HR Officer

Summary

Smart Legal is a multi-award-winning, family-run residential and commercial conveyancing firm in Central London, regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers — over £4 billion in completed transactions and nearly two decades without a negligence claim. Its sister business, Lexsentinel, develops AI tools for law firms.

We are hiring an HR Officer to take ownership of day-to-day HR operations across the group — managing the employee lifecycle, records and people processes so that managers across the UK, Sri Lanka and India are well supported and the firm stays compliant and organised. You would be employed by Xcova Data Systems (Pvt) Ltd, the group's Sri Lanka and India company, providing HR support across both businesses. The role is permanent, fully remote from Sri Lanka, working UK business hours (8:30am–5:30pm UK time), reporting to the CEO and the CEO's PA.

Responsibilities

• Administer the full employee lifecycle: onboarding new starters, maintaining records, and managing offboarding.
• Maintain accurate, confidential HR records and trackers (headcount, leave, probation reviews, training).
• Coordinate recruitment administration: posting adverts, scheduling interviews and tracking candidates.
• Support drafting and issuing of offer letters, contracts and HR correspondence for review.
• Track compliance items for overseas staff, including NDAs, Data Protection Agreements and criminal-record checks.
• Help administer HR policies and the staff handbook, and respond to routine staff queries.
• Support probation reviews, performance check-ins and absence/leave management.
• Liaise across UK, Sri Lanka and India teams, working to UK business hours.
• Handle personal data carefully, in line with UK GDPR and Sri Lankan data-protection law, and maintain confidentiality at all times.

Requirements

• Minimum two years' HR experience (generalist or HR administration/coordination).
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.
• Strong organisation and accuracy; comfortable owning records and processes independently.
• Discretion and a mature approach to confidential information.
• A reliable home-working setup with stable internet, and the ability to work UK business hours (8:30am-5:30pm UK time) from Sri Lanka.
• Proficiency with everyday office and HR software (email, spreadsheets, documents).

Desirable

• HR qualification or working towards one (e.g. CIPD or local equivalent).
• Exposure to working with UK or international teams.
• Familiarity with data-protection principles (UK GDPR awareness).

If you do not meet every point but have strong HR experience and excellent English, we would still encourage you to apply.

What we offer

• A varied, ownership-level HR role across two growing businesses.
• Fully remote working from Sri Lanka, with remuneration of LKR 100,000 per month.
• Professional development and progression as the group grows.
• 20 days' annual holiday, inclusive of UK bank holidays (local Sri Lankan public holidays are not provided).

Conditions of engagement

This overseas role requires a signed NDA, a signed Data Protection Agreement (covering UK GDPR and the Sri Lankan regime) and a Sri Lanka Police criminal-record clearance. These carry particular weight in this role, as the post-holder handles personal data for staff across the group.

Equal opportunities

Smart Legal welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds.