Head of Knowledge

To develop, lead and manage the Ireland legal quality strategy to support the country's overall business strategy and the firm's overarching approach to legal quality. The role will champion the firm's vision for Knowledge and Learning across the country and represent the country in the firmwide Knowledge community. The role has three primary areas of focus:

• To support the local practice groups in the delivery and implementation of International Group and firmwide Knowledge and Learning initiatives and ensure consistency of quality across the country
• To take responsibility for cross-practice group knowledge sharing in the country
• To ensure delivery of local Knowledge Services (information resources and knowledge systems) in alignment with firmwide policies and processes

Main duties and responsibilities

Knowledge strategy leadership and quality consistency

• Working with the Knowledge Partners in each local practice group to develop, implement and run a Knowledge strategy for the country consisting of initiatives to capture, promote and share knowledge and best practices between practice groups. This includes supporting the International Group Heads of Knowledge to ensure local practice group participation in International Group and firmwide Knowledge initiatives (such as Excellence) and use of the firm’s knowledge systems. Specifically, this involves:

- Helping Knowledge Partners identify work to be undertaken.
- Facilitating Knowledge Partners with allocating and driving the delivery of work in a timely manner (e.g. through project management techniques and regular engagement with those who have been allocated work).
- Supporting local practice groups to ensure processes and responsibilities are in place for the on-going maintenance of any content produced so that it remains legally accurate, relevant and reflects market practice.

• Ensuring that the quality of all work undertaken in the Country Knowledge strategy is consistent in quality in terms of look and feel/formatting, local language quality and an overall sense of "coming from one stable".
• Ensuring that key legal, regulatory and market developments affecting Ireland generally across practice groups are monitored and fee earners are aware of relevant developments.
• Working with local Knowledge Partners on a regular basis to review and analyse usage of content developed and advising on action to be taken to improve usage, change content or address misuse.
• Working with local Knowledge Partners to review fee earner time recording reports for Knowledge activity to support local remuneration policies.

Provision and use of knowledge services

Knowledge Services are business operational services to support the delivery of knowledge needed by practice groups to undertake legal and business development activities. They comprise:

• Information and Research Services - the procurement and management of information resources and supporting their use
• Knowledge Systems - the administration and management of technology used for capturing, storing, processing, delivering and exploiting knowledge

The Head of Knowledge - Ireland role will have primary responsibility for ensuring that the Country has the Knowledge Services it needs, whether delivered centrally or in Country, and in alignment with firmwide policies. Specifically, this includes:

• Information and Research Services:

- Working closely with the central Information and Research Services team to ensure that the country has the information resources it needs, whether procured centrally or locally, and procurement and use is in alignment with firmwide policies.
- Working closely with the central Information and Research Services team and the Group Knowledge teams to support research queries from the local practice groups. The firm expects everyone to undertake their own basic research and the nature of this support is therefore to assist with the location of information or knowledge or to support difficult or complex research.
- Acting as first point of contact for research queries relating to Ireland received from other parts of the firm, working with relevant local fee earners and partners to resolve such queries.
- Ensuring that fee earners are adequately trained on research skills and to efficiently use information resources.
- Working closely with the central Information and Research Services team to report, reviewing and analysing usage of information resources and advising on content or subscription changes required.

• Knowledge Systems:

- Working closely with the central Knowledge Systems team to ensure that the country uses firm-wide common systems to store and share knowledge and local administration of systems consistent with firm-wide processes.
- Implementing, integrating and managing the interface with local government and court filing and registration platforms and other third party platforms used as a routine part of fee earner matter work.
- Ensuring that fee earners are adequately trained on how to efficiently use knowledge systems.

Academic/expertise counsel

• Providing advice and acting as a sounding board on complex legal issues and supporting the formulation of the DLA Piper position.

Financial management

• Managing the budget covering the areas of responsibility and reporting centrally in accordance with firmwide policies.

About you

Strategic and commercially astute

• Attuned to the dynamics and drivers affecting the Country's business and able to actively forecast changes to the markets in which the practice groups in the Country operates.
• Able to translate strategy into specific plans and strong project management skills to deliver those plans.
• Understands and actively seeks the appropriate application of technology for effective knowledge sharing and efficient high quality service delivery.
• Understanding of knowledge management strategy and implementation in a professional services environment and preferably experience of high quality implementation in a legal services organisation.

An expert facilitator

• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to connect influence and collaborate in a multi-cultural environment across multiple geographies. Proactively engages others and can lead, inspire and motivate through building strong relationships and instilling confidence in others to encourage dissemination of best practice and new ideas
• Experience of working in a large matrix organisation with multiple reporting lines and across multiple geographies
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to assess competing priorities and provide structured solutions to address them
• Highly organised and able to co-ordinate and deliver projects across multiple teams. Demonstrate project management experience, preferably in a partnership environment
• Team management experience, with experience of working virtual team settings and of managing teams and working effectively with others with little direct face to face interaction
• Quality oriented
• Excellent technical academic credentials and broad in-depth relevant practical experience
• Experience of developing knowledge resources and delivering training
• Ability to assess quality beyond own immediate technical expertise
• Self-aware, confident and resilient. Must be a self-starter and takes ownership for tasks, progressing them independently but seeking direction and advice as appropriate. Able to work under pressure and remain focused

About us

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.

Our values

In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

• Be Supportive – we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully
• Be Collaborative – we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships
• Be Bold – we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions
• Be Exceptional – we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations

Diversity and inclusion

At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

Hybrid working

We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That’s why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.

Pre-engagement screening

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits and where relevant, we will conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and work-related references.

Apply now