Director, Legal Operations

Position Summary

Harris Associates L.P. is seeking a Director, Legal Operations to optimize the operational, financial, and strategic performance of various support functions of the investment advisory firm. This position will report directly to the Harris Chief Administrative Officer. This role will develop and implement processes, technology solutions, and resource strategies that enhance the department’s productivity, reduce risk, and enable the legal, compliance, enterprise risk, and people functions to act as a key business partner across the organization.

Success in this role means having a proactive, hands-on, and collaborative attitude with a readiness to take ownership of a variety of initiatives.  This individual will need to excel in a high volume, time-sensitive environment and be proactive in establishing productive relationships with key stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Department Strategy & Operations

• Design and execute an operational roadmap for the legal, risk, audit, compliance, and people functions, ensuring alignment with the firm’s strategic goals.
• Implement functional department KPIs and reporting metrics to track efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and risk management performance.
• Establish best practices and standardized processes to enhance workflow, knowledge management, and interdepartmental collaboration.
• Serve as the departments liaison to ensure seamless integration of department operations into broader business functions.

Technology & Process Optimization

• Lead the selection and implementation of technology solutions (e.g., contract lifecycle management, legal research tools, document automation, AI-assisted contract review) to enhance efficiency and reduce manual workload. Provide ongoing input regarding process and technology improvements and drive scalable solutions.
• Develop a centralized knowledge management system, including playbooks and legal templates, to improve consistency and reduce reliance on outside counsel.
• Streamline workflows for new product launches, due diligence meetings, reducing turnaround times and improving department responsiveness.
• Have an in-depth knowledge of the department’s tech stack and serve as a key stakeholder with enterprise technology team:
  • Work closely across departments to develop business process definitions and common metrics to measure the effectiveness of the legal and compliance organization
  • Develop and maintain department productivity and efficacy dashboards
  • In close coordination with finance, manage and closely monitor time-spend analysis

Financial & Vendor Management

• Oversee department budget planning, tracking, and forecasting to optimize spending and resource allocation.
• Develop and implement a department vendor management strategy, negotiating fee structures and evaluating the performance of all vendors. Maintain favorable pricing and manage renewals for department vendors.
• Develop and administer outside counsel and vendor guidelines document and assist with annual assessment of same.
• Assist with department vendor RFPs and coordinate with vendor business oversight team.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Business Support

• Partner with compliance and risk management teams to ensure alignment of legal processes with evolving regulatory and operational needs.
• Lead onboarding efforts for new hires within the department, ensuring a seamless integration into the organization. Organize training sessions and engagement initiatives to promote interdepartmental as well as cross functional collaboration and foster a positive workplace culture.
• Serve as the central point of contact for the CAO, fostering a strong relationship between the departments and firm. Communicate department initiatives, polices and best practices for broader visibility with the attempt to align with goals of the organization.
• Act as a strategic adviser to investment, operations and sales teams to ensure processes are structured to support business growth.

Project-Based Initiatives

• Lead the integration of AI and automation in legal workflows to improve efficiency in contract negotiations, due diligence, risk assessment, and corporate governance.
• Implement a deal execution framework that ensures seamless coordination between legal, investment, and finance teams on key transactions.
• Develop a firm-wide contract risk management strategy, ensuring visibility into obligations, renewal deadlines, and key legal risks.
• Design an enterprise-wide approach for legal data analytics, providing business teams with actionable insights into legal risks, trends, and opportunities.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum ten (10) years of relevant legal operations, experience; preferably within asset management, financial services, and/or professional services.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills including the ability to communicate constructively and in different degrees of detail tailored to the audience.
• Have an intellectual curiosity, a desire to learn and a drive to improve current processes.
• Ability to quickly learn and implement technology solutions.
• Exceptional project management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple critical projects.
• Understanding of legal matter management, e-blling, and contract management.
• Strong financial management and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills with superior attention to detail.
• Ability to operate independently and perform a wide variety of complex and confidential tasks with speed, and accuracy coupled with a professional and positive attitude.
• Self-starter with the ability to assess, explain and solve complex problems in a deadline- oriented environment.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office with key strengths in PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerBI.

Preferred

• Experience working with auditors, attorneys, compliance and risk management function.
• Experience within a highly regulated organization; appreciation for control functions.