Director, Legal Operations (Temporary)
The New York TimesThe mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.
About the Role, Mission or Department Overview
The New York Times Company is looking for a temporary hire in the role of Director, Legal Operations, to support management of our daily legal operations. The position is responsible for operational planning and strategy development; financial and budget management; legal technology; and outside counsel and other vendor management, among other departments. This is a hands-on role, and also includes management of a team that includes the Manager, Legal Operations, and the Records Manager. You will report into the Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
Responsibilities:
You will oversee the following areas:
- Operational and Strategic Planning. In coordination with the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, support the operational plans, strategies and goals for the department. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to support department priorities. Share reporting metrics as appropriate.
- Financial and Budget Management. Coordinate preparation of the annual department budget, monitor actual and forecasted spending, and work with Finance to analyze legal expenses. Support senior legal leaders in tracking, managing and optimizing spending practices.
- Vendor Management. Manage administrative aspects of outside counsel and other vendor engagements in compliance with outside counsel guidelines and programs and other applicable company and department policies, including providing department training. Oversee administration of the e-billing system.
- Technology. Manage the administration of contract management and document management systems, and other main department systems. Drive ongoing efforts to identify cost-effective tools, including those that feature generative AI, to improve our practices and automate processes.
- Operational Support and Process Improvement. Manage daily functions to support the successful operation of the department. Evaluate existing workflows and, where needed, implement process improvements and standardization.
- Knowledge Management. Maintain centralized knowledge management resources, including using shared drives and folders to store templates, process summaries and checklists, policies, precedent materials and other documents.
- Communications, Training and Onboarding. Communicate to key stakeholders on legal operations matters (budget planning and deadlines; legal technology; e-billing matters; department policies; subscriptions and other resources, etc.). Working with the Chief Legal Officer's executive assistant, lead planning of key meetings and trainings. Use our intranet and other platforms to promote an understanding of the department and its role, including an overview of lawyers and staff, frequently asked questions, legal templates and self-service tools.
- Records Management. Oversee an enterprise-wide records management program for all media types designed to identify, maintain, organize and preserve business records as required by law, regulation and business processes. This includes owning and administering our company's records retention policy and related schedules; ensuring appropriate access to, and retention and destruction of, business records; copyright registration; developing and administering training to educate employees on records policies/procedures; and coordinating complex legal holds, audit and other compliance processes.
Other Responsibilities
- Monitor external and internal benchmarking and report on trends and best practices in legal operations.
- Oversee project management initiatives as needed.
- Manage other activities or projects as assigned by the Chief Legal Officer and/or Corporate Secretary relating to their accountabilities in the Legal Department or as part of other executive responsibilities, including with respect to public speaking engagements.
- Manage the activities of the legal operations team.
- Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
Basic Qualifications:
- Minimum eight years of experience in a legal department, law firm, or relevant operational management role in positions of progressive responsibility.
- Legal operations, legal/paralegal and/or contracts management background.
- Significant experience in project leadership and management.
- Experience implementing technology solutions.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Experience with budget planning and oversight of invoice management.
- Proficiency with Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Google enterprise tools; experience working with quantitative metrics and ability to compile and communicate data and analytics; strong presentation skills.
- Substantial experience in legal enterprise software, tools, and applications, such as e-billing, document management, matter management, and contract lifecycle management technology (Ironclad).
- Prior experience developing playbooks, policies, and procedures.
- Committed to innovation in legal operations; relentless in the pursuit of continuous improvement.
- Problem-solving orientation; ability to prioritize among multiple projects, adjust to changing demands and priorities in a fast-paced environment, and execute with speed and precision
- Current/previous affiliation with professional organizations such as Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC); Association of Corporate Counsel (legal operations); ARMA International (formerly the Association of Records Managers and Administrators); or Project Management Institute (PMI).
REQ-019596
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.
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