Head of Business Performance (5797)

Irwin Mitchell LLP; Glasgow, City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A national law firm seeks a Head of Business Performance in Glasgow. This pivotal role involves driving profitability, managing business strategies, and collaborating with senior leadership to enhance performance and client satisfaction. Ideal candidates will have extensive leadership experience in professional services and a strong commercial acumen. The firm fosters a supportive and inclusive workplace, offering generous benefits including 25 vacation days and a flexible pension scheme.

Benefits

25 days holidays plus bank holidays

Generous and flexible pension schemes

Two paid volunteering days annually

Westfield Health membership

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in a leadership role within a complex professional services firm.
• Proven track record of commercial success and managing P&L accounts.
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of business strategies aligning with firm’s goals.
• Collaborate with leadership for financial forecasting and resource planning.
• Monitor performance trends and implement improvement initiatives.

Skills

Relationship building

Commercial acumen

Analytical skills

Strategic thinking

Operational excellence

Job description

We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our legal experts are here for you. Whether it’s personal or business, we understand that everyone’s situation is different. But we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team of people working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs. Working here you’ll feel a part of our friendly and inclusive environment.

We’ll value you for who you are and what you bring. We support each other and push boundaries to achieve incredible things and make a real difference to our clients and communities.

We're always looking to support our colleagues to work in a way that works best for them and everyone else, including our clients, the business and the regulators. Please speak to a member of our Recruitment and Onboarding team for more information.

Your Role and What You'll Be Doing

As our Head of Business Performance for Scotland, you will be a pivotal member of the senior leadership team, partnering closely with our Board and senior management to drive profitability and elevate business performance. This role will operate across both Irwin Mitchell Scotland and WJM, ensuring alignment and collaboration between the two firms. Reporting to the Director of Business Performance, you will develop and implement integrated commercial business plans aligned with IM Group’s strategic objectives. Your role will ensure robust business management processes, identify performance trends, and execute improvement plans by influencing cross-functional teams across the Group. You will also lead key commercial improvement initiatives, share best practices, and ensure alignment on strategic priorities.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead the development and execution of integrated business strategies and financial forecasts, aligning client, business development, and people priorities with the firm’s strategic goals
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure robust financial forecasts underpin income, cost, and cashflow targets.
• Partner with the Managing Partner and senior leadership to plan resource needs, structures, and budgets, ensuring talent and succession strategies support sustainable growth.
• Develop new business scenarios and models to respond to regulatory and market changes.
• Represent the Business Performance Team on strategic projects, ensuring financial, resource, and operational impacts are fully considered.
• Influence agendas across Business Development, Client Service, People, and Change to protect our market-leading proposition and drive client satisfaction.
• Operate as an integral member of the leadership team, shaping strategic direction and delivering key performance outcomes.
• Steer the firm through annual business cycles, ensuring critical activities are delivered on time and operational rhythm is maintained.
• Monitor and influence financial, operational, and resource drivers to support growth and profitability.
• Collaborate with leaders to identify opportunities for performance improvement and profitability.
• Track and communicate performance, embedding a profit-focused culture across the Group.
• Identify and elevate risks, working with leadership to implement remedial plans as needed.
• Analyse performance trends to influence long-term delivery and efficiency.
• Lead key business initiatives, preparing proposals and recommendations to maximise performance and service delivery.
• Champion data-driven approaches to enhance financial and operational forecasting.
• Establish yourself as a trusted advisor to the Managing Partner and senior leadership, demonstrating deep understanding of the firm’s services and practices.
• Influence cross-functional teams to execute strategy and drive improvements.
• Play a key role in leadership meetings, setting agendas, updating on performance, and steering activity.
• Champion commercial awareness and a profit-conscious culture.
• Support the development of lawyers and leaders, ensuring structured training and succession planning.
• Act as a change ambassador, guiding and supporting colleagues through initiatives.
• Promote a positive colleague experience and support strategic Great Place to Work (GPTW) activities.
• Deputise for the Director of Business Performance as required.

About You

• Extensive experience of successfully building relationships and influencing all levels of internal stakeholders
• Credible self-starter with a track record of commercial success in a medium/ large scale complex and multi-faceted legal or professional services firm
• Previous experience in a Head of Business Performance or Commercial Management (or similar) role with ability to drive strong commercial outcomes through the management of commercial drivers and key performance indicators.
• Commercial acumen and financial understanding – experience of managing P&L accounts and setting, meeting, and delivering to forecast targets
• Strong analytical skills to drive performance insight and action
• Strategic Thinking – ability to identify and act upon strategic improvement opportunities, leveraging the critical factors and variables that will influence the long‑term success of the business and our teams
• Ability to review, propose and improve operational processes and ways of working to improve business outcomes
• Ability and experience in people management processes and practices, driving improvements in colleague experience, engagement, and retention
• Operational excellence focus - drive for service excellence, process, and people efficiency

Our Benefits - What We Can Offer You

• 25 days holidays as standard plus bank holidays - You can ‘buy’ up to 35hrs of extra holiday too.
• Generous and flexible pension schemes.
• Volunteering days – Two days of volunteering every year for a cause of your choice (fully paid)
• Westfield Health membership, offering refunds on medical services alongside our Aviva Digital GP services.

We also offer a wide range of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace and to make sure you’re fully supported. This includes our Flexible by Choice programme which gives our colleagues more choice over a hybrid way of working subject to role, team and client requirements.

We have been ranked in the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing for Large Organisations for 2024!

Our responsible business programmes are fundamental to who we are and our purpose. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish, and we have established a number of inclusion network groups across our business to support this aim.

Our commitment to Social Responsibility, community investment activity and tackling climate change is a fundamental part of who we are. It’s made up of four strands: Our People, Our Community, Our Environment and Our Pro Bono.

Additional Information

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on‑boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, colleagues, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

We carry out pre employment screening to establish your eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record and financial checks with our trusted 3rd parties.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.