Birmingham, Bristol or Leeds | Hybrid 1 day a month in the office
A leading national law firm is seeking a highly organised, proactive Business Operations Manager to support one of its major legal departments and play a central role in driving operational excellence, consistency and performance across the business.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a forward‑thinking, award‑winning law firm recognised for its work across commercial, corporate, regulatory, employment, litigation and advisory services. With a strong national footprint and a reputation for excellence, the firm continues to grow year on year and is investing heavily in its people, infrastructure and future strategy.
The Role
As a Business Operations Manager (BOM), you will provide essential operational management support to Department Heads and partners, ensuring the smooth running of a busy national legal department. You’ll act as a trusted adviser, project manager and connector, helping to drive improvements, embed best practice and support the delivery of departmental objectives.
You will support either the Litigation, Advisory & Regulatory department or the Employment, Pensions & Immigration department.
Key Responsibilities
* Coordinating partner and fee earner meetings, including agendas, papers, minutes and action tracking
* Running bi‑monthly operational meetings with other Business Operations Managers
* Maintaining annual departmental management trackers and key deadlines
* Project managing departmental initiatives and maintaining action registers
* Supporting updates to departmental business plans and coordinating partner actions
* Planning and delivering departmental away days
* Managing IT kit approval processes
* Maintaining central filing of financial information for Department Heads
* Assisting with budgeting, data collation and spreadsheet preparation
* Reviewing utilisation data and providing weekly summaries
* Monitoring KPIs and liaising with Finance on aged lock‑up
* Streamlining write‑off processes and monitoring leakage
* Supporting the Best Practice Partner and Department Head on risk and compliance
* Tracking performance against risk and best practice objectives
* Liaising with the Risk & Best Practice team and coordinating audit requirements
* Working with BD & Marketing on assessments, reports and team plans
* Coordinating directory submissions and ensuring CVs and profiles are up to date
* Maintaining departmental marketing databases for tenders
* Scheduling internal training and managing external training requests and budgets
* Providing administrative support for recruitment processes
* Coordinating appraisals, objectives, promotions and pay review cycles
* Managing the departmental holiday approval process
* Identifying transformation opportunities and supporting project work
* Managing departmental HighQ sites
What You’ll Bring
* Significant experience in a similar operational role, or as a senior PA/management assistant at board level.
* Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
* Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
* Strong influencing skills and confidence in challenging conversations.
* Solid understanding of financial processes and reporting.
* Project management experience.
* High attention to detail, strong organisational skills and a proactive mindset.
* Ability to collaborate effectively with peers across multiple offices.
* Advanced Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
* Willingness to travel occasionally to other UK offices.