Sr Manager, Legal Operations

Valmont Industries; Omaha (NE); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare (medical, prescription, etc

401k retirement plan with companymatch

Paid time off

Employer paid life insurance

Disability coverage including parental

Job summary

Valmont Industries in Omaha, NE seeks a Senior Manager, Legal Operations to build and run Valmont's global legal function. You will own the budget, lead outside counsel, and drive technology adoption including e-billing, CLM, and AI, delivering dashboards and metrics to the CLO.

The role focuses on collaboration with Finance, IT, and business teams to scale processes, governance, and cross‑functional partnerships across the global organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, information systems or related field.
• 6+ years in legal operations or in-house legal management.
• Hands-on experience implementing e-billing or matter management platforms.
• Strong financial acumen: budgeting, forecasting, spend analytics.
• Proven record managing outside counsel and legal vendor relationships.
• Advanced Excel skills; data visualization tools (Power BI/Tableau); knowledge of AI capabilities and risks.

Responsibilities

• Own the legal department budget with annual planning, monthly forecasting, accruals and variance reporting.
• Lead outside counsel management including panel design, engagement letters and rate negotiations.
• Run end-to-end invoice reviews with Accounts Payable and manage vendor relationships.
• Lead legal tech: e-billing, CLM, matter management, intake and entity management.
• Define and execute the AI strategy with governance, pilots and cost controls.
• Map processes, build templates, playbooks, dashboards and department communications.

Skills

Excel

Power BI

Tableau

Generative AI

Financial analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, finance, information systems or a related field

JD/LLM or paralegal background

Tools

e-billing platform

Contract lifecycle management

Matter management platforms

Job description

15000 Valmont Plaza Omaha Nebraska 68154

Why Valmont We’re Here to Move the World Forward. Valmont impacts millions of people around the world every day, yet they might not realize the many ways. Our technology is helping feed the growing population, supplying the world with more reliable energy and access to renewables, enhancing connectivity in remote and urban locations to create a sustainable future and so much more. Simply put, Valmont is advancing agricultural productivity and reimagining vital infrastructure to make life better. Join a Fortune 1000 company that respects hard work, honors diversity and invests in our employees as we focus on creating the world of tomorrow, today. We are the modern workforce. Are you ready to move the world forward?

A Brief Summary of This Position

The Senior Manager, Legal Operations builds and runs the business of Valmont's global legal function. The role owns legal spend and budgeting, outside counsel management, legal technology and AI, data and reporting, and the processes that let lawyers focus on high‑value work. Valmont is early in its legal operations journey, so this is a builder role. Near‑term priorities include implementing the legal e‑billing and spend management platform, standing up contract lifecycle management integrated with Valmont's IFS ERP, delivering the department's first metrics dashboard, and leading the responsible adoption of AI across Legal. The role reports directly to the CLO and serves as a member of the legal leadership team.

Key partners

legal department leaders and attorneys, Finance and FP&A, Accounts Payable, IT and cybersecurity, Procurement, HR, Internal Audit, and Risk Management.

Direct reports

[to be confirmed — e.g., legal operations analyst, contract administrators, or paralegal support for matter and entity management].

Scope

global legal department, including support for business segment counsel and international legal teams.

Vendors

outside counsel panel, legal technology providers, and alternative legal service providers.

