Practice Resource Consultant

About Ashurst

Ashurst is a leading progressive global law firm with a rich history spanning more than 200 years. We are proud of our history and are future-focused, having expanded into new technologies through our NewLaw division, Ashurst Advance, and our consulting arm. Our in-depth understanding of our clients and commitment to providing excellent standards of service have seen us become a trusted adviser to local and global corporates, financial institutions and governments in all areas of commercial law. To find out more please visitwww.ashurst.com.

Department/Role overview

Practice Resource Management and Work Allocation has been introduced to enable our practices to be more agile in the ever evolving markets in which we work. Practice Resource Management aligns work to lawyers taking into account their experience, their development needs and their capacity. Put simply, Practice Resource Management helps ensure we are providing the right people on the right projects at the right time, across all of our services.

Working closely with the business, Practice Resource Management is a key initiative to develop and implement our business and people strategy.

We are looking to recruit a Practice Resource Consultant to support our Global Loans UK practice group. This practice is complex, fast paced and high energy. The high volumes of resourcing requests requires an organised and thoughtful response that delivers fast turnaround on a daily basis. With c750 Lawyers in the EMEA practice it is critical that we can engage specialists within international offices, when required.

As a Practice Resource Consultant, you'll play an important role in implementing and supporting the delivery of Practice Resource Management Services, helping to provide operational excellence. You'll work with the business to support the firm's strategy around agility and mobility of our people and will support the firm's people agenda, reporting directly to the Lead Senior Practice Resource Manager in London and closely supporting the Division and Practice Group Leadership teams.

You'll be responsible for the staffing of Graduates, Lawyers, Senior Associates and Counsel, on a daily basis. You will also have the opportunity to support the Practice Management strategy across the firm's Global Network. You will have an important role in talent management and liaising with the HR and leadership teams, to discuss individual performance and development. You will also be involved in a range of projects that are designed to improve the efficiency and agility of the firm.

Ashurst is committed to providing equal opportunity to all. This includes providing a workplace that supports the well-being of our people. In this role the Practice Resource Consultant is critical to ensuring work and opportunities are shared equally so that the wellbeing and professional development of our teams is managed thoughtfully, fairly and without bias.

Main responsibilities

• Demonstrate good knowledge of the business and be proactive in relation to the supply and demand challenges of the business - i.e. busy periods, recurring business, etc.
• Make sure the business needs are delivered in an efficient manner at all times by optimising the allocation of work and deployment of staff to maximise profitability in conjunction with personal development plans and individuals' wellbeing.
• Work with Partners to ensure clients' needs are delivered in an efficient manner at all times by optimising headcount, managing/overseeing joiners, leavers and secondments, smoothing utilisation and being aware of the impact on employee engagement.
• Support Practice Heads to ensure that resourcing is appropriate to deliver revenue and profit targets. This includes maintaining a forward looking view on resourcing, using available levers to 'bulk-up' or 'slim-down' resourcing. This includes the use of secondments, mobility, freelancers etc.
• Being accessible to all, allowing for constant communication and an accurate view of activity and capacity across the group.
• Understanding individual career development needs and supporting access to opportunities which will support personal development.
• To a point, policing the use of the function, to avoid direct allocation of work which could see work allocated in a manner inconsistent with best practices.
• Ensure accurate forecasting of individual activity by tracking activity data and analysing this against actual time recording, flagging any discrepancies to individuals and escalating where required.
• Support the business by delivering the manpower and resourcing plan, having a deep understanding of the BU growth plans and headcount required to support these.
• Engage with the BU Group Leaders and support with people issues and recruitment.
• Be prepared to challenge the BU protocols if impacting resourcing - i.e. completion of timesheets, accuracy of codes, etc.
• Consider work allocation in the context of a multi-practice, multi-jurisdiction firm and help share work across these different groups.
• Keep the wellbeing of the associates and wider team at the forefront of your mind when making resourcing decisions. Knowing how to spot the signs of someone who may be struggling with their workload and ensuring that they are working to the Mindful Business Charter policies in place for that department (training to be given).
• Produce accurate and commercially focused Management Information (MI) for your practice group as well as providing support to Lead Senior Practice Resource Manager on any reporting required, identifying trends/key risks/conflicts etc.
• Work in close partnership with other key functions - i.e. Finance/HR/ Business Development etc.
• Engage and promote the use of key work allocation systems.
• Be prepared to engage in work allocation projects aligned to the resource management vision.
• Share knowledge/best practice and network with your colleagues.
• Work with the Senior Practice Resource management team to provide support on reporting for the London practices.
• Providing cover to PRM colleagues as require
• Risk and Control: Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with our regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Desired skills and experience

• Prior experience in a resource management, manpower/workforce planning or similar role - ideally within a large professional or corporate environment.
• Experience of working in another role within a medium - large size law firm, either in an operational role or as a Lawyer looking for a change of career direction.
• Outstanding stakeholder engagement skills at all levels, the ability to build relationships quickly and flex approach to be credible to a variety of audiences.
• Strong influencing skills at all levels.
• Ability to work with tight deadlines in a fast moving environment.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Experience of conflict resolution, with the ability to manage complex conflicts between numerous parties.
• Commercial and risk focused with good operational business acumen.
• Good problem solver and decision maker.
• Effective team player with an ability to develop personal networks through strong interpersonal skills.
• Trusted advisor who provides balanced, pragmatic advice around manpower planning and resource management to the business.
• Proactive with a positive, flexible, assertive attitude.
• Strong IT skills - experience of working with resource management/manpower planning software would be advantageous.

Background checks

In order to comply with regulatory and client requirements, Ashurst will undertake appropriate vetting of staff. When applicants accept a job offer, Ashurst, alongside a specialist provider, will undertake professional verification and background checks. These checks are only undertaken with consent, and in accordance with our legal and regulatory obligations.