Purpose
A&K considers itself to be one of Africa’s most innovative Firms and won the Innovation Award at the 2017 African Legal Awards. This position’s key objective is to ensure the Firm continues to be a market leader in innovation and continues to promote an ‘innovative mind-set’ amongst its people.
Reporting to the a Partner, Innovation tTeam, this role will lead the automation of legal and non-legal processes.
Roles and responsibilities
The Firm’s vision and strategy is underpinned by a need to drive innovation, efficiency and entrepreneurship throughout the organisation.
Strategise
Ensure A&K is thinking ahead of the curve on technology and change management, is client focused and aligns with the broader drive for improvements in productivity and efficiency in each practice.
Lead the automation of legal processes within the firm.
Stay on top of innovation developments in the legal sector and put in place a systematic approach to external engagement to learn about innovation from:
clients;
external experts (such as academics and leading organisations outside legal); and
Start-ups.
Create a systematic approach to identify opportunities to innovate (combining thinking on technology, process and people management) across the firm, on all levels of innovation and practice change. Opportunities identified must be game changing, sustainable and must be continuously improved.
Identify where and how we need to educate/motivate our people on the need to innovate and to create an on-going “innovative mindset” within the firm.
Execute and manage end to end implementation of ideas which are brought forward.
Obtain buy-in for ideas
Ability to make the case internally for innovative ways of working and use of new products or services.
Ensure we have plan and resources to deliver on A&K’s brand reputation for being visionary and innovative.
Organisational/Leadership
Regularly engage with the Partners and staff to understand their challenges and needs and put in place best practice/guidance as to their responsibilities in regards to supporting innovation and work collaboratively with them to identify opportunities for innovation within their teams.
Ensure appropriate organisational structures are put in place to support operational delivery of innovation & process Improvement priorities, enabling collaboration and knowledge sharing across business teams and practices.
Reporting and Metrics
Put in place simple, but effective reporting mechanisms to show progress and success of Innovation projects.
Monitor other metrics for the firm e.g. time and utilisation etc. and ensure these are utilised to improve processes and deliver value.
Qualifications & experience
Experience in a highly innovative environment.
Leading/involved in a business transformation project. Proven capability to manage a project from ideation through completion.
Sound awareness of cutting edge business improvement technologies/practices.
Experience in a management position in a leading Firm with a track record of driving innovation.
Experience of document automation software.
A keen interest in the future direction of legal technology systems.
Excellent project management skills.
Experience of working in a professional services environment is an added advantage.
Statistical and statistical analysis experience is an added advantage.
Advanced degree in Technology, Law, Business Management or Project Management is preferred.
The following personal qualities are preferred:
A degree of personal authority commanding respect, but with an open, participative and collaborative style combined with a ‘can do’ attitude, patience and humor.
A strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently.
Ability to communicate and present effectively and persuasively, in person and in writing.
The ability to build and maintain highly effective working relationships with a range of people (both internally and externally).
A commitment to ALN’s mission and extremely strong ethical integrity.
Proven project management skills with the ability to obtain buy-in and support for projects from diverse stakeholders.
The ability to use logic and statistics to solve complex problems.
Strong teamwork and communication skills.
Experience developing compelling value propositions for services/campaigns and creating integrated issue based platforms.
Track record of effecting change in the mindsets and work processes in previous role (s).
Self-starter, able to work independently and enjoys creating and implementing new initiatives.
Flexible and able to operate in a diverse environment.
Technology savvy including use of digital media and data analytics; solid understanding of how to use and apply such tools and data to benefit the partnership.
