Legal Innovation & Operations Lead

Block; California; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Block is seeking an experienced operations professional to lead the Legal Innovation & Operations (LIO) team within Counsel. You will shape the team’s strategy, drive automation initiatives, manage budgets, and optimize processes across Legal, IT, Finance and Business Operations.

The role emphasizes collaboration, strategic thinking, and hands-on implementation of tools that improve efficiency and outcomes for the organization.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in legal operations, tech strategy, or related ops role.
• Experience leading automation or AI initiatives with measurable impact.
• Budget, timeline, and stakeholder management experience.
• Translating technical details into clear business value.
• Collaborative mindset; comfortable experimenting.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the LIO team's operations strategy from vision to execution.
• Lead multiple workstreams: tech automation, budgets, and vendor management.
• Design and implement tools and platforms that streamline legal work.
• Partner across Legal, Policy, IT, Finance and Business Ops to roll out tech solutions.
• Build relationships with vendors and ensure measurable value from investments.
• Lead cross-functional, multi-quarter projects advancing automation and data insights.

Job description

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

The Role

We are looking for a collaborative, curious operations professional with a passion for leading our Legal Innovation & Operations (LIO) team within our Counsel organization. We're looking for a strategic, detail-oriented builder to lead our team operations strategy from vision to execution. You will manage multiple workstreams, from continuing the work to improve the organization's technology and automation initiatives to managing our budget and reducing third-party spend where possible. We will task you with solving problems, optimizing processes, and bringing the power of automation and AI into how our work gets done.

You Will

• Lead the charge on defining and driving our legal tech strategy, including setting the vision, building the roadmap, and delivering tools that make our team faster, smarter, and more connected.
• Oversee our suite of legal systems (like CLM, eBilling, knowledge management and workflow platforms), ensuring they're optimized, well-integrated, and aligned with how the business actually works.
• Manage our core digital platforms, keeping them efficient, intuitive, and budget-conscious.
• Partner across Legal, Policy, IT, Finance, Business Operations and beyond to evaluate and roll out technology and solutions that streamlines work and improves the experience for everyone who touches it.
• Design elegant solutions and connecting the dots between business needs and technology.
• Build and maintain relationships with vendors, ensuring we get measurable value from our tech investments.
• Lead multi-quarter, cross-functional projects that push automation, AI, and data-driven insights deeper into how we deliver our work throughout the organization.
• Help create operational excellence wherever opportunities exist.

You Have

• 8+ years of experience in legal operations, tech strategy, or a related operations-focused role.
• Experience leading automation or AI initiatives that drive measurable improvements.
• Capacity for managing budgets, timelines, and stakeholders, with a sharp eye for detail and follow-through.
• Adaptive communication methods, translating technical detail into clear business value.
• A collaborative and curious mindset, unafraid to experiment or rethink how things are done.
• Familiarity with platforms like DocuSign CLM or workflow automation tools (bonus points for hands-on implementation experience).
• Experience building trust quickly and working well with everyone from senior leadership to individual contributors.

Block is an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible.

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, U.S. roles are typically open for an average of 55 days before being filled by a successful candidate. Please refer to the date listed at the top of this job page for when this role was first posted.