Director of Operations

The Director of Operations position is a professional position with broad responsibilities for the day-to-day management of Firm’s business operations. In addition to general responsibility for financial planning and controls, personnel administration, and systems and physical facilities, the Director of Operations plans for the changing needs of the organization, shares responsibility with the appropriate partners or owners for strategic planning, practice management and marketing, and contributes to cost-effective management throughout the organization.

The Director of Operation’s primary goal is to relieve the Owner of the routine tasks involved in managing the law firm business, so the Owner can focus on higher-level strategic and legal tasks. Secondarily, the Director of Operations should be a strategic partner with the Owner, leveraging the firm’s business plan and budget to help drive strategy to increase top-line revenue and bottom- line profits.

The Director of Operations reports directly to the Owner and COO.

With the delegated authority of the Owner, the Director of Operations manages all the business functions of the Firm and supervises all the non-lawyer staff.

Whether directly or through a management team, the Director of Operations is responsible all the following…

Systems Development & Operations Management:

1. Creates, implements and maintains the Firm’s policies, systems & procedures:
a. Assures that the firm’s activities are fully documented in writing.
b. Trains the staff in their respective duties using the Firm’s written policies and procedures.
c. Collaborates with Owner to define Key Performance Indicators to define success, measure results, and optimize productivity of the staff.
d. Monitors and enforces the Firm’s rules to ensure that all work is completed in accord with the Firm’s approved rules, policies & procedures.

2. Principal responsibility for the Firm’s information technology systems.
a. Designs the Firm’s Information Technology systems to minimize waste and maximize internal efficiencies within the firm.
b. Works with vendors as necessary to implement and maintain the Firm’s IT infrastructure.
c. Trains staff in the use of all technological systems and enforces proper use of the same in accordance with the Firm’s written policies & procedures.

Human Resources:

1. Recruits, hires, orients, trains and acts as the firm’s supervisor and employer of all non-legal staff including paralegals.
2. Implements and enforces the Firm’s personnel rules and employment policies.
3. Performs or supervises the payroll function and administers the Firm’s benefit plans.
4. Evaluates non-legal staff around defined Key Performance Indicators and makes recommendations to the owner regarding their work assignments, salaries, bonuses and discipline.
5. Performs Quarterly Reviews with non-legal staff including paralegals.
6. Director of Operations coordinates with other Department heads to forecast hiring and work force needs.

Financial Management:

1. Supervises the Firm’s bookkeeping function and may perform some bookkeeping tasks (e.g., reconciling bank statements, reviewing expenditures, authorizing vendor payments, etc.)
2. Manages the Firm’s billing functions (e.g. monitoring work in process, creating systems to ensure sure that completed work gets billed timely and in plain English, etc.).
3. Performs collections activities.
4. Monitors financial statements, prepares budgets, and advises the Owner regarding when problems are observed.
5. Collaborates with Owner to improve financial controls and analyze key financial reports to identify inefficiencies in the Firm and spot opportunities for improvement to the Firm’s bottom-line.

Marketing Management:

1. Supervises the Firm’s bookkeeping function and may perform some bookkeeping tasks (e.g., reconciling bank statements, reviewing expenditures, authorizing vendor payments, etc.)
2. Manages the Firm’s billing functions (e.g. monitoring work in process, creating systems to ensure sure that completed work gets billed timely and in plain English, etc.).
3. Performs collections activities.
4. Monitors financial statements, prepares budgets, and advises the Owner regarding when problems are observed.
5. Collaborates with Owner to improve financial controls.

Education: At a minimum, the Director of Operations will have graduated from a recognized college or university with major course work in business administration or management, finance, human resources, technology or marketing, or comparable work experience.

Experience: At a minimum, the Director of Operations must have previous knowledge of legal or other professional service organizations and have significant experience managing business operations such as human resources, technology, facilities, finance and marketing.
Experience in operational process refinement, budgeting, and HR is of the highest importance.

Skills & Abilities: The Director of Operations should be able to identify and analyze complex issues and problems in management areas and recommend and implement solutions. The Director of Operations can confidently manage office functions economically and efficiently, organize work, establish priorities and maintain good interpersonal relations and communications with lawyers and support staff. Displays excellent supervisory and leadership skills. Demonstrates willingness and ability to delegate.

The mission for the Director of Operations is to ensure “the business end” of our small business runs as smoothly as possible, maximizing profits through efficient systems and a cohesive work culture.

OBJECTIVES:
1. Remove all office administration and non-legal management tasks off the Owner’s plate by deadline specified by Owner.
2. Complete and update the Firm’s Policy & Procedure Manual by deadline specified by Owner.
3. Create a reliable P&P auditing system by deadline specified by Owner that catches at least 95% of errors internally before they reach the client.
4. Connect all job descriptions within the organization to clear KPIs and stand up a quarterly performance review system around the same by deadline specified by Owner.
5. Collaborate with owner to carve out a strategy to bring the firm from a $1 million firm to a $3 Million firm and beyond.

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This position is entirely remote and for a US Healthcare Law Firm based in California, so you will be working in US Pacific time.

Please only apply if you have experience as a Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations role. Submit your CV and also include your expected hourly salary in US Dollars.