Chief Operating Officer (COO)

GHJ; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 350,000 - 450,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Executive benefits

Bonus opportunity

Job summary

GHJ is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer for a well‑established, multi‑office law firm in Los Angeles. You will lead non‑attorney administrative functions with a focus on HR, recruiting, people management, and practice operations, partnering with the Managing Partner to shape growth and leadership succession.

This hands‑on leader will establish scalable procedures, drive accountability, manage vendor relationships, and collaborate with the Controller on budgeting and KPIs.

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience in a law firm, accounting firm, or professional services.
• Strong background in HR, recruiting, employee relations, and people leadership.
• Proven ability to improve operations, workflows, and processes.
• Experience negotiating vendor and service-provider relationships.
• Familiarity with legal or professional services tech and business systems.
• Excellent financial acumen and partnering with finance leadership.
• Discretion, organization, and executive presence.

Responsibilities

• Lead HR, recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and retention.
• Oversee benefits strategy and renewals with brokers and providers.
• Manage firmwide administrative operations and scalable procedures.
• Assess staffing, workflows, and operational efficiency.
• Serve as trusted advisor to Managing Partner and leadership.
• Capture operational knowledge and support succession planning.
• Negotiate major vendor, insurance, and legal tech contracts.
• Maintain knowledge of legal technology and business systems.
• Partner with Controller on budgeting, KPIs, and performance.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing culture across admin teams.

Skills

HR leadership

Recruiting

Employee relations

Vendor management

Legal tech

Finance partnering

Executive presence

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, or related field

Job description

GHJ Search and Staffing serves as the recruitment division of GHJ, a prominent national accounting and advisory firm. Our team provides qualified Accounting and Finance professionals on a temporary and permanent basis across a broad range of industries. GHJ’s relationship with our Global Advisory and Accounting Network provides the resources needed to better understand client’s needs, attract a higher caliber of candidates and assess candidate potential.

A well-established, multi-office law firm is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as the firm’s senior business executive and trusted partner to the Managing Partner. This is a rare opportunity for an accomplished professional services leader to take ownership of firm administration, strengthen the organization’s people and processes, and help shape its next chapter of growth and leadership succession.

The COO will lead the firm’s non-attorney administrative functions, with a particular focus on human resources, recruiting, people management, and practice operations. The role is designed for a hands‑on, highly organized leader who can bring structure and accountability to firm operations while building trusted relationships across attorneys, staff, and firm leadership.

Financial acumen is important, but this is not a traditional CFO role. An established Controller oversees day‑to‑day accounting and finance, allowing the COO to focus more broadly on people, operations, strategic initiatives, and organizational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead HR, recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and retention initiatives
• Oversee benefits strategy and renewals, including relationships with brokers and providers
• Lead firmwide administrative operations and establish clear, scalable procedures and accountability
• Evaluate staffing needs, resource allocation, workflows, and operational efficiency
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Managing Partner and support firm leadership on strategic initiatives
• Help capture and institutionalize critical operational knowledge while supporting long‑term succession planning
• Negotiate major vendor, insurance, benefits, and legal technology contracts
• Maintain strong working knowledge of legal technology and business systems and support new implementations
• Partner with the Controller on budgeting, financial planning, KPIs, and business performance
• Foster a collaborative, high‑performing culture while providing leadership and mentorship to administrative teams

Qualifications

• Significant progressive leadership experience within a law firm, accounting firm, or other professional services environment
• Strong background in HR, recruiting, employee relations, and people leadership
• Demonstrated success improving operations, workflows, and organizational processes
• Experience managing and negotiating significant vendor and service‑provider relationships
• Familiarity with legal or professional services technology and business systems
• Strong financial acumen and ability to partner effectively with finance leadership
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, organization, and follow‑through
• Executive presence with the ability to build credibility across partners, leadership, and staff
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, or related field

Why Join?

• Serve as the senior business executive of an established law firm with direct access to the Managing Partner
• Take ownership of a broad operational function where your impact will be highly visible
• Play a meaningful role in leadership succession and the long‑term evolution of the firm
• Join a relationship‑driven culture that values collaboration and long‑term employee retention
• Competitive $350,000–$450,000 base salary, plus bonus opportunity and comprehensive executive benefits

$350,000 - $450,000 a year

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