Head of Legal and Consulting Operations

Location: Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney

Contract Type: Permanent

MinterEllison is one of Australia’s largest independent law and consulting firms. With a heritage of almost 200 years, we are known for our excellence, and our authentic and enduring relationships with our clients, our people and our communities. Clients seek out MinterEllison to help them solve complex problems every day. We do this by our full-service legal offering and complementary consulting offering.

We offer opportunities to work on industry-leading mandates for top-tier clients, while being part of a high-performing and collaborative team that values excellence, diversity of thought, curiosity, and inclusion. We value our people and empower them to achieve their ambitions - with the support, trust and autonomy to grow their careers in meaningful ways.

At MinterEllison, we're leading the way with AI and other emerging technologies, powering innovation right across our firm. You will have the opportunity to engage with AI tools we've built, and other external AI tools, to enhance efficiencies and excellence internally and with our clients.

We support sustainable ways of working regarding how, when and where you work and offer a wide range of social, financial and health benefits (see https://www.minterellison.com/-/media/Minter-Ellison/Files/Careers/MinterEllison-Employee-Benefits-Dec_2025.pdf)

THE TEAM

MinterEllison is one of Australia's largest law firms, uniquely positioned as an integrated legal and consulting firm operating at the forefront of service delivery innovation. Our Legal Operations team sits within the Digital group and plays a pivotal role in shaping how the firm delivers legal and consulting services - bridging people, process, and technology to drive outstanding commercial outcomes.

We are a collaborative and forward-thinking team that values agility, innovation, and delivering outcomes that make a real difference. This is a team that operates at the intersection of strategy and execution — and we are proud of the impact we have.

YOUR ROLE

We are seeking an exceptional individual to step into the role of Head of Legal and Consulting Operations, supporting a designated line of business nationally. Reporting to the Director, Legal and Consulting Operations, this is a senior working leadership role where strategy meets hands-on delivery.

You will be responsible for optimising operational performance and service delivery innovation across your designated line of business through the strategic deployment of people, process improvement, and AI and technology enablement. You will personally lead and deliver complex operational projects, facilitate stakeholder workshops, build frameworks and tools, and work hands-on with technology implementations.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining strategic relationships with practice leadership, partners, lawyers, and consulting teams as a trusted transformation partner
• Designing and implementing operational frameworks that improve matter and engagement profitability, efficiency, and service delivery quality
• Leading change and transformation initiatives across the matter and engagement lifecycle, including legal and consulting project management approaches that reduce write-offs and improve pricing transparency
• Translating firm, Digital, and AI strategy into practice-specific implementation roadmaps through collaborative stakeholder engagement
• Driving adoption of AI, workflow automation, data analytics, and document automation solutions within the line of business
• Developing and maintaining practice-specific standards, templates, methodologies, and frameworks
• Establishing metrics and reporting frameworks to measure operational performance and drive data-informed decision-making
• Partnering with the Heads of Talent, Finance, and Client Market Growth on capability development, resource planning, and client and people experience initiatives.

MORE ABOUT YOU

We are looking for a strategic operator with a proven track record in legal operations, professional services operations, or similar transformation roles. You will bring:

• Proven experience in legal operations or professional services transformation, with demonstrated delivery of process improvements and AI and digital implementations
• Exceptional stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and build trust at all levels
• Strong change management and transformation expertise, with a track record of successfully leading organisational change and driving adoption
• Deep understanding of legal operations and commercial transaction processes, including law firm economics, matter profitability drivers, and operational levers
• Experience designing and implementing process improvements that deliver measurable outcomes, including legal project management methodologies
• Understanding of technology enablement in professional services, including AI, automation, data analytics, and document automation
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a data-driven approach to decision-making
• Strong commercial acumen, project delivery capability, and the ability to balance operational excellence with business priorities
• A collaborative, adaptable, and highly agile mindset — comfortable operating in ambiguous environments and pivoting quickly in response to changing circumstances.

How to apply

We encourage applications from people of all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, genders (including trans or gender diverse), LGBTQ+ people and those with carer responsibilities. We particularly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply.

We prefer to connect with people directly, so please submit your CV by clicking on the 'Apply' button. We encourage all applications, including if you do not meet all the criteria listed for the role. Your application will also enable us to consider you for other opportunities that may be available at MinterEllison.

If you are currently a MinterEllison employee, please apply through the internal careers page.

If you would like further information, require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or for a confidential discussion, please contact lisa.fleming@minterellison.com.