Senior Manager, Learning & Development – EMEA

At White & Case, our longstanding dedication to fairness, belonging and professional growth comes to life through our Engagement & Development function. It reflects our commitment to fostering a global workplace culture where our people feel connected, supported and empowered to develop meaningful careers. Led by our Chief Engagement & Development Officer and guided by our Partner-led Engagement & Development Committee, this function ensures coordinated, impactful and accessible programming Firmwide — strengthening performance, enhancing leadership capabilities and reinforcing our shared sense of community.

As Senior Manager, Learning & Development – EMEA , you will lead the continued development of our regional learning and development offering in support of the Firm’s 2028 strategy and longer-term ambitions. You will define and deliver strategic learning priorities that strengthen capability, support career growth and create a meaningful employee experience for lawyers and business services professionals across EMEA.

This is a highly visible role with the opportunity to influence how we develop talent across a large, complex and internationally connected region. Partnering with senior leaders across the Firm, you will understand business needs, shape practical solutions and deliver measurable impact. Your work will span formal and informal learning, using in-person and virtual classrooms, digital learning, coaching, mentoring and collaborative approaches.

The role includes leading an EMEA Learning & Development team of six colleagues across Brussels, Germany and London, as well as overseeing the regional learning portfolio across 25 EMEA offices. Working as part of one global team, you will collaborate closely with colleagues in the People Team, Engagement team, practice groups, professional support lawyer community, Innovation team and other global functions.

At White & Case, our longstanding dedication to fairness, belonging and professional growth comes to life through our Engagement & Development function. It reflects our commitment to fostering a global workplace culture where our people feel connected, supported and empowered to develop meaningful careers. Led by our Chief Engagement & Development Officer and guided by our Partner-led Engagement & Development Committee, this function ensures coordinated, impactful and accessible programming Firmwide — strengthening performance, enhancing leadership capabilities and reinforcing our shared sense of community.

Global Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the Engagement & Development strategy as a regional leader within the global Learning & Development leadership team.

• Shape global learning programs and initiatives, bringing together stakeholder input from across our international network.

• Lead global projects, as needed, working in a matrixed structure and being supported by other members of the Engagement & Development team who report to you by project.

• Partner with global functional leaders across Talent, People, Knowledge, Benefits and other teams to align Learning & Development priorities with wider Firm strategy.

• Ensure global L&D initiatives reflect and reinforce Firm values, culture and strategic priorities.

• Contribute to global governance of learning standards, including evaluation frameworks, quality benchmarks and core curricula.

• Represent EMEA in global L&D forums and decision-making, ensuring regional perspectives inform global design and implementation.

EMEA Regional Responsibilities:

• Ensure consistent and high-quality deployment of the firm’s globally designed projects and programs into the region.

• Develop and maintain a regional curriculum that meets the needs of local practice groups and business services functions.

• Formulate integrated delivery strategies that include all learning modalities, including coaching and mentoring, utilizing a full range of offerings from physical and virtual classroom to social and collaborative learning.

• Innovate how White & Case provides learning, drawing on best practice and previous experience.

• Track learning activity, participation and compliance against agreed needs and success measures.

• Evaluate program effectiveness through business impact, behavior change and return on investment, then adjust solutions where needed.

• Serve as a trusted business partner to senior stakeholders, including the Human Resources Director - EMEA, Office Executive Partners, Regional COO, Regional Section Heads and Business Services Chiefs on organizational change and development initiatives.

• Ensure a smooth running and efficient regional program of events.

• Support the regional integration of Workday Learning in collaboration with global colleagues.

• Manage the procurement and performance of external learning vendors across EMEA.

• Lead the EMEA Learning & Development budget, ensuring sound financial management and effective investment.

• Oversee regional reporting and analytics, providing clear updates on learning activity, outcomes and impact to key stakeholders.

• Ensure Learning & Development activity meets relevant regulatory, professional and Firm requirements.

Individual Responsibilities

• Lead the EMEA L&D team based in three locations, developing their talent in a high stretch, high support environment.

• Liaise closely with the Engagement team colleagues to ensure that business partnering activities are aligned and Engagement and L&D activities are complementary.

• Business partner on one-off bespoke projects where necessary.

• Lead individual learning programs from a design and delivery perspective, ensuring effective evaluation.

• Design learning programs incorporating the latest thought leadership, psychology and learning theories and practices.

• Facilitate learning programs in workshops and in “on stage” scenarios.

• Act as the escalation point for complex L&D queries for the region.

• Coach and build team capability in consulting, learning design, facilitation, stakeholder management and communication.

• Role model effective stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills in a partnership environment.

• Actively pursue own continuous professional development, staying current with developments in L&D, legal sector trends and technology-enabled learning.

• Opportunity to be part of the global Coaching Office, if desired.

• 10+ years’ experience in developing and delivering training, instructional design and developing learning solutions. 

• Masters degree preferred. Advanced degree in Human Resources, Psychology, Organizational Behaviour, Organizational Development or related field, useful.

• Professional services experience, especially in a law firm, preferred.

• Coaching qualification desirable.

• A range of Psychometric qualifications (Hogan, DiSC, Lumina, preferred).

• Demonstrated exceptional quality of writing, with the ability to skillfully craft influential messages to gain buy-in across audiences.

• Significant experience of leading complex L&D departments in a global setting, in a matrixed environment.

• Excellent instructional design skills as well as facilitation and presentations skills in-person, hybrid and virtual, especially for a senior audience.

• Significant experience in organisational change programs.

• Able to prioritize and meet deadlines with strong attention to detail and follow-through on assignments. Strong organization skills.

• Able to work independently and take ownership of tasks.

• Ability to question constructively existing procedures and consider alternatives.

• Strong program management skills working with other teams and external experts across regions and the globe.

• Able to liaise seamlessly between cultures and teams to produce a quality output.

• Able to travel within the EMEA region for large programs and visit local EMEA offices occasionally.

• Accomplished stakeholder management, communication and interpersonal skills, working with stakeholders across all levels.

• Knowledge of MS Office products for analysis and presentation of data, specifically MS Excel, MS PowerPoint. Expert with meeting technology such as Zoom, Teams etc.

• AI deployment and experience of the human skills required in AI environments are useful.

• Good working knowledge of sourcing, implementing and running new learning technologies.

• This role is based in London.

• Our standard office hours are 09:30-18:00, with a requirement for 4 days (Monday – Thursday) in the office per week. 

This role reports to

Chief Engagement & Development Officer

Equal Opportunities

White & Case is committed to creating a fair workplace. It is our Firm’s policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you require assistance and/or adjustment to participate in our application and/or interview process, please email us. We will be happy to work with you.

The Firm may modify and amend any job description at any time in its sole discretion. Nothing herein creates a contract of employment or otherwise modifies the at-will nature of employment.

The above is only a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.

Note to Recruitment Agencies

Our internal Recruitment team manages all aspects of lateral hiring. All agencies must have signed terms of business—specific to the relevant office—before submitting any candidates. CVs or applications sent directly to White & Case partners or employees will also not be considered formal introductions. If you have questions, please contact the relevant Recruitment team. We work with our preferred suppliers when engaging agencies.