• Monitor local HR market trends and benchmarking, proposing relevant initiatives to improve benefits, salaries, and overall HR practices.
• Support global HR project delivery, ensuring local requirements and nuances are incorporated into firm-wide policies and initiatives.
• Document and proactively maintain records of HR processes and procedures.
• Suggest, promote, and implement improvements to HR processes, templates, and guidance.
• Update the HR pages of the firm’s intranet.
• Stay up to date with regulations, market practices, and HR developments.
• Facilitate employee engagement and wellbeing initiatives, contributing to a motivated and positive workplace culture.
• Participate in firm and department projects to support business strategy and continuous improvement.
  
  

Attributes/Skills Required

• Substantial experience in a similar HR role, preferably within a professional services environment, demonstrating the ability to manage HR operations independently and efficiently.
• Strong knowledge of Greek labour law and HR best practices, with the ability to ensure compliance and advise on local employment matters.
• Exceptional organisational skills, including the capacity to plan, prioritise, and handle high volumes of administrative work while meeting tight deadlines.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail, with proven ability to manage sensitive information and maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Proficient in HR information systems, with Workday experience preferred, and advanced skills in Excel for data management and reporting.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both English and Greek, able to convey information clearly and build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Commercial awareness and a thorough understanding of employee legislation, enabling a practical and business-focused approach to HR.
• Proactive, adaptable, and resilient, able to respond to changing demands, manage multiple priorities, and drive process improvements.
• Empathetic and people-centric, with the ability to quickly build rapport, support colleagues, and foster a positive workplace culture.
• Credible and professional, eager to learn, develop, and contribute new ideas to enhance HR practices and efficiency.
  
  

This job description is indicative only and does not represent an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The firm reserves the right to alter or change the responsibilities at any time, in line with the firm’s strategy and business needs.

About The Firm

Stephenson Harwood is an international law firm, and we're committed to creating 'positive partnerships' with our clients. We represent listed and private companies, institutions and individuals, building lasting relationships to help them succeed in a complex and ever-changing world.

Our focus is on five core sectors: Energy Transition, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Private Capital and Funds, Technology, and Transportation and Trade.

With more than 1,500 people, including 220+ partners, across ten offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we combine deep legal capabilities and broad commercial expertise. We have also forged close ties with high quality law firms around the world, blending local knowledge with global savvy for clients in over 100 countries.

We understand the power of diversity in delivering that high calibre advice to our clients. We want to attract diverse talent and we particularly encourage applications from underrepresented demographics.

230+ PARTNERS

10 OFFICES

45+ LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY OUR PEOPLE

Offices in Al Khobar, Athens, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Riyadh, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and associated office in Guangzhou

Our Brand Strengths

GO FAR, GO TOGETHER

EXPERTS IN MORE THAN LAW

CAN DO PERSONALITIES

ALWAYS READY