Senior Manager, Legal Operations

Senior Manager, Legal Operations

Our Mission

New Leaders develops transformational school leaders and advances policies and practices that ensure high academic achievement for all children—especially for students from under-resourced communities.

Position Details  

The Senior Manager, Legal Operations will be based out of a home office located anywhere within the contiguous United States (Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern time zones) or United States territories that fall within the Atlantic time zone.   

Position Overview

The Senior Manager, Legal Operations supports the effective and efficient functioning of the Legal team by managing legal operations and by identifying and implementing opportunities to optimize the operational and organizational aspects of running an excellent in-house legal department at a non-profit organization. The Senior Manager works closely with the Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel and Senior Executive Director, Legal Counsel, as well as internal clients at all levels. The Senior Manager must be able to adapt to changing priorities and business needs and must be proactive in identifying areas of improvement and taking action to address them.  

The Senior Manager, Legal Operations reports to the Senior Executive Director, Legal Counsel.

Specific Responsibilities

Legal Team Process, System, and Insight Management 

• Maintain, monitor, and assess the effectiveness of, and suggest improvements to the processes, systems and tools used to deliver legal services, including the use of technology tools.
• Proactively analyze and report on data related to the Legal team’s operations metrics to drive greater value and efficiency.
• Support implementation of technology tools and solutions (contract management, matter management, e-signature, etc.) to improve Legal team operations. 
• Support development and implementation of legal trainings and resources (e.g. templates, forms, tools, and guides) to create efficiencies and provide opportunities for self-service.

Legal Operations and Workstream Management

• Organize IP asset portfolio and oversee third-party licensing requests.
• Manage corporate insurance portfolio, including purchases and renewals and claims information.
• Manage state registrations, including information gathering, reporting, and record-keeping.
• Organize employee policies and procedures, ensuring user-friendly availability to staff.
• Support responses to data requests, subpoenas, or other document requests in relation to litigation, government inquiries, or other areas.
• Identify and handle information and knowledge management processes, including templates and playbooks, to increase department’s ability to deliver as efficiently as possible.
• Assist in managing the Legal team’s records and other resources with a primary focus on centralized and secure records management, oversight of the document retention and destruction policy and legal hold process, and proper information sharing.
• Manage operational projects and activities to drive efficiency and effectiveness of Legal team workstreams. 
• Organize and manage the Legal team docket and select Legal team workstreams; work with team attorneys to ensure the Legal team’s workflow is aligned to priorities. 
• Develop and execute project plans to drive on-time, high-quality results.
• Perform special projects and responsibilities assigned by the Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel or the Senior Executive Director, Legal Counsel.

Contracts Management

• Oversee full lifecycle of the contracts process and contract management system (in Salesforce) to meet business objectives and compliance needs.
• Serve as the primary legal contact on contract management processes across New Leaders, from intake through execution and release. 
• Manage the timely legal review of contracts by the Legal team and monitor department contract metrics and workflow.
• Prepare contract drafts and other legal documents from templates with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Provide data and reports.
• Provide training on contracts and procurement processes.
• Ensure all contracts are properly tracked, executed, and filed in Salesforce.

Other

• Assist attorneys with vendor management regarding billing, policy, and budget management.
• Collaborate with other teams to support organizational stewardship compliance.
• Manage the organization’s off-site document storage.
• Serve as primary point of contact for the Legal team to triage incoming requests.
• Handle other administrative responsibilities for the Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel and the Senior Executive Director, Legal Counsel.

Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications and Competencies

• Educational Background: 
  1. Bachelor’s degree required. 
  2. A paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved school is preferred.
• Professional Experience: Minimum of 5 years of overall professional experience required, including 3 years of legal operations experience.
• Team-Driven: Proven ability to collaborate effectively with individuals across a variety of backgrounds and experiences; must be results-driven while maintaining a collaborative and inclusive leadership style.
• Mission Alignment: Passionate belief in academic excellence for every student, aligned with New Leaders' mission.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and draft routine legal documents.
• Critical and analytical thinker who can multitask on multiple projects, efficiently and timely, with many competing priorities and changing deadlines.
• Ability to be proactive, resourceful, responsive, and efficient.
• Demonstrated commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for taking on new challenges.
• Ability to exercise professional judgement and discretion in handling confidential matters
• Exceptionally organized and detail oriented; strong skill in proofreading and a high-level of accuracy in work.
• Strong project planning and management skills.
• Experience with contract management.
• Experience implementing process redesign and improvement initiatives.
• Ability to demonstrate sound and independent judgment, strategic thinking, and problem-solving.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written. 
• Experience selecting and using legal technology and general productivity tools (Salesforce, Office suite, SharePoint, Google suite, Asana or other project planning software, DocuSign or other e-signature software).
• Travel may be required on occasion aligned to New Leaders’ Travel and In-Person Activities policy.
• New Leaders requires each employee to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccination (i.e., at least two weeks have passed since the employee received the dose of a single-dose vaccine or the second dose of a two-dose vaccine with at least the minimum recommended interval between doses) or to obtain an approved exemption or reasonable accommodation through the Human Resources team within six weeks of their start date as a term and condition of employment.          

Physical Requirements

The employee's routine activities involve sitting, talking, hearing, and using hands for tasks like typing, filing, and handling objects. Visual acuity is necessary for keyboard use, data analysis, transcribing, computer terminal viewing, and extensive reading. The role may involve ordinary ambulatory skills for visits to other locations or the ability to perform activities like standing, walking, lifting, carrying, and moving light-weight items. Proficiency in hand-eye coordination, along with dexterity in arms, hands, and fingers for tasks like grasping, operating standard office equipment, and learning technical information, is essential.   

What We Offer

Note: Salaries vary based on geographical location. After applying, candidates who move forward in the hiring process are provided with a salary for their geographical location. 

• Employees may be eligible for merit awards, bonuses, and/or incentive compensation depending on their role, organizational guidelines, and individual performance.
• Employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week are eligible to participate in the New Leaders Health Benefits and Wellness Program. 
• Medical plan options, dental care, and vision
• 401K plan for eligible employees
• Generous paid-time-off (PTO) benefits

Application Deadline: September 12, 2025. Please note that applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

New Leaders is an equal opportunity employer. New Leaders evaluates applicants for employment on the basis of qualifications, merit and work-related criteria and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, handicap, pregnancy, childbirth, medical condition, marital or familial status, family responsibilities, veteran status, personal appearance, political affiliation, matriculation, or any other characteristic protected by law in administration and operation of its Programs and activities, including admission or access thereto, or treatment or employment therein. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of such status and will not be discriminated against based on such status.