Director, Legal Operations

Overview

The Director of Legal Operations will lead Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s efforts to enhance operational efficiency and business processes within the Office of General Counsel (OGC); oversee an outside counsel management program; identify, select, implement and optimize tools and technology; and partner closely with OGC’s Intellectual Property team and the Innovations Office to manage the costs of maintaining Dana-Farber’s extensive patent portfolio. This role will also manage a core team of legal operations and administrative professionals and drive continuous improvement using Lean Six Sigma methodologies. In partnership with Finance, the Director will manage and track legal spend across multiple cost centers and oversee monthly accruals of legal fees to support month-end close, reporting, and forecasting. This position reports directly to the Senior Vice President and General Counsel and collaborates with leaders across Innovations, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and other teams across Dana-Farber.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Legal Operations & Process Excellence : Advise the General Counsel and senior leadership on the operational and strategic management of the department; lead process improvements and implement Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce costs and increase efficiency; establish and maintain data-driven metrics and analytics to maximize resources and performance; define and standardize workflows and governance; provide guidance across the organization as a member of multidisciplinary project teams; and serve on the legal leadership team to foster strong internal communications, high team performance, and team member well-being across the OGC.
• Outside Counsel Management : Oversee a comprehensive outside counsel management program that harmonizes engagement and performance, improves efficiency, and reduces costs; optimize the use of e-billing/legal spend and matter management technologies, including alignment of internal business processes and tools to drive efficiency, better decision-making, and cost reduction; and collaborate with internal counsel, external law firms, and benchmarking data to manage outside counsel performance, rates, and spend in accordance with firm guidelines and service-level expectations.
• Legal Finance, Budgeting & Accruals : Serve as the Legal Department’s primary liaison with DFCI’s Finance Department and the Innovations Office on finance matters; partner closely with Finance to manage budgeting, forecasting, monthly accruals, and budget variance analysis on legal spend; manage and track legal spend and ensure accurate allocation, in partnership with Finance and other stakeholders; coordinate with Finance to ensure accurate month-end close, reporting, and forecasting of legal fees; and support strategic short and long-term projects focused on efficient use of internal and external legal resources.
• Legal Technology, Data & Knowledge Management : Serve as the Legal Department’s primary liaison with DFCI’s Information Technology (IT) Department; partner with IT to assess, select, deploy, and maintain information systems, programs, and tools that support knowledge management and legal operations; ensure effective data governance and system integrations across platforms; and collaborate with IT to develop and implement dashboards and reporting that enhance information sharing, transparency, and decision-making.
• Leadership, Engagement & Well‑Being : Manage and develop a high-performing team of legal operations and administrative professionals; set clear goals and performance metrics; provide coaching, mentoring, and professional development opportunities; optimize resource planning and workload management; and cultivate an inclusive, collaborative culture focused on excellence, continuous improvement, and well-being.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Directly manages team of administrative and legal operations professionals .

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a related field of study such as Pre‑Law, Political Science, or Paralegal Studies; or Business Administration or Management.
• 8 years of substantive legal operations and project management experience required in corporate legal department or law firm, including outside counsel management, financial management and legal technology selection and implementation.
• Demonstrated experience using formal project management and process improvement tools and techniques (e.g., Lean Six Sigma).
• Experience with e-billing/legal spend management, matter management, contract lifecycle management, extranets/online data rooms, collaboration tools, and SharePoint.
• A continuous improvement mindset with the willingness to challenge assumptions and propose bold, practical solutions.
• People leadership experience, including building, coaching, and developing high-performing teams.
• Change management experience preferred.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Six Sigma certification is strongly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Deep legal operations expertise across outside counsel management, legal spend management, matter management, contract lifecycle management, and knowledge management.
• Strong financial acumen, including GAAP concepts, accruals, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Proven ability to manage budgeting, forecasting, accruals, and variance analysis; familiarity with finance principle and month-end close processes.
• Advanced data literacy with the ability to define KPIs, build and interpret dashboards, and use benchmarking to drive performance and decision‑making.
• Proven process improvement capabilities (e.g., Lean Six Sigma), including process mapping, workflow design, and governance establishment to reduce cost and increase efficiency.
• Demonstrated ability to design and manage an outside counsel program: rate benchmarking, alternative fee development, RFPs/panel selection, performance scorecards, and enforcement of outside counsel guidelines.
• Proficiency with legal operations technologies and related integrations (e-billing/legal spend platforms, matter management, CLM, collaboration tools, SharePoint), and ability to partner with IT on requirements, selection, implementation, UAT, and change adoption.
• Demonstrated ability to function as a change agent, champion continuous improvement, and lead organizational adoption of new processes, tools, and operating models.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including creating executive-level‑ presentations and clear, actionable reports.
• Strong analytical skills and facility with numbers; advanced Excel and comfort with BI/reporting tools to translate data into insights.
• Ability to build relationships and function in a highly matrixed, consensus-driven, and academic environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical skills and data literacy, including the use of metrics, dashboards, and benchmarking to drive performance.
• A continuous improvement mindset with the willingness to challenge assumptions and propose bold, practical solutions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams of legal executives and business partners.

Pay Transparency Statement

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and based on the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

$170,500-$203,400

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are committed to having faculty and staff that offer multifaceted experiences. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and diverse professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.