Senior Partner Operations Director

Sidley Austin LLP; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 161,400 - 229,950; Full time

Job summary

Sidley Austin LLP seeks a Partner Operations Associate Director to lead the Firm’s Partner Operations and build the operational infrastructure for onboarding, transitions, and lifecycle events. This role partners with diverse functions to deliver a high‑touch, coordinated Partner experience.

You will create clear processes, playbooks, templates, controls, and dashboards, driving governance, compliance, and continuous improvement in a complex, matrixed environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 12+ years in operations or a related function.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and complex processes.
• Proven ability to operate in a matrixed, service-oriented environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Partner Operations function and manage the team responsible for Partner lifecycle operations.
• Establish priorities, service expectations, workflows, handoffs, escalation paths, and standards.
• Oversee onboarding, ongoing support, transitions, retirements, separations, and post-separation activity.
• Develop standardized workflows, checklists, templates, playbooks, and process documentation.
• Provide operational guidance, tools, tracking, and process support for Partner Relations and adjacent teams.
• Own governance and compliance processes with tracking, reporting, controls, and issue resolution.
• Build and improve systems, dashboards, and workflow tools for lifecycle operations.
• Identify risks, bottlenecks, and automation opportunities; collaborate with tech/data/project management to implement improvements.
• Serve as coordination point across Firm functions including legal-adjacent matters.
• Lead, coach, and develop Partner Operations team members.

Skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Interpersonal communication

Analytical skills

Discretion

Work under pressure

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Operations, Human Resources, Organizational Leadership, or related field

Tools

Workflow tools

Case management systems

Dashboards

Automation initiatives

Job description

Sidley Austin LLP seeks a Partner Operations Associate Director to lead the Firm’s Partner Operations and build the operational infrastructure for onboarding, transitions, and lifecycle events. This role partners with diverse functions to deliver a high‑touch, coordinated Partner experience.

You will create clear processes, playbooks, templates, controls, and dashboards, driving governance, compliance, and continuous improvement in a complex, matrixed environment.