Director, Legal Operations

The Director of Legal Operations will lead Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s efforts to enhance operational efficiency and business processes within the Office of General Counsel (OGC); oversee an outside counsel management program; identify, select, implement and optimize tools and technology; and partner closely with OGC’s Intellectual Property team and the Innovations Office to manage the costs of maintaining Dana-Farber’s extensive patent portfolio.

This role will also manage a core team of legal operations and administrative professionals and drive continuous improvement using Lean Six Sigma methodologies. In partnership with Finance, the Director will manage and track legal spend across multiple cost centers and oversee monthly accruals of legal fees to support month-end close, reporting, and forecasting. This position reports directly to the Senior Vice President and General Counsel and collaborates with leaders across Innovations, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and other teams across Dana-Farber.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations.

We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

• Strategic Legal Operations & Process Excellence:
Advise the General Counsel and senior leadership on the operational and strategic management of the department; lead process improvements and implement Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce costs and increase efficiency; establish and maintain data-driven metrics and analytics to maximize resources and performance; define and standardize workflows and governance; provide guidance across the organization as a member of multidisciplinary project teams;

and serve on the legal leadership team to foster strong internal communications, high team performance, and team member well-being across the OGC.

• Outside Counsel Management:
Oversee a comprehensive outside counsel management program that harmonizes engagement and performance, improves efficiency, and reduces costs; optimize the use of e-billing/legal spend and matter management technologies, including alignment of internal business processes and tools to drive efficiency, better decision-making, and cost reduction; and collaborate with internal counsel, external law firms, and benchmarking data to manage outside counsel performance, rates, and spend in accordance with firm guidelines and service-level expectations.

• Legal Finance, Budgeting & Accruals:
Serve as the Legal Department’s primary liaison with DFCI’s Finance Department and the Innovations Office on finance matters; partner closely with Finance to manage budgeting, forecasting, monthly accruals, and budget variance analysis on legal spend; manage and track legal spend and ensure accurate allocation, in partnership with Finance and other stakeholders; coordinate with Finance to ensure accurate month-end close, reporting, and forecasting of legal fees;

and support strategic short and long-term projects focused on efficient use of internal and external legal resources.

• Legal Technology, Data & Knowledge Management:
Serve as the Legal Department’s primary liaison with DFCI’s Information Technology (IT) Department; partner with IT to assess, select, deploy, and maintain information systems, programs, and tools that support knowledge management and legal operations; ensure effective data governance and system integrations across platforms; and collaborate with IT to develop and implement dashboards and reporting that enhance information sharing, transparency, and decision-making.

• Leadership, Engagement & Well‑Being:
Manage and…