Knowledge manager (fixed-term contract)

Macfarlanes

London, UK

1d ago

We are recruiting a knowledge manager on a 12-14 month fixed-term contact (maternity cover) to join our lawtech group.

About Macfarlanes

We are a distinctive London-based law firm with a unique combination of services built and shaped around the needs of our clients.

Our unrivalled blend of expertise, agility and culture means we have the flexibility to meet their most challenging demands and adapt to the changing world around us.

While many of our services can be found at other firms, the mix cannot.

We find, recruit and train talented people from all backgrounds, building careers for the long term, to one day shape and lead the firm.

We know each other personally which means we work together with more cohesion, and less formality. Our culture is thoughtful, challenging and supportive, and we are a place where everyone, at whatever level, can thrive.

We remain focused on equal treatment in recruitment, retention and promotion.

Overview

Emerging legal technologies, new tools and alternative approaches are driving significant change within the legal profession.

They are changing the way we do our work, how we deliver services to our clients and the range of services we offer to our clients.

They offer us ways to do what we do more effectively and to enhance client service, as well as the opportunity to offer exciting new services to our clients which are enabled by those technologies, tools and alternative approaches.

Our lawtech practice is at the forefront of how we, as a firm, respond to this evolution and how we embrace those technologies, tools and alternative approaches for the maximum benefit of our clients and teams alike.

We recognise that fusing legal and technological expertise seamlessly can help our clients solve their most challenging business problems in more innovative, more sophisticated and more technologically-advanced ways.

By bringing together people, process and technology, we help ensure the firm is able to achieve excellence in all aspects of legal practice and client service.

Knowledge management :

Our knowledge management ( KM ) experts play a key role within our lawtech team, supporting the effective management of the firm’s knowledge using knowledge technologies and systems and by working closely with partners, knowledge lawyers (who form the firm’s knowledge group) and staff on knowledge sharing and collaboration initiatives.

We are responsible for developing, maintaining and promoting our :

Knowledge systems, related practices and processes, including ensuring compliance with GDPR and other relevant law and regulation.

The firm’s know-how and precedent databases, architecture and taxonomy.

The firm’s intranet and internal collaboration solutions.

Our enterprise and legal search engines and associated integrations and.

The firm’s culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration.

The role

This role will provide maternity cover for the firm’s knowledge manager, who is responsible for running the lawtech KM function, overseeing a team of two knowledge management specialists and working directly for the head of lawtech and chief knowledge and innovation officer alongside and as part of the wider lawtech team.

Main responsibilities

These will include :

providing strategic direction, including overseeing content, governance, best practice, and projects, as well as being up to date with the latest technology and developments in the knowledge management field.

Managing and supervising an established and capable team of two, consisting of the firm’s senior knowledge management officer and knowledge management executive.

Includes, mentoring and guiding team members to improve their skills and oversee their involvement in KM systems work and special projects.

Managing relationships with senior stakeholders, including, partners, HR, information services, marketing / BD, internal communications, IT and the firm’s knowledge group in a continued drive to optimise use of the firm’s knowledge systems in order to deliver accessible and high quality know how to the firm’s lawyers and to share other best practice.

Actively contributing to a culture that values and leverages the firm’s knowledge by overseeing training, communications and attending face to face meetings to raise the profile of the lawtech KM team, promoting its services and encouraging contribution by the firm’s lawyers.

Overseeing the planning and delivery of day-to-day lawtech KM tasks and projects (including trialling proposed new systems / features, building new KM solutions using existing KM systems, facilitating system migrations and version upgrades), and providing feedback and recommendations.

Leading a significant project working closely with IT to ensure inter-operability between our legal search solution and the latest version of our DMS.

Helping to progress an ongoing project to develop a new legal and technical know how taxonomy and facilitate data alignment between KM / firm systems.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the department.

The candidate

The right candidate will be an experienced knowledge manager, looking for a 12 14 month fixed term contract. They will be able to hit the ground running and be committed to providing high quality support and leadership of our central lawtech KM team, during the period of time the permanent knowledge manager is on maternity leave.

They will thrive on working closely with the firm’s knowledge lawyers, lawyers and business services staff to help drive the delivery of lawtech KM projects and programmes, as well as with the wider lawtech team.

The individual will be personable and quickly able to gain the trust and confidence of the colleagues they work with across the firm.

Enthusiasm, accuracy and professionalism must be demonstrated.

Ideally the candidate will have :

Significant experience of working as a knowledge manager in the legal sector.

A good understanding and experience of intranet / content management systems, knowledge systems and classification principles including experience management and enterprise search.

Experience of guiding the work and progress of KM team members.

An undergraduate degree, similar higher education or equivalent experience.

An organised, meticulous and methodical approach to work and a keen eye for detail.

An aptitude for using technology and be highly computer literate, including familiarity with MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), database software and typical office IT systems generally.

Excellent written and oral communication and influencing skills, able to work with people of varying levels of seniority and technical experience.

Strong project management and organisational skills.

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The ability to be self-motivated, disciplined, take a pro-active stance, work flexibly and independently, and take responsibility for the work product delivered.

Please note that training will be provided on all systems used.

Our commitment to inclusion

Macfarlanes is committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and partners, the continued improvement of which has been identified as one of the firm’s key priorities.

The firm remains focussed on recruiting, retaining and promoting all groups in the firm fairly, without discrimination of gender, race or ethnicity, background, religion, disabilities, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic.

At Macfarlanes we believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is both intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We have identified the continued development of inclusivity as a key priority and are committed to fostering a broad and diverse culture throughout the firm, from entry level to partnership.

We continually review our processes to ensure that all of our people enjoy the same chance to develop and advance.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work.

We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, background, religion, disabilities, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of our commitment to recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse workforce, we ask you and / or your recruiter to answer all the diversity questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes.

This data will allow us to measure our progress towards improving the diversity of our applicants, and ultimately, our hires.

Our diversity data reporting is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how the diversity data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and / or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team.

Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

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