HR Advisor

Linklaters•New York, NY

4d•$100,000 - $120,000

About The Position

The HR Advisor, Americas supports the delivery of the people agenda for the local office working closely with the Senior HR Manager and the Head of HR Americas. The role is responsible for providing day‑to‑day advisory support to Partners, managers and employees on a broad range of complex HR matters for the Americas region, translating firmwide and country HR initiatives into effective local execution. The role is supporting the Senior HR Manager and acts as a key connector between local stakeholders, local HR teams, Centres of Excellence (CoE) and Shared Service Centre (LGS) ensuring a smooth, high quality HR service while focusing on value-adding tasks.

Requirements

Proven experience in a generalist HR role
Strong working knowledge of core HR processes (employee relations, recruitment, performance management, HR administration).
Ability to interpret and apply employment policies and to understand the basics of employment law within the relevant jurisdiction.
Confident in advising and coaching managers on people issues.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and influence.
High attention to detail and strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Proficiency with HR information systems (i.e. Workday) and Microsoft Office (or equivalent).
Discreet and trustworthy, with a strong commitment to confidentiality and ethical practice.
Calm and solutions‑focused, able to handle sensitive and sometimes challenging situations.
Collaborative and team‑oriented, with a willingness to support colleagues and share knowledge.
Proactive, with the confidence to make recommendations and follow through
Technical knowledge of HR issues.

Responsibilities

Act as the first point of contact for day‑to‑day HR queries from managers and employees.
Advise managers on handling performance, conduct, attendance, and capability issues in line with firm policies and local law.
Support on investigations and case management for grievances, disciplinary matters and other employee relations issues.
Escalate complex or high‑risk cases to the Senior HR Manager or Head of HR.
Interpret and apply HR policies, procedures and guidelines, explaining them clearly to managers and employees.
Support the review and updating of HR policies to reflect legal requirements and best practice.
Help ensure compliance with employment legislation, internal controls, and audit requirements.
Maintain accurate and confidential employee records.
Support hiring managers and Senior HR Manager with the business team recruitment process, including drafting job descriptions, advertising roles, screening applications and coordinating interviews.
Liaise with external recruitment agencies where required.
Prepare offer letters in line with approved terms and internal guidelines.
Coordinate onboarding activities with HR & Reward Assistant, including induction plans and new joiner documentation, and ensure a smooth transition into the organization.
Support the annual performance review process, including communication, systems support and reporting.
Guide managers on setting objectives, giving feedback and addressing underperformance.
Work with Learning and Development colleagues to identify training needs from performance discussions and HR data.
Support talent and succession planning activities as required.
Help Senior HR Manager interpret data, identify trends and prepare materials for leadership discussions and people reviews.
Respond to employee queries regarding pay, bonus, benefits, leave and working time in line with established policies.
Support annual compensation review processes by preparing data, spreadsheets and reporting.
Assist with HR reporting and analytics (e.g. headcount, turnover, absence) and provide insights to HR management.
Work closely with Shared Service Centre (LGS) and HR & Reward Assistant to ensure smooth execution of HR processes (e.g. onboarding, transfers, leavers, data changes), proactively flagging and helping resolve service issues while acting as escalation point for complex queries.
Review and update templates used by LGS ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements.
Share local feedback and trends with Centres of Excellence and the Shared Service Centre to support continuous improvement of HR services and tools.
Partner with local business teams leads to implement functional people plans according to global people strategy.
Serve as a key liaison between the office and HR Centres of Excellence (e.g. recruitment, learning, reward, talent & engagement) to ensure local needs are understood and addressed.
Work closely with Senior HR Manager and Centres of Excellence (CoE) to help drive implementation of local people plans (e.g. engagement actions, development initiatives, communication activities) in line with the firm’s global strategy.
Maintain a good understanding of key people metrics for the office and highlight emerging issues to Senior HR Manager and the Head of HR.
Help track progress of agreed HR actions for the office, preparing updates and status reports for Senior HR Manager and the Head of HR.
Coordinate logistics and follow‑up for local HR initiatives such as engagement sessions, development workshops or briefing events.
Promote the firm’s values, culture and inclusive behaviors through day‑to‑day interactions and local activities (e.g. health & wellbeing and Talent & Engagement initiatives, incl. regional support on project basis) and drive adoption.
Contribute to HR and change projects impacting the office (e.g. practice changes, system enhancements, process improvements), focusing on local coordination and communication.
Capture lessons learned from local implementation and share with the wider HR team to inform future initiatives.
Support with global mobility matters.