Alumni Information Specialist

About Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a preeminent, full-service law firm with offices around the world and a staff as diverse as the practice areas we support. Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to medium and small corporations, financial institutions, and private equity firms.  Known for our commitment to excellence, Kirkland strives to provide superior service to our clients as well as our fellow employees. From Information Technology to Human Resources, Paralegal Services to Business Development, Kirkland offers non-attorney professionals challenging careers in a variety of functional areas. Whether starting or growing your career, Kirkland can offer a performance-driven culture filled with bright and innovative teams of co-workers.

Essential Job Functions

POSITION OVERVIEW

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is seeking an Alumni Engagement Information Specialist to support the Alumni Engagement and CareerLink Teams. This role will be located in either Chicago, Houston or New York City.

As part of the Firmwide Legal Recruiting & Development Department (“LRD”), this role will be responsible for, but not limited to, data maintenance and research, reporting, data analysis, internal website monitoring, event and training support, budget support, and other ongoing projects or general administrative duties.   

The Alumni Information Specialist will embrace and promote Kirkland’s dedication to remaining “Colleagues for Life” with attorneys at Kirkland, present and past, recognizing that the Kirkland Alumni Program is what connects our esteemed alumni and attorneys through the website, engaging networking events, and life-long career support.  This role will work collaboratively and seamlessly with resources across the LRD team, CareerLink and other departments in areas such as events planning, marketing & communications, human resources, IT, and business development.

This position requires a high level of collaboration and the ability to work independently.  The ideal candidate will be highly organized, possess excellent oral and written skills; the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment; a very strong attention to detail; and a professional demeanor.

The Alumni Engagement Information Specialist is responsible for improving alumni-related data and data-driven business processes through the ongoing maintenance and research efforts for the program.  Projects vary in scope across multiple technology tools and may stretch across Kirkland & Ellis office locations.  In addition to the responsibilities associated with alumni-related data, the Alumni Engagement Information Specialist will be a critical on site resource for local alumni programming and events.  The Specialist will assist as needed with the planning and coordination of local programs and must be able to juggle all responsibilities effectively.

Responsibilities Include:

• Understanding business data points for current and future integration to the alumni site (HR, CRM, LinkedIn, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), etc.) and understands dataflow, design & ownership of information.
• Understanding of the Alumni Engagement Program and how technology supports our efforts.
• Understanding of alumni website (AlumniLink) functionality, maintenance, and Insala vendor relationship.
• Ensure that data feeds accurately to the alumni website from HR data systems (PeopleSoft), and in the future, the Firm’s CRM and other sources such as LinkedIn and D&B.
• Monitor the website and works with the Alumni Manager appropriate vendors, and Kirkland departments such as IT and HR to fix problems, coordinate enhancements, and complete upgrades.
• Manage alumni data to ensure accuracy.
• Improve consistency and delivery through operational processes, technology support, & reporting capabilities
• Track, measure & analyze alumni program results.  Provide data analytics, create and maintain tracking and reporting tools as necessary (such as spreadsheets, databases, and reports).
• Assist with regular data refresh campaigns and conducts research of information on missing contact info.
• Support Kirkland CareerLink team for ad-hoc and regular weekly and monthly reporting, technology needs and assistance with their presence on the AlumniLink website
• Support Firmwide reporting needs for alumni data by understanding alumni data & standard vs ad-hoc reports. 
• Review and maintains existing standard “Saved Search” type queries, evaluating for efficiency and improvement.
• Support monthly metrics and dashboard reporting to various groups.
• Monitor alumni data and requests for reports/information and gathering/editing of alumni data and contact information
• Support research and analysis leveraging the Kirkland Alumni LinkedIn Group and Alumni LinkedIn Recruiter Licenses.
• Exhibit acute attention to detail with appropriate use of judgment and the need for consultation to identify and analyze problems and find solutions.
• Assist with evening planning and execution in support of key event-heavy periods of the year.
• Develop good working relationships with colleagues in other departments to better understand the alumni data and enhance data integrity.
• Cultivate local relationships with other teams and attorneys to build local additional local presence of alumni team within other offices. 
• Act as on-site resource for information and requests related to the Alumni Engagement and CareerLink Programs.

Overtime and travel may be required as necessary to complete the essential duties as outlined above.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.

Qualifications & Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

A Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in a business, information management or technology field if possible.  Experience in technology or project management/ business & data analysis within the legal industry preferred.  Background in alumni relations data and supporting platforms is a plus.

Core competencies include attention to detail, organizational skills, the ability to multi-task, and the ability to meet deadlines effectively.  Must have technical “know how” and previous experience with databases and reporting - understand how to manipulate data sets and other sources in order to extract relevant data to provide support and insight to Kirkland attorneys and other departments.   This Specialist should be able to translate business needs into specific technical queries or criteria of data to pull.  Must be able to understand, analyze & match data from various sources in Excel (Alumni Database, CRM data, LinkedIn, HR PeopleSoft) to achieve desired reports/results, and be able to explain those results appropriately - this entails thinking both near-term to meet immediate needs and also creatively about better ways longer-term to manage, retrieve & report out information on behalf of the team. 

Excellent written and oral communication skills are required, as are the abilities to cultivate relationships across departments, offices, and with attorneys.  This person will be an influential member of the Alumni Engagement Team and will be expected to contribute to various programmatic efforts as needed.

Technical experience should include solid working knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Access & Visio), with advanced skills especially in Excel.  Candidate should also have familiarity or some working knowledge with LinkedIn searching, SharePoint, PeopleSoft HR, and CRM systems.  Some exposure or experience with BI/Analytics Platforms (ex: Tableau/Qlik) is helpful, but not required.

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.