Head of Operations, Asia

Linklaters Italy; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Linklaters seeks a senior leader to define and drive the regional operations strategy across all offices in the region. You will oversee security, business continuity, space planning, and budget governance to enable efficient, compliant operations worldwide.

You will lead multi-country office moves, leases and vendor partnerships, ensuring excellence in service delivery and alignment with global policies and company values. Strong stakeholder management across functions is essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of regional operations leadership experience, preferably in professional services or large global matrix organisations.
• Proven track record in facilities and workplace management including multi-country oversight.
• Experience managing multi-million budgets and driving efficiency in space utilisation.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision, strategy and KPIs for regional operations and security across offices.
• Lead budgets and resource allocation for regional offices to align with strategy.
• Oversee venue leases, premises improvements and space planning in the region.
• Drive vendor management, contracts and service level governance for regional operations.
• Coordinate projects for relocations, renovations and new constructions across regions.

Skills

Budget Management

Change Management

Contract Management

Facility Management

Lease Management

Project Management

Security Management

Strategic Sourcing

Sustainability Strategy

Vendor Management

Job description

Operations Regional Operations Management

Set the vision, strategy, objectives and KPIs for the regional operations function. Oversee regional security and business continuity implementation. Uphold the highest standards of adherence to global policies across all offices in the region, fostering consistency and excellence in operations. Develop, manage, and optimise budgets for regional offices, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and maximising resource allocation. Lead the strategic oversight of regional operations resources, implementing best practices to enhance efficiency and drive operational excellence. Establish and maintain robust regional security protocols and business continuity plans, ensuring resilience against disruptions and safeguarding operations. Seek out and engage top-tier experts for advisory and execution purposes, ensuring that operations-related activities benefit from cutting-edge insights and execution.

Premises, Workplace, Employee and Visitor Experience

Coordinate space occupancy planning and assessment with offices in the region. Design and drive initiatives to enhance employee engagement through well-planned physical workspaces. Implement initiatives to ensure visitors have a seamless and best-in-class experience. Integrate technology solutions to streamline processes and interaction points for both employees and visitors. Oversee the negotiation, execution, and administration of leases within the region, in collaboration with Global Real Estate function. Proactively seek, recommend, and drive improvements that would enable us to use space more effectively / efficiently.

Vendor Management

Spearhead regional vendor management, driving the standardisation and improvement of vendor contracts and relationships to enhance service delivery. Regularly review vendor performance to ensure standards are met and take corrective actions if necessary. Implement proper standards how we measure and drive vendor performance. Develop strategic partnerships with vendors to enhance service delivery and innovation. Establish formal feedback loops with vendors to foster continuous improvement and alignment with regional goals.

Project Management

Coordinate with offices for projects related to office and site relocations, renovations, and new constructions. Promote, champion and drive improvements that scale best practices across multiple regions, beyond Asia.

Operations

A significant experience (10+ years) in regional operations leadership, ideally within professional services or large global matrix organisations. A strong track record in facilities and workplace management, including managing office moves, redesigns, vendor relationships and service delivery across multiple countries. Proven ability to lead employee and visitor experience initiatives that elevate service quality, align with company values and drive measurable impact. Experience in managing multi-million operational budgets and executing strategies for efficiency and space utilisation. Excellent stakeholder management skills, capable of working across functions and geographies to influence, align and deliver results. Experience in contract negotiation, vendor performance and service level governance. Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate diverse teams, driving culture of excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.

About Linklaters

Linklaters is a global law firm, providing legal services in 20 countries and through 30 offices. Linklaters is a people business. Being best in class in the eyes of our clients means that our people must be exceptional. We look not only for brilliant minds, but for people who will thrive in our environment: people who love working collaboratively and demonstrate the innovative, efficient, agile, entrepreneurial, and responsible mind-set we aim to bring to every interaction. Ours is an environment of outperformance. We achieve this not with targets and incentives, but by fostering a positive, supportive, fair, and open atmosphere. We respect and value difference but insist on inclusivity. We celebrate all aspects of diversity and challenge any form of bias. This is vital to our ability to work as one team, with a common goal.

Culture and Opportunities

At Linklaters we offer a truly global work experience and the opportunity to be involved in strategic projects that drive innovation and shape the future of our business. We belong to a firm that embodies its corporate social, environment, and governance responsibility commitments. We remain focused on talent and having the best people which will result in a diverse workforce. Having got the best people, we want them to feel included, valued and respected so they can perform at their best. We advocate speak-up culture to empower our people in sharing their voices and an open-door policy to ensure they are listened to. We invest in custom-fit career paths for our people in line with their talents and aspirations. We provide agile working solutions to meet the changing needs of our people and our business. We are committed to people-first relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation. We support the health and wellbeing of our people, providing a safe space to talk about emotions and mental health with access to expert advice as needed. We invest in developing leaders of the future who demonstrate emotional intelligence and a passion to discover, coach and develop the talents of others.

Technical Skills

• Budget Management
• Change Management
• Contract Management
• Facility Management
• Lease Management
• Project Management
• Security Management
• Strategic Sourcing
• Sustainability Strategy
• Vendor Management

Other Information

This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive. It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required. This is the place where talent meets opportunity and where passion meets purpose. At Linklaters, the work we do means carving a path through unexplored territory, working on complex legal matters, across jurisdictions and borders and providing outstanding service and confidence to our clients. Having the vision to see things differently and the determination to deliver excellence, every time. That’s what makes us who we are. You can see your true potential connecting with dynamic colleagues all over the world, united by purpose and shared values and working together as one inclusive, collaborative team. With second to none training and support, this is the place where you meet your future. This is Linklaters.

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits, we will conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and references from previous employers. Your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks which will be initiated following your consent.

As a responsible business, it is important that we represent the diversity of our people, our clients and our communities. We know that diversity makes us a better law firm and helps us attract the best talent, drive innovation with diversity of thought, and deliver the best experience to everyone who comes into contact with us. We recruit on the basis of merit, irrespective of age, disability, gender, gender identity, race or ethnicity, marital status, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Selection decisions, and the reasons for those decisions, are recorded at each stage of the selection process.

Selection criteria and, where appropriate, technical skills tests are in place to measure an individual’s ability for the safe and effective performance of a job. Those involved in recruitment and selection decisions and processes are also provided with guidance on diversity issues. 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.

Specific experience requirements advertised on a role do not intend to preclude applications from candidates who may have more or less experience. Our intention is only to indicate a guideline as to the necessary skills for the role as described.