Essential Functions

• Financial management and outside counsel Own the legal department budget, including annual planning, monthly forecasting, accruals and variance reporting with Finance.
• Lead outside counsel management panel design, engagement letters, billing guidelines, rate negotiations and alternative fee arrangements.
• Run invoice review and approval workflows end to end, from receipt through payment, in partnership with Accounts Payable. Track outside counsel performance and run periodic law firm reviews. Manage legal vendor relationships and contracts, including ALSPs and other legal service providers. Identify and deliver cost savings while protecting quality of legal support.
• Legal technology and data Lead implementation, administration and adoption of the legal e‑billing and spend management platform. Define the legal technology roadmap, including contract lifecycle management, matter management, intake and triage, and entity management. Ensure legal systems integrate with IFS and other enterprise systems, and meet IT security and data privacy requirements. Build legal department metrics and dashboards covering spend, matter volume, cycle times and service levels. Deliver regular reporting to the CLO and periodic reporting for senior leadership and the Board.
• AI strategy and adoption Lead Legal's AI strategy and roadmap, aligned with Valmont's enterprise AI policy and IT governance. Identify high‑value use cases, such as contract review and drafting, intake triage, legal research, invoice review, knowledge search, and board and governance document preparation. Run AI vendor evaluations and pilots, measure results (time saved, cycle time, quality, cost), and scale what works. Partner with IT, cybersecurity and privacy on technical due diligence and data security for AI tools, and implement the confidentiality and privilege safeguards set by Legal's attorneys. Operationalize the AI guardrails and outside counsel AI billing guidelines approved by the CLO, including training, workflow controls, invoice review and compliance reporting. Train lawyers and staff on AI tools, effective use and limitations, and build AI fluency across the department. Track legal‑industry AI practice and tools, and bring emerging opportunities and risks to the CLO.
• Process and department operations Map current‑state legal processes and design scalable, standardized workflows. Lead knowledge management, including templates, playbooks, clause libraries and the legal intranet. Partner with IT and Privacy on records retention and information governance for Legal. Coordinate department planning, goals, onboarding, training and team communications. Lead change management so new tools and processes are adopted across Legal and its business partners.
• Strategy, intake and communications Develop Legal's annual operating plan, anchored in a baseline maturity assessment and a prioritized roadmap. Design and run legal intake: a single front door for requests, triage rules and service levels. Track workload and capacity to inform staffing and headcount planning. Own Legal's communications, including the intranet, department updates and an annual report on Legal's value to the business.

Location and travel

based at Valmont's Omaha headquarters. Travel of approximately 10% to segment and international legal team locations.

Required Qualifications of Every Candidate (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, information systems or a related field with 6+ years of experience.
• 4+ years of experience in legal operations, legal department management, or a closely related function, including significant in‑house experience.
• Hands‑on experience implementing and administering e‑billing or matter management platforms, including requirements gathering, integration and user adoption.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, accruals and spend analytics.
• Proven record managing outside counsel and legal vendor relationships, and building strong working relationships with Finance and IT.
• Advanced skills in Excel and data visualization tools such as Power BI or Tableau, and working knowledge of generative AI capabilities, limitations and risks.

Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess These Qualifications: Experience at a global public company, ideally in manufacturing or industrial sectors. CLM implementation experience, including ERP integration. Familiarity with the CLOC Core 12 and ACC Legal Operations Maturity Model; process mapping and improvement skills; PMP or Lean Six Sigma certification. JD, LLM, legal or paralegal background. Experience building a legal operations function from the ground up. Track record piloting and scaling generative AI tools in a legal department, with measurable results.

Working Environment and Physical Efforts: Work is typically performed in an office setting. The incumbent is regularly required to sit for extended periods of time, as well as talk and listen on the phone and in personal conversations or meetings. Environment is fast paced and demanding most of the time. No travel requirements for this position. The employee frequently is required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms while working in the office with various files and forms and while working on the computer. The employee is occasionally required to move about the office. Incumbent must utilize proper ergonomic safeguards such as monitor height and positions, keyboard location and height and proper wrists rests. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds in working with large files, binders, and computer equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.

Benefits

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off
• Employer paid life insurance
• Employer paid short‑term and long‑term disability including maternity leave
• Work Life Support
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year
• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one‑on‑one health coaching, mortgage services and more

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valmont does not discriminate against any employee or applicant in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. If you have a disability and require any assistance in filling out the application for employment email [e-mail].

Company Commitment

Valmont is here to modernize vital infrastructure and increase agricultural productivity, sustainably and reliably. We galvanize steel to last a century with minimal environmental impact. We modernize irrigation to feed a growing population by utilizing the latest technology. We harden the electrical grid to enable the delivery of reliable power to millions of homes around the world. And we help make communities everywhere safer, cleaner and more connected through our smart infrastructure technology. Valmont serves two primary markets — agriculture and infrastructure — and seven diverse product lines: Utility, Lighting and Transportation, Telecom, Solar, Coatings, Irrigation and Ag Tech. We manufacture products in 85 facilities spread across six continents, and we do business in 100 different countries. That’s what Valmont does. We conserve resources and improve life, finding ways to make innovation and technology beneficial in the real world.