Manager, Legal Operations

Clutch Canada; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Liquidia is seeking a Manager, Legal Operations to lead the Legal and Compliance function, driving efficiency, tech solutions, and cost control. You will partner with multiple functions to deliver timely, high-quality legal support within a fast-paced biopharma environment.

The role requires extensive experience in legal operations, budgeting, and CLM, with a focus on scalable processes and strategic execution. Strong collaboration and change-management skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 7+ years in legal operations or related roles.
• Experience implementing operational improvements and scalable processes.
• Experience managing budgets, vendor relationships, and outside counsel expenditures.
• Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a cross-functional, collaborative environment.
• Proficiency with legal technology platforms and reporting tools.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the General Counsel to manage departmental priorities and objectives.
• Develop and monitor KPIs, dashboards, and reporting metrics for performance.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce risk.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, templates, playbooks, and workflow documentation.
• Manage departmental projects and cross-functional initiatives with timely execution.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Prioritization under pressure

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft 365

Reporting tools

CLM systems

Job description

Liquidia is deeply passionate and committed to the discovery, engineering, and development required to bring novel therapies to patients who need them most, and to the healthcare providers who care for them. Our current drive is toward improving the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). We will continue to combine our proprietary, innovative PRINT® Technology with new and established medications, offering the potential for both better precision and improved clinical outcomes. Our team members include some of the industry's top scientists, clinicians, business strategists, engineers, and pharmaceutical executives. We work together to help people lead longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Job Summary

The Manager, Legal Operations is responsible for enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability of Liquidia's Legal and Compliance function. Reporting to the Associate General Counsel, this individual serves as the operational leader for the department, driving process optimization, legal technology solutions, contract administration, outside counsel management, budget oversight, compliance program support and insurance administration support.

This role partners closely with Legal, Compliance, Finance, Human Resources, Commercial, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, and other business functions to ensure the Legal department delivers timely, high-quality client service while maintaining a strong culture of compliance and risk management. The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen, project management expertise, and a continuous improvement mindset with the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced biopharmaceutical environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 7+ years of experience in legal operations, corporate legal support, compliance operations, contract management, paralegal functions, or related business operations roles.
• Demonstrated experience implementing operational improvements, legal technologies, and scalable business processes.
• Experience managing budgets, vendor relationships, and outside counsel expenditures.
• Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a cross-functional, dynamic and highly collaborative environment.
• Proficiency with legal technology platforms, Microsoft 365 applications, and reporting tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting an in-house legal department within the life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or healthcare industry.
• Experience with contract lifecycle management (CLM), matter management, billing by outside counsel, and compliance systems.
• Certification in legal operations, project management, compliance, or process improvement methodologies.

Legal Operations & Strategic Execution

• Partner with the General Counsel to manage departmental priorities, initiatives, and operational objectives aligned with Liquidia's corporate strategy and growth plans.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, and reporting metrics to measure legal department performance and service delivery.
• Identify and implement process improvements that enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and improve stakeholder experience.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, templates, playbooks, and workflow documentation to support consistency and scalability.
• Manage departmental projects and cross-functional initiatives, ensuring timely execution and stakeholder alignment.

Legal Technology & Knowledge Management

• Lead the implementation, optimization, and administration of legal and compliance technology solutions, including contract lifecycle management (CLM), document management matter management, and compliance systems.
• Establish centralized repositories and knowledge management resources that improve access to legal information and institutional knowledge.
• Evaluate emerging legal technology and AI-enabled solutions to improve operational efficiency and business value.
• Drive adoption of legal technology tools through training, communications, other change management, and ongoing support.

Outside Counsel & Vendor Management

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for billing departments of outside counsel and legal service providers.
• Oversee billing guidelines, spend management, and vendor performance metrics.
• Monitor legal expenditures and ensure outside counsel activities align with budget expectations and business needs.
• Identify opportunities to improve cost efficiency while maintaining high-quality legal support.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Partner with Finance to develop, manage, and track the Legal and Compliance departmental budget.
• Monitor spend against budget forecasts and provide leadership with meaningful reports, analyses, and recommendations.
• Manage invoice review and approval processes and support annual budgeting and financial planning activities.

Contract Operations

• Support contract lifecycle management processes, including intake, tracking, execution, storage, obligations management, and reporting.
• Develop tools and processes that improve visibility into contract status, key obligations, renewal timelines, and risk areas.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to optimize contracting workflows and improve turnaround times.

Enterprise Risk Management & Insurance Administration

• Maintain records related to corporate insurance policies and assist with annual renewal processes.
• Coordinate collection of information and documentation necessary for insurance renewals and claims management.
• Establish procedures for identifying, documenting, and escalating potential claims or risk events.
• Track claims and risk mitigation activities through resolution.

Additional Responsibilities

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned to support the evolving needs of the Legal and Compliance function and their internal clients.