Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Looking for Director, Professional Recruiting at Toronto, ON Full Time

Reporting to the National Director, Professional Recruiting, the Director, Professional Recruiting provides regional coordination of the Firm’s recruitment processes and programs for legal professionals. This includes student recruitment, student programs, lateral associate recruitment, employer brand, digital / on-line strategies and effective recruitment systems.

• Effectively communicate the Firm’s market leading employer brand to differentiate BLG in the employer marketplace for students and professionals and differentiate BLG from its competitive peers
• Contribute to the design, development and deployment of the Firm’s digital and online strategy for student recruiting to ensure the Firm’s use of social media and other electronic platforms is best in class for the legal services sector in Canada and equal to other leading professional service firms
• Working closely with the National Director, Professional Recruiting and Manager, Professional Recruiting, manage the Firm’s relationship with law school students, staff, administrators and faculty, as well as the Firm’s presence at law schools, including orientations, prizes, moots, firm tours, and other sponsorship and profile building opportunities
• Ensure the Firm interviews and hires students based on the Firm’s hiring criteria designed to identify the characteristics which define top performing students who fulfill their potential and out perform their peers as associates within the Firm
• Manage the Firm’s assessment and selection methods for student hiring, which may include the use of testing, including competency, cognitive and behavioural components to effectively evaluate the hiring criteria which are developed
• Manage the Firm’s tracking of student and lateral applicants, candidates and hires using VI recruit and/or other leading recruitment technologies

• Manage the summer and the articling student programs to ensure they remain best in class in the legal sector in Canada, including orientation, rotations, mentors, training programs, social events, evaluations and the hire back process
• Administer the Firm’s lateral associate recruitment regionally ensuring that BLG effectively and efficiently recruits the best available talent in the legal marketplace including the following:
  • Support BLG partners in the lateral associate recruiting process, including preparing the Lateral Associate Hire Business Case and Role Profiles
  • Determine the correct recruitment strategy, including alternative sources to external hiring, e.g. internal mobility, digital media and recruiting agencies
  • Ensure the lateral interview process adheres to the Firm’s policies and guidelines for associate lateral recruitment including the due diligence checklist and conflict clearance process
  • Working closely with the Director, Professional Resources, manage the Firm’s relationship with representatives of regional legal recruiting agencies

• Manage the regional Professional Recruiting budget

• Meet regularly with the National Director, Professional Recruiting and other Regional Professional Recruiting Managers to ensure consistency across the regions
• Meet regularly with the National Director, Professional Recruiting and the Director, Professional Resources to ensure professional recruiting is aligned with the talent needs of the national practice groups and regional offices

• Encourage, monitor, and support the ongoing professional development and training of the Regional Professional Recruiting team to ensure required capabilities are developed

• Ensure proper staffing and reporting structure within the Professional Recruiting team in the region

• University degree. Law degree is an asset.
• Experience practicing law or experience in a professional services firm or professional faculty
• 3+ years of recruiting experience, preferably in a management role
• Highly-developed interpersonal, communication, organizational and time-management skills
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with people at all levels
• Ability to lead and motivate a team
• Outstanding client relationship management skills with internal and external stakeholders particularly with Partners and Associates of the Firm
• Strong operational management focus, ensuring high quality work product, on time and in budget delivery
• Highly-developed analytical and problem solving skills