Head of Operations

Totum Partners; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Totum Partners is seeking a Head of Practice Strategy & Operations for a leading international law firm. You will partner with Practice Group Leaders and senior stakeholders to define strategy, align business plans with the firm’s growth agenda and drive profitability across critical portfolios.

In this high‑impact role you will lead a high‑performing operations team, own budgets and KPIs, oversee initiatives that improve efficiency, and coordinate with finance, HR and BD to deliver strategic

Qualifications

• Leadership experience in professional services or law firms.
• Strong commercial acumen with ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience delivering operational transformation in complex organisations.
• Financial literacy with budget and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior leadership to shape and deliver practice strategy, business plans and budgets.
• Provide insight and challenge across financial performance, people strategy and business development.
• Lead strategic projects and drive alignment with overall firm strategy.
• Oversee delivery of key initiatives to enhance efficiency and performance.
• Develop a deep understanding of sector, clients and market dynamics.
• Provide commercially focused insight to support growth and profitability.

Job description

A leading international law firm is seeking a Head of Practice Strategy & Operations to partner closely with senior leadership, driving both the strategic direction and operational performance of a key practice group portfolio

This is a high-impact role, sitting at the centre of business performance, working directly with Practice Group Leaders and senior stakeholders to enhance profitability, operational efficiency and long-term strategic growth.

Key responsibilities will include:

Strategy & leadership

• Partner with senior leadership to shape and deliver practice strategy, business plans and budgets
• Provide insight and challenge across financial performance, people strategy and business development
• Lead strategic projects and drive alignment with overall firm strategy
• Act as a central point of coordination between fee earners and business services
• Lead and develop a high-performing operational management team
• Drive operational excellence, process improvement and innovation
• Oversee delivery of key initiatives to enhance efficiency and performance
• Act as escalation point for complex operational matters
• Develop a deep understanding of sector, clients and market dynamics
• Provide commercially focused insight to support growth and profitability
• Partner with BD to support execution of strategic client and market initiatives

People & culture

• Support leadership on talent strategy, including hiring, succession and development
• Drive collaboration across teams and functions
• Partner closely with HR on performance, remuneration and engagement initiatives
• Lead budgeting processes alongside Finance Business Partner
• Monitor performance against KPIs, identifying and delivering improvement initiatives
• Drive profitability and operational efficiency across the practice

Candidate profile

• Proven leadership experience within a law firm or professional services environment
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to influence at senior stakeholder level
• Track record of delivering operational transformation and strategic initiatives in complex, matrix organisations
• Financially literate with experience managing budgets and performance
• Credible, proactive and highly collaborative, with excellent communication skills

As a responsible business, it is important that we represent the diversity of our people, our clients and our communities. We believe that the firms that thrive are those with the most diverse team; that's why we work so hard to source the best talent from the broadest pool possible. As an equal opportunities employer we strive to accommodate anyone who may have specific needs. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the selection process, please talk to a member of the recruitment team so that any required adjustments can be made in advance.