Head of People Services LGS

For Linklaters Global Solutions Warsaw, we are currently recruiting for the Head of People Services LGS role.

Work arrangements:

Hybrid model work: regular weekly presence at the Warsaw office is required

Contract: Employment contract with 3- month probation period

Business trips: Few times a year

The team

You will join Linklaters Global Solutions (LGS) as part of the People function – a strategically driven, globally connected team dedicated to supporting the firm’s talent, culture and long-term growth. LGS is a key pillar of Linklaters’ global operating model, housing critical business and people services that support partners and colleagues across all regions.

As Head of People Services LGS, you will lead the People Services (HR Operations) team that delivers core people administrative services and underpins the employee experience across the firm. The team supports the full employee lifecycle, manages people data and compliance, and plays a central role in how our people experience Linklaters from onboarding through to exit.

You will directly lead a senior layer of 4direct reports and oversee a wider structure of up to 50 full-time equivalents (FTE), reflecting the scale and complexity of the function and its impact on the global business.

Operating from our Warsaw hub, you will work closely with senior leaders and C‑level stakeholders globally. The team is expected to demonstrate strong business acumen, maturity and presence, acting as a trusted partner and credible voice for People services in a complex, international environment.

Purpose

The Head of People Services LGS is responsible for creating, leading and evolving the firm’s global People shared services function based in Warsaw. You will set the strategy, operating model and standards for HR Operations, ensuring efficient, high-quality and compliant delivery of people services to employees, leaders and People partners worldwide.

You will play a visible role with senior and C‑level stakeholders, representing the People Services function globally and advising on how best to organise and deliver people processes and services across locations. You will be expected to handle complex, high-impact issues with composure, provide clear recommendations, and influence decisions at executive level.

In this role, you will shape the strategic direction of People services, positioning the function as a trusted, forward‑looking business partner across the full onboard‑to‑retire lifecycle. You will drive operational excellence, digitalisation and continuous improvement, while safeguarding compliance with employment regulations, data privacy requirements and firmwide policies. You will also contribute People insight into wider location strategy, helping to determine where new or expanding teams are best placed, and acting as a strong advocate for Warsaw as a strategic hub where this aligns with business objectives.

You will report to the Head of LGS Transformation & Service Delivery and collaborate closely with regional People leaders, Centres of Excellence and business leadership across jurisdictions.

Your key responsibilities

Set the direction and lead the team

• Create and establish the HR Operations / People Services team at Linklaters Global Solutions.

• Shape and communicate the vision, strategy and operating model for global People shared services.

• Lead, develop and motivate a high-performing, inclusive People Services team, directly managing four senior direct reports and providing leadership across a structure of up to 50 FTE.

• Act as the senior point of contact for key stakeholders and C‑level leaders on People services, representing the function confidently on a global stage.

Deliver high-quality global services

• Oversee end‑to‑end employee lifecycle services, people data management and payroll‑related operations against agreed service levels.

• Drive consistency of processes, standards and controls across geographies, resolving complex or high-impact issues and escalations.

• Identify and expand the scope of services that can be delivered centrally from LGS in a scalable and sustainable way.

Improve processes and drive digitalisation

• Lead process simplification, standardisation and automation to improve efficiency, quality and user experience.

• Maximise the use of Workday and case or ticket management tools, working closely with Technology and HR Centres of Excellence.

• Embed a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the People Services team.

Manage risk, governance and compliance

• Ensure compliance with employment laws, data privacy (including GDPR), data retention requirements and firm policies across relevant jurisdictions.

• Maintain strong governance, controls and risk management across People operations, partnering with Legal, Risk and Compliance where appropriate.

• Provide clear, risk‑balanced advice to senior stakeholders on People operations topics.

Use data and insight to steer decisions

• Use key performance indicators and analytics to monitor service performance and drive decisions and planning.

• Safeguard data quality and integrity, providing clear reporting and insights to senior leaders and other geographies.

• Use data to identify trends, risks and opportunities to improve how People services are delivered globally.

Partner with stakeholders and vendors

• Build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders across regions, advising on People services priorities, performance and future development.

• Confidently handle senior and C‑level stakeholder interactions, managing expectations, resolving escalations and influencing decisions. Manage external vendors (for example payroll and benefits) to optimise quality, efficiency and value.

Own budget and resources

• Manage the People Services budget, driving cost efficiency and effective resource allocation across a team of up to 50 FTE.

• Plan capacity and investment needs, including technology and automation, and track return on investment.

Lead change and future readiness

• Act as a visible change leader for People services transformation and the evolution of HR service models.

• Align People Services with the firm’s strategic agenda, supporting business growth, employee engagement and continuous improvement.

