Head of Matter Technology Platforms

We are currently recruiting for a Head of Matter Technology Platforms to join the A&O Shearman London office. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role proactively owns and manages the firm’s core legal matter intake and workflow platforms. The role is a member of the Technology Platforms leadership team and is responsible for managing and motivating a team of skilled IT professionals and directing external third-party service providers.

About the team

The core of the global technology department’s mission is to provide stable, reliable, and secure platforms and services to our partners, staff and clients and fulfil our regulatory obligations across 30+ countries. To ensure that a consistent and standardised IT service is delivered to all offices, IT is managed and led as a global function, enabling all offices to benefit from complete systems integration and economies of scale. We have around 500 technologists based predominantly in the UK, Singapore and increasingly in the US.

What you will do

• The role has accountability for the platforms’ design, capacity, performance and cost; and is empowered to take decisions to meet the required outcomes.
• The role also defines the strategy and roadmap for the platforms, managing the prioritisation of demand to ensure that the platforms are continually improved and meet business requirements.
• This will include the following:

• Define the strategic direction and roadmap for the matter platforms, forecasting demand and prioritising the backlog of changes.
• Act as a bridge between business requirements and technical solutions working with fee-earners to optimise the platforms to meet business needs.
• Work closely with Technology Services to own and oversee the full operational lifecycle and performance of the platforms.
• Work as part of the Technology Platforms leadership team to collectively define, implement and operate the firm’s core technology platforms.
• Maintain strong customer relationships with key partners and global business team leaders to understand the roadmap and key investments in our core client and matter workflow, define platform priorities and identify opportunities to deliver efficiencies and process improvements.
• Work with business delivery teams and external third parties to ensure that technology solutions are designed, built, released and operated in the most efficient and effective way.
• Provide the highest level of technical expertise for the platforms and work with others to resolve the most complex, critical, and challenging problems and escalations.
• Work with leadership from Information Security, Data Governance and others to ensure that platforms are compliant with data privacy, security and regulatory requirements.
• Performance management of the platform teams from principal centres in London and Belfast; ensuring alignment with HR standards and policies.
• Work with strategic service providers (including Intapp), conducting regular reviews of their performance against platform targets, driving innovation and ensuring any remediation activities are being delivered.
• Own the platforms’ budget and benefits delivery, balancing priorities and clearly demonstrating the value that the platforms deliver whilst working with IT Business Operations to ensure alignment.
• Actively maintain awareness of industry trends and technical opportunities, whilst assessing the viability and business value for the firm.

What you will have

• Extensive experience in IT operational leadership roles, preferably within the legal or professional services sector.
• Deep knowledge of a range of technologies, capabilities and legal concepts (including legal matter lifecycle, solution architecture, software engineering and information security) and the ability to optimise IT end-to-end service design, delivery and support.
• Broad knowledge of IT strategic planning, design, and operations processes.
• Experience of managing budgets, external consultants and third party technology providers.
• Maintains internal and external networks and a broad understanding of the latest technologies and industry trends across legal technology and the wider professional services industry.
• Familiarity with modern IT delivery methodologies and their implementation within large organisations.
• Proven track record of managing through others and leading globally dispersed teams.
• Extensive experience within the IT industry, with significant experience leading large scale technology teams and budgets.
• Experience of being a qualified lawyer (or previously qualified) with a top-tier international legal practice.
• Strong leadership and people management skills including aptitude for and experience of creating, managing, motivating and developing a technology team.
• Proven commercial and financial acumen with strong numerical reasoning skills.
• Excellent presentation, communication and inter-personal skills, with the ability to build and sustain strong relationships in a global matrix organisation.
• Successful track record of building partnerships with key vendors and shaping strong commercial relationships.

What we can offer you

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.