Department Operations Specialist – Intellectual Property

Kansas City, MO | St. Louis, MO

Compensation: $90k/yr - $120k/yr plus full benefits

Direct Counsel represents an AmLaw 50 firm seeking a proactive and analytical Department Operations Specialist to support its Intellectual Property Department.

This role is ideal for an operations professional who enjoys financial analysis, project management, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration and wants to make a measurable impact within a sophisticated legal environment.

The Role

• Support department leadership with business operations, financial management, and strategic initiatives.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, expense tracking, and variance analysis.
• Prepare financial, operational, and performance reports for leadership.
• Develop dashboards and metrics to support data-driven decision-making.
• Coordinate department projects, timelines, priorities, and deliverables.
• Support process improvement, technology adoption, and client service initiatives.
• Manage department calendars, meetings, retreats, and planning sessions.
• Coordinate attorney and staff onboarding and offboarding.
• Serve as a liaison between the IP Department and Finance, HR, Marketing, Innovation, Recruiting, and Professional Development teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; business, finance, or accounting preferred.
• 5 years of experience in business operations, financial/data analysis, or project management.
• Legal industry experience preferred; IP experience is a plus.
• Experience with budgets and financial reporting.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving abilities.
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to manage competing priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Monday.com, Power BI, Smartsheet, iManage, or time/billing systems is a plus.

Locations: Kansas City, MO | St. Louis, MO