Director, Digital & Technology Strategy & Execution

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us. Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

The Director of Digital & Technology Strategy & Execution leads the operational engine of the Firm's Digital & Technology organization. Reporting directly to the Chief Digital & Technology Officer (CDTO), the role serves as the CDTO's principal execution partner, translating strategy into coordinated delivery across the technology function. The Director holds direct oversight of the Project Management Office (PMO) and the IT Business Relationship Manager (BRM) team, and carries an explicit execution mandate to drive the CDTO's priorities from decision to completion.

The position blends the strategic, cross-functional influence of a chief of staff with the delivery accountability of a portfolio and business-relationship leader. It exists to ensure that digital and technology initiatives are planned, resourced, governed, and delivered with excellence and in alignment with the Firm's strategic objectives.

Chiefs, Practice Groups and Business owners and Senior Administration.

• Serve as the CDTO's principal execution partner, owning delivery of the CDTO's strategic priorities from decision through to measurable completion.
• Act with delegated authority in defined areas, deputizing for the CDTO in meetings and decisions and representing the technology organization to Firm leadership.
• Translate strategy, OKRs, and roadmaps into coordinated, tracked plans with clear owners, milestones, dependencies, and outcomes.
• Maintain a single, authoritative view of the organization's commitments and progress, proactively surfacing risks and issues and driving them to resolution.
• Prepare executive-ready briefings, decision papers, and materials for management committee and board discussions.
• Provide direct leadership to the PMO, setting the operating model, governance, standards, and delivery methodologies.
• Own the technology project and program portfolio end to end: intake, prioritization, sequencing, resourcing, and benefits realization.
• Establish consistent portfolio reporting across scope, schedule, budget, risk, and value, ensuring timely and accurate status to the CDTO and stakeholders.
• Direct project financial planning and forecasting, aligning portfolio spend with approved budgets and the Firm's investment priorities.
• Mature delivery capability, tooling, and standards, and coach and develop project and program managers.
• Lead the team of IT Business Relationship Managers who connect technology with the Firm's practice groups and business functions.
• Own demand management: capturing, shaping, and qualifying business needs into a prioritized, transparent pipeline.
• Ensure BRMs build trusted partnerships with practice and functional leaders, translating business strategy into technology outcomes.
• Align technology investment with business value and total cost of ownership, and support robust business-case development and prioritization.
• Orchestrate the annual and quarterly planning cadence for the technology organization, ensuring alignment with Firm strategy and budget.
• Establish and run governance forums, decision rights, and portfolio review cadences.
• Define, track, and report the KPIs, OKRs, and operational metrics that measure the health and impact of the technology organization.
• Design and continuously improve the operating rhythm of the Office of the CDTO, including leadership meetings, agendas, goal-setting, and reviews.
• Develop and deliver the technology organization's internal communications, driving alignment and consensus across teams.
• Lead, coach, and develop the PMO and BRM teams, setting objectives, managing performance, and building a high-performing, service-oriented culture.
• Oversee resourcing, recruitment, and retention across the teams.

• Bachelor's degree in business, information systems, computer science, or a related field; an MBA or relevant master's degree is preferred.
• Ten or more years of progressive experience in technology strategy, delivery, or operations leadership, including substantial PMO or portfolio responsibility and business-relationship management.
• Five or more years leading and developing teams, ideally in a chief-of-staff, technology business-operations, PMO, or management-consulting capacity.
• Demonstrated success translating executive strategy into delivered outcomes across a complex, matrixed organization.
• Experience in a professional services, legal, or comparably client-driven environment is strongly preferred.
• Relevant certifications are an advantage, such as PMP, PgMP, or PfMP for project and portfolio management and ITIL or BRMP for service and relationship management.
• Executive presence and the credibility to operate as a trusted advisor.
• Exceptional program and portfolio management…