Business Transformation Lead

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The role

With a workplace changing through the introduction of new systems, self-service, AI and different working patterns, Clifford Chance needs to understand the impact of these changes on our business and our colleagues. 

The Business Transformation Lead will establish and lead a small but influential team that provides insight into business change impacts and works with functional and regional stakeholders to design and deliver operating model transformation that ensures the right work is being done by the right roles, and in the right parts of the organisation.

Who you will work with

The role will work with a range of stakeholders to ensure impacts are well understood, communicated, and managed towards successful outcomes. The role acts as the interface between transformation programmes and Clifford Chance leadership and will need to display strong programme management skills in addition to business support domain expertise, ideally within a professional services environment.

What you will be responsible for

Transformation programme leadership

• Responsible for the design and overall delivery of transformation programmes, ensuring that the programme's objectives align with the firm's overall strategic goals.
• Bring depth of professional services business support transformation experience to bear to ensure the programme is set up for success (governance, timeline, budget, working group).
• Responsible for establishing the business case, programme and its associated governance framework, building the case for change, and securing support from partners and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure the programme has the resources and expertise, including budget, personnel, and technology required to deliver the scale and ambition associated with the transformation.
• Act as strategic advisor to global leadership, leveraging strong business support transformation background.

Operating model design

• Acts as subject matter expert on all operating model insight, design and transformation work as part of the transformation programme.
• Assess current state operating models and identify options and solutions on a global basis to address complex issues and challenges.
• Develop criteria for the segmentation and allocation of tasks across operating models, balancing cost efficiency with service excellence.
• As part of the operating model design, understand opportunities to upskill colleagues to support their internal and external clients in ways that underpin the firm's strategy and to leverage technologies to achieve operational efficiencies, improved processes, and better support for our partners and lawyers in delivering our client work.
• Develop the sourcing and location strategy for global service delivery in the context of Clifford Chance's global operating model.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to deliver and embed the change.
• Monitor industry for innovation, trends, and thought leadership, brings this to bear in operating model design and delivery.

Change impact leadership

• Ensure the change impact of other major firm transformation projects are understood and reflected (for example, behavioural changes arising from our growth strategy, or new ways of working arising from systems changes).
• Identify the impact of the changes on our operating model and identify what needs to be in place at each phase of implementation to enable success.
• Work with project teams and the Global Head of Change Management to develop a change management and communications approach to support successful project outcomes.

Stakeholder and relationship management

• Develop and sustain key CXO stakeholder and partner relationships by demonstrating insight and understanding of the challenges facing impacted colleagues, at a personal, organisational and system level.
• Collaborate with, influence and challenge key stakeholders where required to ensure the right outcomes are obtained.
• Ensure appropriate stakeholder engagement on key topics is in place to support successful programme delivery.

Your experience

• Proven experience in wide-scale global operating model transformation projects in a professional services environment.
• Extensive expertise and knowledge in relation to professional service business support transformation.
• Extensive experience working with senior stakeholders in leading business change initiatives and facilitating change to improve and standardise business support operating models 
• Experience within a complex professional services or corporate environment, operating globally.
• Strong knowledge on trends and innovation within the business support space.    

Communication and presentation skills:

• Strong interpersonal skills, coupled with the ability to navigate a matrix management structure and build and maintain relationships within and across teams.
• Experience in stakeholder management at senior executive level on complex programmes.
• Strong ability to develop trusted network within an organisation amongst global peer group and senior stakeholders in a matrixed environment.
• Skilled in presenting management information with clarity to senior stakeholders.
• Able to operate effectively in a consensus-based partnership culture, prioritising influencing skills to achieve the desired outcome.
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to gain buy in influence colleagues to embrace change.
• Significant programme management skills; ability to deliver results by engaging with high performing teams, colleagues and suppliers to deliver at pace in a dynamic environment.

Strategic thinking:

• Proven ability to operate as an effective change agent, designing initiatives and effective implementation strategies within a partnership structure.
• Ability to deliver assured strategic advice within the specialism of business support in a professional services environment.  
• Ability to identify both the overt and covert organisational culture and its influence on change.

Organisation and time management skills:

• Good judgement and skill in identification and prioritisation of added value and strategic tasks.
• Ability to oversee and provide leadership across multiple projects at a time with different internal and external stakeholders, making pragmatic and practical decisions about how initiatives should be implemented.

How we will support you

As a firm, we make a significant investment in training and supporting members of the team through their career with Clifford Chance.

We offer opportunities to access externally recognised training qualifications, including consulting skills, Lean Six Sigma, recognised project management certifications and training in change management and technology. In addition to this, the nature of the work and interaction with the stakeholders will drive continuous on-the-job learning 

Hybrid Working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. 

Find out more about our inclusive culture here