Key overview
A leading UK law firm is hiring a Practice Improvement Manager for its Business Transformation team in Birmingham or Manchester. The role leads two firm-wide services, Practice Improvement and Legal Project Management (LPM), and reports to the Head of Transformation, with one direct report.
The aim is to improve how legal work is planned and delivered: less wasted effort, more lawyer capacity and better value for clients. The role is about running and growing a service, not just delivering projects.
Key responsibilities
- Set the operating model, standards and 12-month roadmap for Practice Improvement and LPM.
- Prioritise demand openly, deciding which requests to take on, pause or decline based on value, capacity and fit.
- Advise section heads and senior partners, turning operational and client issues into clear improvement priorities.
- Build the LPM service: framework, tools, quality controls and impact measures.
- Lead complex or cross-practice improvement work and make sure benefits are tracked and embedded.
- Work with Finance, Pricing, Technology, Knowledge and Risk on joined-up solutions.
- Manage and develop the Continuous Improvement Lead, and build capability across legal teams.
- Support pitches and client conversations where LPM strengthens the offer.
What the candidate needs
- Legal operations, practice improvement or transformation experience in a law firm or professional services firm.
- A track record of leading a service or portfolio, not only individual projects.
- Credibility with partners: able to influence, challenge and say "no" or "not yet".
- Practical LPM knowledge: scoping, planning, budgets, resourcing and risk.
- Strong commercial awareness of profitability, capacity and client value.
- Line management experience with experienced professionals.
- Desirable: pitch or tender support, and Lean or project management training (impact matters more than certificates).
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