Senior IT Business Relationship Manager

Senior Business Relationship Manager (BRM) serves as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to attorneys and practice leadership, acting as a liaison between IT and the legal practice groups. This role requires deep, first-hand understanding of how law firms operate, how attorneys work, and the technology challenges inherent in legal practice. The Senior BRM leads IT demand management in close partnership with IT and practice group leadership, and is responsible for proactively identifying, shaping, and prioritizing the Firm’s strategic technology requirements. This individual engages across the lifecycle of IT solution delivery - actively participating in Firm / IT strategic planning activities, informing IT solution design and build activities to preserve alignment with Firm needs, and supporting organizational change management / readiness efforts to drive adoption of new technology solutions. Responsibilities Represents the BRM function as needed for strategic decisioning Maintains deep understanding of law firm operations, including attorney workflows, practice group structures, matter lifecycles, client service expectations, and the ethical, risk, and confidentiality considerations that shape legal work. Leverages prior experience as a practicing attorney, knowledge manager, or business services lead in a legal profession to anticipate technology needs and translate attorney pain points into effective technology solutions. Advises attorneys and practice leadership on the IT vision, strategy, and roadmap to establish awareness, drive technology acumen, and help shape desired technology solutions Collaborates with other BRMs and IT’s AI, Practice and Knowledge Management teams to spot Firm-wide trends and identify opportunities to work across departments / practice areas to break down business silos Partners closely with IT leadership and functional teams to share Firm requirements / insights, inform priorities / budget / resourcing, align solution design, and establish forward-looking roadmaps Leads the intake, justification, business case development, and scoping of new project / technology requests Preserves interactions between IT and practice groups across the Firm to maintain a continuing relationship and a shared vision Proactively engages Firm stakeholders to establish forward-looking, strategic IT planning Formalizes the intake of the firm’s legal technology needs and actively engages in IT demand management evaluation and planning Escalates items not receiving appropriate attention, including approvals, projects, and issues Participates in IT governance processes to support and balance prioritization across other Firm and IT needs Informs and supports the development of standards and templates for project scoping and justification, requirements definition, functional and technical designs, process flow diagrams, system / user acceptance test scripts, and other materials as needed Leads requirements definition with Firm stakeholders for critical projects and initiatives Informs and supports overall IT change management and communication strategies, actively leading execution for the areas of the Firm that the BRM supports Supports the definition of service level agreements (SLAs) for new or changed services to preserve an optimal experience for the Firm and its clients Requirements Education & Credentials College degree is strongly preferred, ideally in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Finance, Law, Legal Studies or a related field. Master’s degree is preferred A Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent legal education is desirable, particularly for candidates with practice or knowledge management experience. Appropriate technical certification(s) are preferred Knowledge & Experience 7+ years of relevant experience, ideally in a large Law Firm setting or a legal information services provider Demonstrated experience in strategic technology planning Demonstrated experience in leading the prioritization of multiple strategic objectives Demonstrated experience with organizational change management Strong familiarity with BRM models and associated leading practices for process design, role definition, and reporting Strong familiarity with project and program management disciplines, methodologies, and processes Familiarity with the functioning of a program management office and governance frameworks Strong experience with legal technologies Law Firm experience required Proven ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with the Practice Leadership and represent the voice of the customer Ability to develop and motivate technology teams, inclusive of staff, and 3rd party vendors / consultants Ability to establish rapport and elicit cooperation from personnel across all levels, including executive management, Partners, and cross-functional leadership Responsible for staying abreast of business issues and industry trends to anticipate impacts of technology changes on the workforce and business Strong customer service orientation in combination with persuasive skills and diplomacy to lead change and guide decisions Proven analytical and problem-solving skills Ability to appropriately prioritize and execute tasks in a fast-paced, service-intensive environment Effective written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills Ability to conduct research into project and portfolio management issues and products as required Highly self-motivated and directed Team oriented and skilled in working within a collaborative environment Work Location & Conditions Washington, D.C. Core hours of 9:00 am – 5:30 pm, Monday-Friday; hybrid in-office, which will be a combination of onsite and remote work with occasional on-call availability. Position requires access to equipment, software, or technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. To be granted access pursuant to US Export Control laws, candidate must be either (a) a United States citizen or national; (b) a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence of the United States (i.e., “Green Card” holder); or (c) an INS-approved refugee or asylum holder who has applied for naturalization within six months of the date the individual first became eligible; and if not yet naturalized, is still actively pursuing naturalization if 2 years have passed since the date of application to be granted access pursuant to US Export Control laws. Candidates will be required to submit appropriate documentation to determine whether access can be granted before proceeding further through the application process. #J-18808-Ljbffr Covington & Burling LLP