Career Coach

About This Role

This role offers a rare opportunity to play an influential part in the professional lives of talented lawyers, serving as a trusted, independent voice in a firm that prioritizes career development. The Career Coach provides personalized, confidential career coaching and advisory support to Associates across the firm's London offices. It suits a professional passionate about unlocking potential, skilled at building trusted relationships, and energized by the complexity of a world-class professional services environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality, confidential career coaching to Associates on topics such as practice integration, relationship building, performance improvement, promotion readiness, and long-term career planning
• Support Associates through key transitions including progression to Senior Associate or Counsel, lateral moves, secondments, and return-to-work following parental or other leave
• Design and deliver career development programs and workshops that complement individual coaching and align with the firm's global learning and development offering
• Oversee the UK mentoring program, fostering effective mentor-mentee relationships and helping Associates develop, maintain, and review meaningful individual development plans
• Translate performance feedback into clear, actionable development plans and help Associates track progress against firmwide career frameworks, working closely with HR Business Partners and Resource Managers
• Maintain strong relationships with partners, Marketing and Business Development, and the alumni network to surface external development opportunities, strategic secondments, and client-facing experiences
• Partner with external coaching providers in areas such as neurodiversity support, early careers coaching, and outplacement, ensuring quality and value
• Work alongside the Diversity & Inclusion team to support the development and retention of a diverse Associate population and leadership pipeline
• Play an active role in embedding lateral hires quickly and effectively into the firm
• Use analytics and reporting to monitor the impact of coaching interventions, identify demographic and retention trends, and translate insight into engaging dashboards
• Feed observations into the broader Learning and Development agenda to strengthen talent initiatives across the UK

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree, and a coaching certification or equivalent (strongly preferred)
• Demonstrable experience in a professional development, coaching, or career advisory role within a law firm, professional services firm, or academic institution
• Law firm practice experience is a strong advantage
• Familiarity with legal career frameworks and the broader legal market
• Exceptional judgment and discretion when handling sensitive and confidential information
• Interpersonal skills and credibility to build trusted relationships across practice groups, seniority levels, and geographies, both in person and remotely
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt your style for diverse stakeholders
• Strong analytical and organizational capability, with the confidence to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, matrixed environment
• Proficiency in MS Office and HR systems, with the aptitude to learn new platforms quickly

About the Company

Freshfields is a global law firm with an uncompromising commitment to excellence, investing in the careers of its people.