Head of IT

Lawfront is a group of leading regional law firms who are dedicated to delivering comprehensive legal support to individuals and businesses nationwide. Our mission is to unite exceptional legal practices across the country in a single, supportive platform that drives accelerated growth, fosters innovation, and builds long-term value for all stakeholders.

We're committed to ambitious growth and aspire to be a top 10 regional legal services business in the UK.

It's genuinely an exciting time to join Lawfront - we're a private equity backed group who have acquired some of the leading mid-tier law firms across the country including Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Brachers, Trethowans, Nelsons and Slater Heelis, and provided them with the technical and infrastructure support to harness their ambitions and allow them to grow and deliver exceptional results to their clients - all whilst maintaining their individual culture and identity.

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Head of IT who is familiar with working in a managed IT environment alongside Cloud services. Working within a wider group structure alongside other IT heads, the individual needs to be able to translate business and client requirements into projects and work packages that an outsourced organisation, local IT, a centralised IT function, or any combination thereof can consume. The individual needs to be commercially minded (business levers/opportunities, regulatory bodies and contractual responsibilities) and happy liaising directly with Partners and senior staff both within Trethowans and the Lawfront Group as a whole.

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitate and manage the change from local IT services to a group environment. Acting as the champion, project manager and ultimately adopt the key liaison role.
• A deep domain understanding of all IT elements (Infrastructure, applications, service, dependent processes and governance) to develop and implement SOPs in conjunction with the wider group.
• Work with the group IT leads to shape and implement IT policy, systems and SOPs where applicable.
• Coordinate the delivery of the overall IT function to Trethowans in collaboration with the other IT heads in the Lawfront Group.
• Work with Group IT and local stakeholders to define and deliver IT Projects to the required quality and in a timely fashion. This will require the coordination of multiple vendors and local/group resources.
• An advocate for IT and technology based legal solutions and supporting their adoption and monetisation within Trethowans.
• Supervise the management of an external Service provider (and eventually group MSP) to deliver exceptional results for the firm. The individual will need experience in managing teams to provide service, infrastructure, Cloud, Modern Workplace and professional service engagements.
• Supervise the management of suppliers of key services to include KPI and SLA measurement, formal and informal management of suppliers.
• Act as an escalation point for staff and partners relating to IT service, independent of how the IT service is provided (Outsource, Cloud, Local or Group). Work with teams to offer polite challenge when troubleshooting and resolving complex technical issues.
• Autonomously and collaboratively with other Group IT Heads identify opportunities and threats from IT.
• Support the management of suppliers to the group IT function to ensure system performance, high availability and reliability of IT services to meet as a minimum contracted levels. Raise service credits for local issues when appropriate.
• Collaborate with other IT teams across the Lawfront Group to design and implement IT solutions that meet business requirements.
• Ensure that suppliers, where contracted, develop and maintain technical documentation, including system configurations, procedures, and troubleshooting guides.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards, client obligations and UK/legal regulations.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and best practices within the scope of the firm and role.

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills at executive to operational levels
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Deep domain IT experience across multiple IT disciplines.
• Ability to understand contracts and levers that can be used to improve performance.
• Negotiation and empathy skills.
• All aspects of Supplier Management (Executive, Operational and technology).
• Familiarity with ITIL processes and other IT best practice(s).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Previous experience in a law firm or similar professional services preferred.

If you are a skilled IT professional with a passion for technology and a drive to lead and innovate, we encourage you to apply for this position. Please click the link below.