Department Operations Specialist - IP Department

Polsinelli • Kansas City, MO

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Polsinelli is seeking a Department Operations Specialist for its IP Department, based in either its Kansas City or St. Louis office. The role supports the department in managing and enhancing the business and operational functions involved in delivering legal services. It contributes to business operations, financial management, project oversight, and strategic initiatives to help the department operate efficiently and align with firm objectives.

Working closely with Department leadership, the specialist serves as a liaison among attorneys, administrative teams, and firmwide departments including Finance, HR, Innovation, Marketing, Recruiting, and Professional Development. The role translates operational, financial, and strategic goals into measurable outcomes through analysis, budget management, project management, and department scheduling. The ideal candidate is proactive, analytical, detail-oriented, collaborative, and able to manage multiple initiatives using data-driven insights.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• At least 5 years of experience in business operations, financial or data analysis, or project management.
• Experience with budgets and financial reporting processes.
• Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Exceptional organizational and scheduling skills, including experience coordinating complex department calendars and priorities.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and provide meaningful insights.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of precision and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Kansas City or St. Louis office location.

Nice To Haves

• Business, finance, or accounting concentration.
• Experience in a legal environment.
• Intellectual Property experience.
• Familiarity with project management or reporting tools such as Monday.com, Power BI, or Smartsheet.
• Experience with document management systems such as iManage and time and billing platforms.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director to design, implement, and improve procedures, workflows, and reporting mechanisms.
• Serve as an interface between the Department and administrative functions, supporting alignment, communication, and execution of priorities.
• Develop and maintain department and practice group calendars, meeting schedules, reporting cadences, and planning sessions.
• Support department budget management, including forecasting, expense tracking, and variance analysis.
• Conduct financial and operational analyses to identify trends, evaluate performance, and provide actionable insights.
• Partner with the Director to prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for Department and Firm leadership.
• Collaborate with Finance and Accounting to align department budgets and expenditures with firm financial goals.
• Coordinate department initiatives, ensuring projects are scoped, prioritized, and executed within established timelines and objectives.
• Support project-plan development, track progress, and facilitate collaboration across teams.
• Provide project updates to Department leadership, including milestones, risks, and key results.
• Support initiatives focused on technology adoption, process improvement, and client service enhancement.
• Create and maintain operations metrics, dashboards, and reports to support data-driven recommendations and decisions.
• Coordinate department and practice group meetings, retreats, and planning sessions; prepare agendas and materials and track follow-up actions.
• Support attorney and staff onboarding, offboarding, and integration processes.
• Act as a liaison between the Department and firmwide departments, including Finance, HR, Innovation, Marketing, Recruiting, and Professional Development.
• Work as part of a geographically dispersed, multidisciplinary team on department and firmwide initiatives.
• Establish and maintain a project management cadence to track progress and share updates across relevant teams.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level