There's no more exciting time to be thinking about joining Womble Bond Dickinson than now. We've made no secret of the fact that we're ambitious and our recent move to become a transatlantic firm is just further evidence of that. For our people this makes for a really exciting future, one in which everyone has a role to play in furthering our ambitions whilst enjoying exciting and fulfilling careers. And the dynamic nature of the legal sector is just one challenge that we need to respond to as a business to ensure that our clients get the best possible service from us and our business continues to be sustainable. One of the ways in which we're responding to the market is through continued investment in our Legal Solutions Centre; a team of solicitors, chartered legal executives, paralegals, technologists, management information specialists and legal project managers, capable of providing support to the wider business on a regular and ongoing basis, for high volume projects or secondment opportunities, and providing some services directly to clients.

This dedicated team now have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Project Manager to join them.

Our Legal Solutions Centre is in Plymouth and two key offices are in Newcastle and Bristol. Ideally you'll be close to one of these three locations or have the ability to attend the office when required to.

What will you be doing?

You will be responsible for the successful scoping and delivery of projects on behalf of the Legal Solutions Centre. The projects in the main will be client focused and will cover for example, contract mobilisations, service transition and service improvement opportunities for high volume services.  You'll be responsible for the entire project lifecycle, working with the teams within the Legal Solutions Centre and the wider firm to deliver the project on time, to scope, budget and quality. You'll prepare and manage reporting to internal stakeholders and clients to ensure they are kept fully informed of project progress at all times. Our projects cover a wide range of legal practices, i.e. Real Estate, Debt Recovery, Litigation to name just a few so being able to hit the ground running in an area that you may not be familiar with is essential. We don't need you to be an expert in the particular practice area.

Here in the Legal Solutions Centre we pride ourselves on providing services which are delivered in the most optimal way using technology and paralegal resource where it is sensible to do so but with an emphasis on lean processes. Whilst the role is project management focused you also need to be process driven and be able to design and implement new services or new working practices, especially as our technologies evolve.

You will lead the workstream to define how the service will be delivered end to end, facilitating workshops with internal colleagues, and clients where appropriate, then documenting the process. You'll also be expected to work with the client to understand their working practices and what we need to do to adhere to these, i.e. raising bills and payment of invoices. All of the working practices will need to be documented at procedural level. You'll then work with our embedded lawyers and managing paralegals to ensure the new practices are understood and implemented.

The ability to build strong and trusted relationships with key players, i.e. partners, senior lawyers and business support heads is equally as important as you establish your own reputation and build on the reputation, and future opportunities of the Legal Solutions Centre. Over time you may be expected to manage some of the project managers within the team and be responsible for the oversite of their projects. As the team grows, you'll get to provide development for less experienced project managers.

So what are we looking for?

While you may already have experience of working in a law firm, it is not essential.  What's more important is that you are able to demonstrate your experience and success in managing client / service focused projects. You will also have the experience of either managing or being part of a project focusing on business change or service improvement. You'll understand and be able to map processes and are able to facilitate the design of new service lines / processes.

You will need to have a recognised project management qualification, i.e. PRINCE2 or any other recognised project/programme management accreditation. A Lean Six Sigma qualification again is helpful but not essential, practical experience is more important. You'll also need excellent IT skills, in particular Excel, Word, Visio and PowerPoint.

You'll need excellent communication skills both written and verbal, and great influencing skills, critical when working with our partners and senior lawyers where time is of the essence. Experience of people management would be helpful but again is not essential but we do need you to be a great team player and have the ability to motivate others.

If you are someone who enjoys a challenge and a variety of projects, and you believe you have what we are looking for then this role may just be for you!

Who are we?

A Top 100 law firm globally and Top 20 law firm in the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson has more than 400 partners and 1,000 lawyers based across 19 US cities and seven UK cities including a significant presence in London. The firm's reach also extends to Europe where it has strategic partnerships with other law firms in Germany and France.

In the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson advises in excess of 40 FTSE 350 companies, many of the largest businesses in the country, government organisations and wealthy individuals. With a focus on eleven key sectors (Energy & Natural Resources; Financial Institutions; Healthcare;  Insurance, Manufacturing;  Real Estate; Retail and Consumer; Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure; Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals; Technology and Private Wealth) the firm's experience allows it to build strong relationships and deliver an excellent service to clients.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we're more than just suits!  We like and make time for each other enabling us to establish professional relationships that become lasting friendships.  In addition, through our D&I practices and programmes we work hard to ensure that difference is visibly valued and welcomed. Visit our D&I page to find out more.

And that's not all, alongside a competitive salary you'll receive a flexible benefits package so you can pick and choose between the benefits that matter most to you.

Next steps

If this sounds like your next career move then please get in touch to find out more. No agencies please, we're an in-house recruitment team!

If this isn't the role for you (or the right time) why not connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@WBD_CareersUK) to keep up to date with all of our opportunities.  We also have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/womblebonddickinsoncareers/)