Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance their most important assets - their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.
With offices in London, Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong, we are recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture, market-leading practice areas, sector focused approach and for providing solutions to complex, multijurisdictional business challenges, with a pragmatic and human touch. We have two things at our core: people — both ours and our clients’— and a focus on creative, tech and innovative businesses.
Our culture is encapsulated by an ethos of bravery and kindness, guided by our values of Integrity, Clarity, Unity and Excellence (our ‘I-CUE’). We aim to provide a supportive environment for our people, clients and wider community and embrace diversity & inclusion, ensuring people are able to bring their full selves to work. |
The aim of this role is to support the Co-Chief Practice Transformation Officer (Co-CPTO) in the implementation of strategy and operational excellence within a number of the firm’s legal practice groups, and to co-ordinate this with the firm’s overall strategic objectives.
This role will help achieve the delivery of key priorities such as practice expansion, client service delivery, operational matters and strategy implementation, maximising synergies and sharing opportunities across the firm. In this way, you will form a critical part of the team which is driving transformation in our legal practices as we re-imagine the delivery of our legal services to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
The primary focus of this post holder will be supporting legal practice groups including Corporate, Dispute Resolution and Real Estate but they will also work closely with colleagues across the firm. |
- Provide partnering support to practice leadership for a number of individual legal practice groups (LPGs) to drive operational excellence and a high-quality client experience. As a first point of contact and trusted adviser for the LPG Heads, being responsive to relevant business and operational situations.
- Support the Co-CPTO and LPG heads in the development and execution of LPG business plans and objectives including expansion plans, practice improvement opportunities and the development of new client-focused products and services. Collaborating with colleagues in the LPG and across the business to identify solutions to problems and keep progress on track.
- Act as an enabler who collaborates across the business to understand how to get things done efficiently. Building strong internal networks (across legal and business teams) and using an understanding of the stakeholder landscape to deliver excellent outcomes. Proactively share best practice and leverage opportunities for closer collaboration.
- Provide appropriate support to ensure the effective delivery of decisions and initiatives, tracking and monitoring progress, and making recommendations for action.
- Act as a key stakeholder in projects and initiatives and where relevant leading projects; ensuring that the interests, needs and objectives of the LPGs and their clients are appropriately represented and reflected; influencing the scope and delivery of projects to achieve the desired outcomes (including consideration and management of change impact).
- Collaborate with practice improvement colleagues and leadership to embed a culture of continuous improvement in support of our pursuit of excellence in our clients’ experience and our ways of working. Working closely with the Co-CPTO and LPG heads to enhance profitability and efficiency, focusing on pricing, cost management, resource models, and the adoption of innovative systems and improved processes.
- Collaborate with leadership and our technology colleagues to leverage tech tools and capabilities to streamline operations. Looking for opportunities and use cases to help our practices optimise ways of working, deliver excellent client service, and thrive in a tech-enabled environment.
- Work with the Co-CPTO and LPG heads to innovate new client products and services, to respond to client needs, consider the competitor landscape and collaborate with our wider community of practice improvement professionals to deliver innovative client-focused solutions.
- Actively monitoring and reporting on key performance indicators and financial metrics across the LPGs and managing targeted interventions as needed.
- Conduct data collection and analysis to assist Co-CPTO and LPG heads with key decision-making, e.g. around operational, financial, and strategic initiatives.
- Provide support for the structuring and rhythm of management meetings, guiding other Business Management team members to ensure the provision of the required support in agenda and paper preparation, accurate records of key discussion, decisions, and actions where appropriate.
- Assist on annual budget planning process.
Candidate profile
The post holder will have considerable experience of working in dynamic and demanding professional partnership environments and have developed skills in process improvement and project management. Experience might have been gained in consulting, process and project management teams, as a fee-earner in the legal industry, marketing/business development, finance or human resources.
Abilities and desired experience
- Experience of working in partnerships or similar environments; legal industry experience desirable.
- Confidence in engaging senior leaders within the business.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement, influencing and communication skills, with experience of bringing people together to agree and achieve shared outcomes.
- Highly effective collaborator with the ability to motivate, develop and inspire colleagues across the business to deliver business goals and change behaviour where required.
- Strong commercial background with demonstrable practical experience in a range of financial management skills including modelling and analysis, budget-setting and managing to budget.
- Proactive approach with a highly effective ability to prioritise and manage a competing workload of business-as-usual activities and important strategic priorities.
- Exceptional organisational, administrative and co-ordination skills with the ability to work with agility and at pace, ensuring work is completed in a timely manner.
- Ability to navigate ambiguous, changeable, and complex engagements.
- Track record of applying project management skills to ensure the delivery of desired outcomes.
- Practical experience of process improvement and managing the impact of change; able to demonstrate a continuous improvement mindset and approach.
- Client and service focused in thinking and approach with an emphasis on achieving excellence.
- Ensure sensitivity and confidentiality where appropriate.
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At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to finding the right person for this role and are open to discussing flexible working patterns and office location. |