Operations Manager, Legal

Local Initiatives Support Corporation•New York, NY

9d•$105,000 - $120,000

About The Position

LISC seeks a Legal Operations Manager to support our dynamic in-house legal team. The Manager will drive departmental planning, process improvement, and cross-functional collaboration, enabling the legal team to operate more efficiently, scale impact, and align closely with enterprise priorities. This role blends strategic partnership with team leadership and hands-on operational execution, with a focus on improving how legal services are delivered across the organization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university preferred in business administration, management, operations, or a related field or commensurate relevant work experience.
Minimum 6 years previous experience in operations, management, or project leadership within a professional services, legal, or financial environment; legal operations experience helpful.
Self-starter with an ownership mindset: Proven ability to operate in ambiguous environments, identify priorities independently, and design and execute solutions without heavy direction.
Strategic operator: Able to move seamlessly between high-level planning and detailed execution, translating concepts into actionable outcomes.
Enterprise-level communicator and influencer: Exceptional ability to communicate clearly and credibly across all levels of the organization, and to influence without authority while coordinating work across diverse stakeholders.
Process and problem-solving orientation: Demonstrated ability to analyze workflows, identify inefficiencies, and implement practical, scalable improvements.
Strong project and change management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Data-driven mindset: Experience using data, metrics, and reporting to inform decisions and drive performance.
Collaborative and adaptable: Comfortable navigating a high-volume, evolving environment with a team-first approach.
Strong interest in community development, nonprofit impact, or mission-driven work.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency with standard business tools (e.g., Microsoft 365); experience with legal or operational systems a plus.

Nice To Haves

Experience using or evaluating AI-enabled tools to improve workflows, knowledge management, or service delivery is a plus.

Responsibilities

Partner with Legal team leadership on strategic planning, annual operating plans, and key departmental initiatives.
Translate strategy into execution by driving implementation and tracking progress against goals.
Assess, design, and continuously improve legal workflows, service delivery models, and cross-functional processes to increase efficiency, consistency and scalability.
Lead initiatives that enhance efficiency, quality, and consistency of legal support across the organization as well as those that improve the cost-effectiveness and value of legal services.
Proactively identify operational gaps and implement solutions that enhance how Legal delivers services across the organization.
Serve as a key liaison between Legal and other LISC departments to strengthen relationships, clarify roles, and improve and support coordination and collaboration.
Support enterprise-wide initiatives to increase organizational effectiveness and alignment.
Oversee legal technology tools, including selection, implementation, and optimization in partnership with IT.
Develop and maintain metrics, dashboards, and reporting to inform decision-making and demonstrate legal team impact.
Support work allocation and capacity planning across the legal team to align resources with organizational priorities.
Working with Legal team leadership, develop and manage the department budget, including forecasting, tracking performance, and identifying cost efficiencies.
Lead core operational functions including recruiting, onboarding, performance management support, and internal communications for Legal team in collaboration with key partners across the organization.
Coordinate departmental meetings, planning sessions, and knowledge-sharing efforts.
Foster a collaborative, cohesive team environment and support professional development.
Other duties as assigned.