Sr Manager, Legal Operations

valmont; Omaha (NE); Sur place; USD 140 000 - 210 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Valmont is seeking a Senior Manager, Legal Operations to build and run the global legal function, owning spend, outside counsel, technology, data, and AI initiatives. This builder role focuses on implementing e-billing, CLM integration with ERP, and delivering department metrics dashboards while aligning with the CLO and legal leadership.

The role partners with Finance, IT, HR, and risk teams, and reports to the CLO.

Responsabilités

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Develop Legal's annual operating plan, anchored in a baseline maturity assessment and a prioritized roadmap.

Description du poste

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 r