Manager of Professional Development

San Francisco, CA

Duties & Responsibilities

The Manager of Professional Development for the California and Asia offices, will work alongside the Chief Legal Personnel Officer, the Director of Legal Recruiting and Professional Development for California and Asia, and Managing Partners for Legal Personnel (MPLPs) on all  aspects  of  attorney  professional development.  Develop, implement, and lead attorney professional development strategies.

• Identify associate career development needs, and design and manage the implementation of programs relating to attorney career development.
• Provide support to the MPLPs with regard to associate needs including staffing and utilization. Provide ongoing analysis of workloads; track skills and experiences needed to make recommendations on staffing needs.
• Create and maintain relationships within the firm at all levels, establishing a reputation as a trusted advisor for career advice and guidance.
• Liaise with Professional Development teams in other offices on Professional Development training and  initiatives.
• Meet with associates to welcome them to the firm and provide them with resources available to them through the Professional Development.
• Provide confidential advice and guidance to attorneys at varying levels of seniority on all aspects of career growth and development, including career planning and management, time and project management, work/life balance, transitions to/from leaves and potential next steps in their professional careers.
• Oversee administration of performance evaluation processes for associates and Review, edit, and prepare evaluations for distribution.
• Work with the Associate Advisory Committee to address career and general professional development feedback from associates and to update and enhance new associate and orientation and lateral attorney integration training programs.
• Manage the exit interview process firm-wide.
• Oversee internal curriculum-skills-based training, as well as communication skills and writing coaching programs firm-wide.
• Manage multi-year associate mentoring program; advise other offices on mentoring programs.
• Develop and maintain annual budget for Professional Development initiatives and training; manage monthly reporting and variance analysis; administer department contracts.
• Monitor current trends and best practices in legal talent and professional development – implement new innovations, as appropriate, to ensure the firm’s efforts are innovative and cutting edge.

Qualifications

• A minimum of five years of broad-based career development Significant experience in legal, consulting, or other professional services organizations, preferred.
• Demonstrated success establishing, developing, and managing robust career development functions in a national or international, multi-office environment.
• Expert understanding of best practices in professional development and career development.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively in a consensus-drive organization and to create consensus-based support for strategies and processes.
• Dynamic energy Passion for driving change and delivering innovative solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal skills.
• A highly organized and self-directed approach to work with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Impeccable attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem solving Sound judgment.
• An undergraduate degree required; an advanced degree in organizational development, human resources, social sciences, a related field or J.D. preferred.