Senior Manager, Information & Research Services

Wilson Elser - Business & Legal Professionals•New York, NY

8h•$170,000 - $190,000

About The Position

Wilson Elser is seeking a Senior Manager, Information & Research Services to lead and manage the firm's Library function. The role oversees delivery of legal and business research, electronic resource management, and information support for attorneys and business professionals across the firm's practices. Reporting to the Director of Knowledge Management, the Senior Manager is responsible for day-to-day operations and continuous improvement of the Library function, including service standards, workflows, vendors, contracts, budgets, and team supervision and development. The role combines operational leadership with the opportunity to redesign and document workflows with AI in mind, and to grow the team's capabilities. As part of the Knowledge Management leadership team, the Senior Manager contributes an information and research services perspective to KM strategy. The role manages research platforms and vendor relationships, delivers and improves research services, builds knowledge resources and supports responsible adoption of AI and automation in research workflows. The position is full-time and offers a salary range of $170,000–$190,000 USD. The firm describes its benefits package as including a 401(k) retirement savings plan, medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance, a 401(k) match, a generous PTO plan, corporate discount plans, and professional development and advancement opportunities.

Requirements

Deep expertise in legal and business research, electronic resource management, and library operations in a law firm or professional services environment.
At least 7 years of experience in legal research, library services, electronic resource management, or a related role in a law firm or professional services setting.
Master of Library Science (MLS) or Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from an ALA-accredited institution.
Strong knowledge of legal and business research platforms, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg Law, ALM, PACER, and similar tools.
Demonstrated experience managing vendor relationships, licensing agreements, and research services budgets.
Ability to lead, manage, and mentor professionals, fostering professional growth, accountability, and thoughtful service delivery.
Ability to build collaborative relationships with internal and external clients across teams and departments.
Ability to engage with attorneys and assess processes and service delivery through a business lens.
Experience using and evaluating AI tools in a professional setting, including prompt engineering, AI-aware workflow design, and setting standards and guardrails for AI-assisted research.
Strong project management, critical thinking, innovation, and change management skills.
Exceptional communication, collaboration, and team leadership skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to analyze resource usage and spending data and act on findings.
Proven experience delivering live and virtual training and developing educational resources.
Advanced knowledge of relevant law firm or legal department technology, such as SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365, and iManage Cloud.

Nice To Haves

Direct leadership experience managing a research or library team is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with how large language models behave and where they fail; experience with context engineering is a plus.
An additional advanced degree in a relevant field, such as a JD or MBA, is a plus.

Responsibilities

Contribute an information and research services perspective to the firm's Knowledge Management strategy and help execute KM initiatives.
Supervise, mentor, and coordinate the workload of Information & Research Services staff, including Electronic Resources Librarians and Research Librarians.
Lead and continuously improve information and research services operations, including policies, procedures, service standards, and workflows.
Document and maintain departmental processes for training, onboarding, change management, and AI workflows.
Oversee the firm's electronic research resources, evaluating and renewing platforms and databases to meet user needs.
Develop and maintain an electronic resource management system covering subscriptions, license terms, costs, approvals, and vendor contacts.
Negotiate agreements and subscriptions and maintain strategic relationships with information vendors.
Monitor licensing terms and seat compliance to mitigate risk.
Serve as the escalation point for access and service issues involving library resources and tools.
Manage the Information & Research Services budget with the Director of Knowledge Management, tracking expenditures, projections, variances, and cost-effective resource allocation.
Track, analyze, and report resource and service usage to inform renewals, right-sizing, cancellations, negotiations, and practice group support.
Ensure delivery of legal and business research, contributing directly to research work as needed.
Develop and maintain research guides, tools, self-service resources, a research knowledge base, and a record of research requests.
Identify opportunities to integrate Generative AI and automation into research workflows and collaborate on evaluation and implementation of AI-enhanced research platforms.
Establish standards and guardrails for AI-assisted research and help the team determine appropriate uses and verify outputs.
Promote awareness and proficient use of electronic resources through training, user guides, and other educational resources.
Collaborate with Knowledge Management colleagues to organize and integrate research resources into firm knowledge systems, including intranet sites and knowledge repositories.
Monitor developments in legal technology, knowledge management, law firm business, and legal research and information services, and recommend tools and practices.