Job Description

Divisional HR Lead, 12 month FTC

Application Deadline: 7 November 2026

Department: HR

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Bolton

Description

Davies UK&I is a disruptor in insurance law, delivering results for our clients through deep sector expertise and cutting-edge technology. Our top 50 law firm, Keoghs, is the leading provider of dispute resolution and risk services for the UK insurance industry across: motor, casualty, complex and specialty classes. We manage more than £1bn worth of insurer claims and resolve more than 100,000 claims per year. We also work with insurers, brokers, MGAs, corporates and public entities to deliver great customer service and improved underwriting performance, through efficient management of the claims process.

As Divisional HR Lead, you’ll play an integral role in creating a high performing partnering service that delivers real impact. It’s a chance to develop every aspect of HR, including policy and processes, employee relations, organisational design, M&A and colleague engagement. To achieve progress, you’ll need to inspire trust so colleagues support change and innovation. That means sharing perspectives, ideas, and experiences, challenging where appropriate and keeping everyone informed. Open and highly dynamic, you’ll know how to listen, connect and enthuse others with your energy and drive.

Together, you and your team will shape an HR strategic service that meets our Davies UK&I evolving needs. Leading an HR Business Partnering team, you’ll provide client-responsive, cost-effective HR solutions, as well as professional HR guidance and support. A trusted advisor and champion of best practice, you’ll work with all our leaders across the Davies UK&I.

This is a 12-month fixed term opportunity and requires hybrid wokring from our office in Bolton.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and own the Davies UK&I HR Partnering, and people change agenda, translating the HR change requirements into tangible plans and activity to improve the colleague experience, meet business needs and deliver the strategic plan.
• Collaborate with HR Operations to services colleagues, senior leaders, M&A team, Finance and business transformation and ensure all people change needs and are agreed and delivered
• Lead, motivate and engage the HR Partnering, manage performance and development, providing expertise, coaching and ensuring the delivery of a high-quality service to support the delivery of the Davies UK&I business objectives. Ensuring evaluation and continuous improvement of partnering service and interventions to ensure they are effective, affordable and add value
• Lead and ensure delivery of complex and high-profile HR change initiatives across Davies UK&I, e.g. Organisational Design, Mergers & Acquisitions and TUPE transfers, Transformation Change ensuring collaboration between business leaders, Programme Leads, HR Operations, Talent and Development where appropriate Trade Union and or ICE consultation to ensure effective implementation to timescales
• Ensure that there is a consistent and quality approach in place for reporting and updating the business with milestones and progress of HR Plans. Ensure that requirements for HR activity are agreed and fed into the plan to ensure that the needs of the business are met by HR.
• Maintain industry knowledge and expertise, keeping abreast of HR change, strategic business partnering and talent acquisition best practice, identifying opportunities to contribute to and shape future decision making.
• Manage budget, ensuring effective financial planning and forecasting takes place to deliver the HR Business Partnering ensuring robust controls are in place to monitor spend and produce financial reporting as required.
• Partner the COO for your relevant business area and manage senior stakeholders effectively, including Directors, other senior colleagues and third parties, influencing, negotiating, and building constructive working relationships to ensure the delivery of the Group HR Strategy and Davies UK&I Strategy.
• Support the Chief Human Resources Officer with the development of the HR Strategy and work collaboratively with the Davies UK&I HR leadership team to ensure effective delivery of the wider service.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Seasoned HR business partnering experience within a convoluted and growth organisations, a must!
• Confident supporting complex employee relation cases and tribunals
• Exception stakeholder management skills; resilient in the face of challenges
• Ability to design and develop both HR employees and strategies
• Own and support ongoing employee experience projects; designing, implementing and embedding policies, procedures & practices
• Translating strategy into actionable items.
• M&A experience advantageous
• Previous experience in a law firm or legal entity within larger organisation, beneficial
• Experience of working with Irish entities and respective HR nuances, highly advantageous