Director, Application Services

WilmerHale is a leading, full-service international law firm with 1,000 lawyers located throughout 12 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Our lawyers work at the intersection of government, technology and business, and we remain committed to our guiding principles of providing quality, excellent legal and client services; developing diversity among our lawyers and staff and cultivating an environment that promotes an ambitious spirit, collaboration and collegiality by drawing on the extraordinary talents and dynamic experience of our lawyers. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our clients and the communities in which we practice

What You Will Be Doing

The Director, Application Services leads and directs a multi-disciplinary team responsible for the planning, design, implementation, management, support and operation of the firm’s global business applications ensuring they align with business needs under the direction of the Director, Technology & Governance Services.  Works closely with firm departments and their respective Business Relationship Managers to analyze requirements.  Manages a team of development staff, application technical experts, Quality assurance resources and Database administrators who optimally build and implement technical solutions that will be delivered on time, within budget and meet or exceed customer expectations.

Manages all applications and services including the firm’s document management system, intranet, HR and financial management systems, legal systems, as well as all Microsoft 365 capabilities.  Ensures all maintenance, support and enhancements are completed as needed and in a timely manner.  Directs the full systems development life cycle of application systems and seeks opportunities to build systems based on standard firm architectures that will improve business processes and support critical business strategies.  Directs resource and workload management and capacity planning.  Ensures that application services processes and procedures are documented and consistent with best practices (ITIL). Works with IS and business management to ensure the capacity and availability of the global application services meet the existing and future business requirements.  Sets priorities, allocates resources, refines and enforces process, and ensures there is clear communication with other departments and with executive management.  Develops and manages a department budget that aligns with the IS and overall firm budget.

Ensures that all staff members are providing quality service to internal members/departments of the Firm as well as external clients and vendors by displaying professionalism via electronic and print correspondence, over the telephone and in-person and by encouraging an atmosphere that rewards a "can do" attitude.

About This Role:

• Manages the Application Services team, including hiring, scheduling, performance management, salary administration, coaching and development of staff.
• Oversees the operation and management, including budget, of all on-premises and cloud hosted enterprise and desktop business applications, including applications delivered in a Software as a Service model.
• Manages the design, development, enhancement, implementation, documentation, maintenance and support of all business-facing application systems – ensuring high availability, scalability and performance.
• Directs Quality Assurance team ensuring QA standards and methodologies are followed.
• Oversees and coordinates efforts to document and enable business continuity for the firm’s business applications.
• Provides oversight of testing environment for existing applications and new application development.
• Establishes internal policies, processes, and standard operating procedure documents in conformity with departmental standards for governance of Application Services group activities.
• Ensures the development of documented firm standards for all areas of application technology and ensures that adherence to those standards is monitored and enforced.
• Maintains awareness of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices to drive innovation and improve operational efficiency.  Collaborates closely with the Director, Technology & Governance Services to ensure alignment of IS technology strategies, solutions, and recommendations.
• Drives continuous improvement efforts to optimize performance, reliability, cost-efficiency, and security.
• Assists with the rapid resolution of escalated incidents and participates in problem management activities.
• Develops and manages the Application Services budget in accordance with the IS strategic plan and goals, ensuring cost-effective allocation of resources.
• Participates in the management decision-making and strategic planning process.
• Manages all application vendor relationships including participating in purchase and renewal negotiations of services, software and solutions.
• Works closely with the project managers, business relationship managers, and other Information Services teams to manage milestones and schedules while ensuring on time completion of projects and tasks.
• Establishes and maintains effective communication channels with stakeholders, providing regular updates on application projects and initiatives, managing customer expectations and anticipating customer needs.
• Ensures that all team members have the tools and training required to perform effectively.
• Develops win-win solutions with others.  Devises counter-arguments, offers compromises while maintaining firm objectives, remains assertive in face of conflict and reaches agreements that promote mutual interests, and maximize commitment.
• Anticipates, identifies and defines problems.  Seeks root causes. Develops and implements practical and timely solutions.
• Identifies risks and obstacles to plans. Defines scarcity and conflicts of resource needs, and potential constraints. Investigates risks within various project elements, assesses impact, and develops contingency plans to address major risks.
• Assumes additional responsibilities as assigned.