Senior Manager, Legal Operations

Pattern Energy; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 118,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

Pattern Energy in Houston, TX is seeking a Senior Manager of Legal Operations to build and lead the department's operational backbone. The role partners with the Chief Legal Officer to modernize contract lifecycle management, intake processes, and reporting across a growing renewable energy platform.

You will own process improvements, scale workflows, manage budgets, and create metrics dashboards that drive speed and accuracy.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in legal operations with program ownership.
• Experience resetting or implementing a CLM platform (Agiloft preferred).
• Experience budgeting and outside counsel billing.
• Proven track record building metrics programs from data.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive change.

Responsibilities

• Lead CLM program reset from scope to adoption.
• Build scalable intake and data-driven staffing systems.
• Develop executive dashboards to track velocity, capacity, and risk.
• Create standard work and lessons learned for the legal team.
• Partner with CLO and cross-company teams on strategic initiatives.

Skills

Legal operations

CLM implementation

Cross-functional leadership

Budget management

Metrics program development

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Paralegal Certificate

JD

Tools

Agiloft

Ironclad

Conga

Salesforce

Job description

Company Overview

Pattern Energy is a leading renewable energy company that develops, constructs, owns, and operates high-quality wind and solar generation, transmission, and energy storage facilities. Our mission is to transition the world to renewable energy through the sustainable development and responsible operation of facilities with respect for the environment, communities, and cultures where we have a presence.

Company Overview

Pattern Energy is a leading renewable energy company that develops, constructs, owns, and operates high-quality wind and solar generation, transmission, and energy storage facilities. Our mission is to transition the world to renewable energy through the sustainable development and responsible operation of facilities with respect for the environment, communities, and cultures where we have a presence. Our approach begins and ends with establishing trust, accountability, and transparency. Our company values of creative spirit, pride of ownership, follow-through, and a team-first attitude drive us to pursue our mission every day. Our culture supports our values by fostering innovative and critical thinking and a deep belief in living up to our promises. Headquartered in the United States, Pattern has a global portfolio of more than 30 power facilities and transmission assets, serving various customers that provide low-cost clean energy to millions of consumers.

Responsibilities

Pattern Energy is seeking a Senior Manager of Legal Operations to build and manage the operational infrastructure of an approximately 40-person department supporting a growing renewable energy platform. The department delivers legal, compliance, document management and real estate expertise across the company. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role working directly with the Chief Legal Officer to modernize how legal work gets done — from intake and staffing through contract lifecycle management, financial oversight, and performance measurement.

This is not a maintenance role. The person we're looking for will inherit a partially-built foundation and be expected to refine, accelerate and own it. They will lead cross-functional teams, create systems that scale with the business and enable high performance with processes and tools that make important work visible, repeatable and successful.

What You'll Own

Technology & Intake Transformation

• Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Reset: Execute a full program reset for the legal team’s CLM platform (currently Agiloft). Evaluate platform capabilities, map cross-functional workflows with IT and business stakeholders and drive end-to-end implementation through to full adoption.
• Workforce & Intake Optimization: Build a scalable, automated system for incoming legal work. Drive visibility into supply vs. demand, identify skillset bottlenecks, and transition the department from manual staffing tracking to a data-driven model.
• Resource Deconfliction: Lead teams in bottom-up project planning, managing competing priorities to deconflict resources and set clear expectations across business units

Performance Metrics, Strategy & Problem Solving

• Executive Metrics & Reporting: Own functional scorecards, KPIs, and department goals. Build executive dashboards with the CLO to measure velocity, capacity, and risk reduction, ensuring early escalation when metrics show signs of going off-track.
• Must-Win Initiatives: Ensure strategic continuous improvement goals are well-defined with documented assumptions, acting as quality control to maintain momentum on high-priority targets.
• Structured Problem Solving: Facilitate Root Cause Analyses (RCAs), Kaizens, and Problem-Solving Reports (PSRs) to establish immediate containment and actionable, long-term resolution plans.
• Standard Work & Lessons Learned: Author and refine standard operating procedures, embedding continuous refreshes and lessons learned into daily team operations.

Executive Advisory & Functional Leadership

• Strategic Partner to the CLO: Act as a key operational advisor, identifying risks early and directing leadership attention toward friction points before they escalated into larger operational issues.
• Portfolio & Initiative Management: Oversee the department’s portfolio of strategic initiatives, representing the legal function in cross-company workouts and navigating matrixed teams effectively.

Financials, Vendor Management & Knowledge Enablement

• Budget & Resource Allocation: Own tracking, forecasting, and reporting for the legal budget. Establish clear guidelines for conferences, memberships, and professional development to ensure equitable allocation across staff.
• Outside Counsel Management: Oversee outside counsel engagement, billing guidelines, and performance evaluations in partnership with Procurement, working toward an automated e-billing model.
• Knowledge Management & Negotiation Playbooks: Accelerate the creation of deal summaries and standard negotiation guides for contract staff—expanding coverage to complex agreements (e.g., PPAs, PSAs, and key commercial contracts) to enable business self-service.

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

Experience

• 7+ years in legal operations, with demonstrated ownership of programs rather than participation in them
• Hands-on experience implementing or resetting a CLM platform (Agiloft, Ironclad, Conga, Salesforce, or comparable); experience with Agiloft specifically is a plus
• Experience managing legal department budgets and outside counsel billing
• Track record of building metrics programs and using data to drive decisions
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and change

Skills And Attributes

• Strong project management discipline — able to hold multiple workstreams, timelines, and stakeholders accountable simultaneously
• Comfort with ambiguity and an ability to make decisions with incomplete information
• Communication style that works with lawyers, IT teams, and business leaders equally well
• Someone who sees broken workflows as puzzles to solve, not problems to avoid
• Familiarity with the energy industry generally and energy industry contracts (PPAs, PSAs, commercial agreements) specifically would be a meaningful plus but not required

Education

• Bachelor's degree required
• Paralegal Certificate or JD a plus but not required

The expected starting pay range for this role is $118,000.00 - $146,000.00 USD. This range is an estimate and base pay may be above or below the ranges based on several factors including but not limited to location, work experience, certifications, and education. In addition to base pay, Pattern’s compensation program includes a bonus structure for full-time employees of all levels. We also provide a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, voluntary benefits, family care benefits, employee assistance program, paid time off and bonding leave, paid holidays, 401(k)/RRSP retirement savings plan with employer contribution, and employee referral bonuses.

Pattern Energy Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.