• Lead the team through ongoing change and ambiguity, providing clear direction and stability.

Contribute to location strategy and growth of the Polish hub

• Participate in discussions on where to locate new or expanding teams, contributing People insight on labour market conditions, cost, skills availability and scalability, particularly in Poland.

• Support transition planning for teams and processes moving between locations, ensuring continuity and quality of People services.

• Act as a proactive promoter of the Polish hub, advocating for placing new functions and roles in Poland where this makes strategic and economic sense, and linking workforce planning with business growth opportunities for the Warsaw office.

Your experience

You will be successful in this role if you:

• Bring at least 7-10 years’ experience in a managerial role leading HR administration / People services teams as your core background, combined with 10 to 12 years’ hands‑on operational experience of administering the full employee lifecycle.

• Have practical, hands‑on experience of HR administration and employee lifecycle processes across more than one country including Poland and the United Kingdom.

• Have solid working knowledge of Polish employment law with good awareness of United Kingdom / European regulations. Experience working with or overseeing payroll is an advantage.

• Have a strong track record of originating and driving new business opportunities for a hub location (such as Poland), supporting transitions of teams and processes between locations, and advocating for hub growth in line with business strategy, including preparing business cases and leading discussions with senior and C‑level stakeholders.

• Are process oriented with a strong continuous improvement mindset, with proven experience taking ownership of HR processes, standardising and simplifying them, and improving speed, accuracy and quality across different markets.

• Have led teams through change in a growing or transforming organisation and are comfortable with ongoing change and ambiguity, focusing on solutions and delivery.

• Are an effective people and process manager: you develop, coach and support your team, while ensuring efficient, high-quality service delivery and managing escalations, including from senior and C‑level stakeholders. You have experience in leading similar structure or bigger

• Communicate in a collaborative, confident way, build strong relationships, and can influence and gain buy‑in from stakeholders across geographies. Excellent English and Polish are required.

• Are highly organised, analytical and comfortable working under pressure, using data and metrics to prioritise, solve problems and identify opportunities to improve how the team operates.

• Strong executive presence and maturity, with the credibility to engage with and challenge senior and C‑level stakeholders globally.

• Confident decision‑making and sound judgement in high‑impact or ambiguous situations.

• Strong influencing and advisory skills, with the ability to balance global consistency with local needs.

• Excellent organisational and project management skills, able to manage multiple priorities and transformation initiatives simultaneously.

• Have substantial experience using HR technology, ideally Workday or a similar Human Resource Information System, as well as case or ticket management tools, and are keen to leverage technology and data to improve services.

• Hold a university degree (preferred) and ideally a professional HR qualification such as CIPD (or equivalent), with any additional certifications in project management or process improvement (for example Lean or Six Sigma).

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Benefits
Joining Team Linklaters will see you qualify for a range of benefits designed to reward the vital contribution you'll be making to our success. These include:

·       Private medical care

·       Free in-house fitness center

·       Life insurance

·       Worldwide travel insurance for business and non-business travel

·       Benefit Multisport club card or subsidized travel card

·       Wide range of training opportunities

About Linklaters
Linklaters is a people business. Being best in class in the eyes of our clients means that our people must be exceptional.
We look not only for brilliant minds, but for people who will thrive in our environment: people who love working collaboratively and demonstrate the innovative, efficient, agile, entrepreneurial, and responsible mind-set we aim to bring to every interaction.
Ours is an environment of outperformance. We achieve this not with targets and incentives, but by fostering a positive, supportive, fair, and open atmosphere.
We respect and value difference but insist on inclusivity. We celebrate all aspects of diversity and challenge any form of bias, because we want everyone to feel that they belong. This is vital to our ability to work as one team, with a common mind-set.
We recognize that one size does not fit all. Our goal is to embed flexibility across our firm by giving everyone the opportunity to work in an agile way, whether as a regular pattern or on an ad hoc basis, and we will be happy to discuss this further.

At Linklaters

• We offer a truly global work experience and the opportunity to be involved in strategic projects that drive innovation and shape the future of our business

• We belong to a firm that embodies its corporate social, environment and governance responsibility commitments

• We celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion so our people can bring themselves to work

• We advocate speak-up culture to empower our people in sharing their voices and an open-door policy to ensure they are listened to

• We invest in custom-fit career paths for our people in line with their talents and aspirations

• We provide agile working solutions to meet the changing needs of our people and our business

• We are committed to people first relationships based on mutual trust, respect and appreciation

• We support the health and wellbeing of our people, providing a safe space to talk about emotions and mental health with access to expert advice as needed

• We invest in developing leaders of the future who demonstrate emotional intelligence and a passion to discover, coach and develop the talents of others

Technical Skills:

This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.