Senior Project Manager I (Cloud Transformation Initiatives)

About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we are united in our ambition and drive to move forward. We share core values that help us achieve excellence: collaboration, talent empowerment, service, inclusion, respect and gratitude. Our people are our greatest asset, and we invest in the brightest talent and encourage a diversity of perspectives and strengths to create dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their field. Our talented professionals show up every day knowing they will engage in meaningful work, continuous learning and professional development.
 
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we serve a broad range of clients with market-leading practices in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. We handle the most complicated and sophisticated legal matters because we don’t just meet industry standards, we create them. We bring innovation and entrepreneurialism to every engagement and, as a result, have long-standing client relationships with leading global corporations and financial sponsors. With 6,500 employees (including 3,500 lawyers) operating from 20 offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we are one of the largest law firms in the world and a top financial performer.

Essential Job Functions

The Project Manager (PM) Senior I role requires a results-driven professional who is highly organized, with a keen attention to detail, who can effectively communicate to all levels of the organization and has a strong ability to lead and solve complex problems.  The PM is expected to complete multifaceted program and project assignments with limited direction and has the autonomy to make decisions and recommendations regarding assigned projects, in accordance with Firm policies, procedures, standards and guidelines. The Project Manager will have accountability to drive the performance of cross-functional teams involved in the planning and delivery of projects.  The individual must implement effective and efficient business solutions, perform management and oversight of complex projects, and provide ongoing strategic direction to project teams. The PM will have the opportunity to contribute to the evolution of existing PM practices and potential business practices as the Firm. The PM is responsible for applying project management principles and practices to deliver projects on time and within budget. The PM is expected to work independently with limited guidance and understand how and when to escalate issues and risks.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Executes assigned project efforts in accordance with the Firm's project management methodology, required deliverables, and checkpoint gates.
• Leads one to multiple (depending on size of project) simultaneous cross-functional programs from inception through to deployment.
• Interacts with a variety of business and IT stakeholders as a peer and trusted advisor including multiple interactions with Senior Staff/C-Suite.
• Leads project meetings, providing timely recap and manages the action items outside of meetings.
• Develops and executes against work breakdown structures (WBS) for each project.
• Creates and shares timelines/WBS at the right level and understands how to show high level or milestones to Senior Leaders on projects.
• Manages resources and escalates appropriately if not getting response needed.
• Actively utilizes Firm's project portfolio management system to hold timeline/WBS, issues/risks, financials and status message on a daily basis to reflect current state as real time as possible.
• Requests and tracks resources across project efforts in conjunction with delivery teams.
• Actively identifies, tracks, and works to mitigate risks, issues, and dependencies which impact project delivery.
• Prepares and presents materials at project status meetings, stakeholder reviews, and steering committees.

• Influences project team and stakeholders to ensure projects are on time and on budget. Escalates known issues/risks as appropriate when at an impasse where time, cost or resources are affected.
• Manages solution and vendor assessments, including creating a request for proposal (RFP), coordinating multiple vendor demonstrations, assisting the Business Partner with scoring and selecting the vendor and working with appropriate areas to finalize/negotiate contracts.

• Acts as project management coach to functional led (non-PM) projects to follow PMO methodology, guidelines and templates.
• Assists with vendor management throughout assessments and implementations of products.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Required experience: 10+ years with a background in IT delivery, including at least 4 years experience in IT project management
• Bachelor’s Degree in related field preferred or equivalent experience. 
• Communication
  • Listen, draw out key concepts and articulate advanced technical and non-technical concepts with ease (both written and oral formats) to customers, peers and management at several levels and across the organization with minimal oversight.
  • Effective production support activities, including advances bsuiness and techncial writing including for high level Executives.
  • Document medium to large scale projects with minimal supervision; will be involved in developing/delivering presentations..
• Critical Thinking
  • Encourage deeper, more productive discussions.
  • Facilitate open communication between team members. 
  • Resolve issues between team members and stakeholders more quickly.
  • Develop better solutions to problems. 
  • Reduce stress throughout a project. 
  • Prevent repetitive issues.
• Decision Maker
  • Excellent command of business knowledge.
  • Ability to solicit input from internal and external sources, including the ability to investigate and incorporate best practices from other corporations, experience and sound judgment.
  • Knows when to seek senior management input or escalate issues based on impact.
  • Influence stakeholders on requirement and design decisions that best meet Firm’s goals.
  • Ability to create and articulate decision trees and alternate path diagrams. The goal is to minimize the trade-offs between cost containment and timeliness of service so that both are completely achievable.
  • Ability to think and act outside of job responsibilities when necessary.
• Interpersonal Skills
  • Recognized as a positive and motivational leader on the team. 
  • Has the courage to accept difficult relationship scenarios and regularly negotiates win-win solutions for all involved.
  • Inspires and motivates with positivity.
  • Utilize sound judgment in highly active times on projects.
  • Understands what is needed to support the tactical and strategic goals of the team and in the Firm.
• Strategy and Change Management Skills
  • Affects change within sphere of influence. 
  • Contributes individually or through others on complex issues or initiatives. 
  • Assumes responsibility for others and for team results. 
  • Seen as a leader in the group.
• Program/Project Management
  • Proceeds from concept, to design, to leading the implementation of complex, medium to large scale projects.
  • Uses project management software as a critical tool in charting or adjusting the course of a project.
  • Ensures that programs and projects are designed to support and implement company goals and strategic objectives.
  • Ability to influence and balance priorities amongst portfolio of projects.
  • Experience with waterfall, hybrid, and agile solution development methodologies
• Technical Ability
  • Understands multiple projects in order to integrate them into business solutions.
  • Articulate tech jargon and translate tech concepts to business sponsors. 

Technologies/Software

• Microsoft Project
• Proficiency with Visio diagrams and decision trees
• Experience with project portfolio management software such as Eclipse or ServiceNow
• Experience with agile management software such as JIRA or Azure Dev Ops
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Outlook
• Document Management System (DMS)

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Closing Statement

The www.kirkland.com job postings and recruiting mailbox are for candidates only. If you are a recruiter, search firm or employment agency, and do not have a signed contract with Kirkland & Ellis LLP ("K&E") and have not been asked specifically to submit candidates, you will not be compensated in any way for your referral of a candidate even if K&E hires the candidate. Direct contact with K&E employees in an attempt to present candidates is inappropriate and will be a factor in determining any future professional relationship with the Firm. #LI-Hybrid #LI-LC1