Process Improvement Manager

What we will offer

We will offer you a place where you can be yourself and where there are no limits on what you can achieve. With us, you can take ownership of your career and have honest conversations throughout. You would join an ambitious firm with a clear strategy for profitable growth where you can get early responsibility and early involvement in growing the business. Here you can expect a competitive and fair reward as well as recognition based on all round performance. This forms part of our internal promise to you, The Deal, between the firm and its employees.

You can expect

• A competitive salary and a host of family friendly policies
• Hybrid working - 3 days in the office per week
• Life assurance, private health and dental care for you and your family
• A range of flexible benefits including gym discount and retail vouchers
• Tech, cycle and electric car schemes
• The opportunity to support the firm's charity through volunteering leave
• A wellbeing strategy that focuses on preventative measures to maintain overall health, and tools and support for when our people experience physical or mental difficulties. The strategy focuses on four pillars: physical, emotional, financial and social aspects.

Team Structure

Innovation plays a key role in delivering the firm's strategic goals. Founded in January 2018 the team has a global remit and leads the firm's innovation related work. It is highly regarded within the firm and is expanding to build on the successes to date and to meet the growing needs of the firm. We focus on improving the way our lawyers deliver services to clients, and on identifying and implementing new services that complement our core revenue generating activities.

This is a role focused on delivering business change. Stakeholder and change management experience are at least as important as technical skills.

Main Responsibilities

The primary focus of this role will be on successfully delivering projects that;

• Enable the firm to deliver revenue profitably by implementing solutions that facilitate efficient matter delivery
• Contribute to the firm's revenue growth through partnerships with key clients and supporting the development of new services
• Future proof our service delivery model by giving us the foundations and agility to respond to the rapidly evolving way that legal services are delivered

The types of projects include:

• Process improvement projects following a best-in-class methodology
• Partnering with key Clients to optimise matter delivery processes
• Supporting and advising lawyers on the deployment of process and technology for large and complex matters
• The nature of the projects will evolve over time, but the core focus of the role will be the delivery of process improvement projects.

The secondary focus of the role will be building relationships with internal stakeholders to generate a pipeline of future projects.

Attributes/Skills Required

The successful candidate will:

• Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence, and have experience of working with project stakeholders with different wants and needs, to achieve project success
• Be able to quickly establish relationships with project teams and sponsors
• Be comfortable with ambiguity, and able to provide structure and logic to complex or unclear situations
• Be able to read situations and know when to be challenging, and when to be pragmatic
• Have strong communication and presentation skills, and be comfortable and compelling when presenting to senior stakeholders
• Demonstrate the Stephenson Harwood values of individuality, commitment, teamwork and straight talking
• Acknowledge the importance of applying a professional touch to everything that they do
• Be self-motivated and work independently on one piece of work, and successfully lead a team on the next
• Have successfully delivered process improvement projects within the professional services environment (ideally legal)
• Have experience leveraging Lean Six-Sigma process improvement methodologies

This job description is indicative only and does not represent an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The firm reserves the right to alter or change the responsibilities at any time, in line with the firm's strategy and business needs.

We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, culture or any other protected characteristics. We aim to create a culture where everyone can be themselves and is valued for their strengths and unique perspectives. About the Firm

With 8 offices worldwide and with our headquarters based in London, Stephenson Harwood is a law firm where our people are committed to achieving the goals of our clients - listed and private companies, institutions, and individuals across the globe. Our mix of expertise and culture results in a combination of deep local insight and the capability to provide a seamless international service.

Our experience encompasses corporate, commercial litigation and arbitration, employment, pensions and private wealth, finance, marine and international trade, and real estate and projects.

We assemble teams of bright thinkers to match our clients' needs and give the right advice from the right person at the right time. Dedicating the highest calibre of legal talent to overcome the most complex issues, we deliver pragmatic, expert advice that is set squarely in the real world.

We understand the power of diversity in delivering that high calibre advice to our clients. We want to attract diverse talent and we particularly encourage applications from underrepresented demographics.

Our values:

Individuality- We encourage creativity and develop talent

Commitment- To be the best and deliver the highest standard

Teamwork- We work together to build close, long-term relationships

Straight talking- We say what we mean and do what we say

These values express the personality of the individuals within our firm. They are the behaviours we encourage in our people and the standards which inform our decisions and actions.

Our vision into 2026

To be a successful firm where talented people work together in an entrepreneurial environment, building long term client relationships.

This vision is about who we want to be, as well as who we are. It is as much about our values as about our character - the attributes we want to see from all of our people. It also reflects the importance of remaining independent - a clear sign that we are confident in our own future. That's how we unlock our entrepreneurial spirit, advising our clients with top performing teams.

A key part of the 2026 strategy is to focus on five core sectors: decarbonisation, life sciences, private capital & funds, technology, and transportation & trade. These have been identified as crucial in the drive for accelerated profitable growth.