Manager, Legal Operations and Contracts

Manager, Legal Operations and Contracts 

NBBJ is an award-winning design firm recognized as a TIME100 Most Influential Company, a Fast Company Most Innovative Architecture Firm and a two-time 2025 AIA National Honor Award recipient. These recognitions reflect our purpose-driven approach that, fueled by ideas and a culture of collaboration, creates healthy buildings, strong communities and a resilient environment. That’s where you come in. With leading clients, diverse colleagues and offices in creative capitals around the globe, a career at NBBJ will inspire you to be extraordinary. You can learn more about our firm, see what it’s like to work here and explore recent projects and ideas at NBBJ.com. Join us to make an impact today! 

This role at a glance:

NBBJ is seeking a highly motivated and self-directed individual with a minimum of 10 years of experience to fill the role of Manager, Legal Operations and Contracts. This person will report to the General Counsel and work collaboratively with the Legal Team and firm leadership. They will administer and assist with the day-to-day operations of the Legal Team, including contract workflow, legal processes, reporting, compliance administration, knowledge management, technology, and cross-functional coordination. The role will also support domestic and international projects, including the firm’s Shanghai Office and Asia Pacific projects. Frequent collaboration across the Legal Team will ensure that the expertise of the entire team can be leveraged firm wide. 

In your new role, you will: 

Contract & Legal Operations:

• Administer  and manage the Legal Team’s contract intake, workflow, tracking, review, approval, execution, and renewal processes to ensure timely and consistent handling of legal matters.
• Review and analyze domestic and international project-related contracts, Requests for Proposals, non-disclosure agreements, anti-bribery agreements, vendor agreements, and other legal documents according to established firm protocols.
• Coordinate contract negotiations with internal stakeholders, project teams, clients, vendors, and external counsel, escalating material legal or business risks to the General Counsel.
• Maintain accurate contract records, templates, playbooks, approval documentation, and key dates, including renewals, expirations, obligations, and deliverables.
• Develop and improve legal processes, procedures, workflows, and service standards to increase efficiency, consistency, and responsiveness across the firm.
• Assist with management and tracking of all firm and Partner professional licenses

Legal Team Administration & Planning:

• Manage the Legal Team’s operational calendar, priorities, intake requests, deadlines, meetings, and recurring activities to support effective allocation of legal resources.
• Prepare legal operations dashboards, management reports, metrics, and trend analyses for the General Counsel and firm leadership.
• Support annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, outside counsel spend tracking, and other Legal Team financial and operational activities.
• Monitor and coordinate outside counsel relationships, including engagement letters, matter assignments, invoices, budgets, and performance information.

Compliance, Risk & Governance:

• Support the General Counsel with compliance programs, policies, internal controls, risk-management initiatives, and firm-wide legal education.
• Maintain trademark and tradename filings and coordinate with external counsel on intellectual property matters as needed.
• Assist with insurance-related issues, including management and tracking of insurance certificates provided to clients and other insurance documentation.
• Attend Go/no-go prospect meetings, identify potential legal or contractual risks, and report relevant issues and recommendations to the General Counsel.

Technology, Knowledge Management & Process Improvement:

• Manage and maintain the Legal Team’s Contract Management System and License Management Tool and other legal technology, repositories, templates, and knowledge-management resources.
• Evaluate and implement improvements to legal technology, document management, contract management, reporting, and workflow tools.
• Create and maintain legal process documentation, standard operating procedures, contract playbooks, templates, and internal legal education modules.
• Identify opportunities to automate or streamline repetitive legal and administrative processes while maintaining appropriate controls and confidentiality.

General Legal Support:

• Support the General Counsel and Legal Team with research, data analysis, charts, legal memoranda, business correspondence, and legal documents that are clear, concise, and effective.
• Serve as a key liaison between Legal and Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Operations, project teams, and other internal functional groups.
• Liaise with external counsel and other professional advisors as directed by the General Counsel.
• Handle confidential and sensitive legal and business information with discretion, sound judgment, and professionalism.

What you will need to succeed:

• Bachelor’s Degree 
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience as a contract analyst or senior paralegal with a law firm or fast-paced, in-house legal department.
• Experience with international transactions.
• Must be able to adjust work schedule to accommodate contract negotiation calls in China time zone.
• Ability to work in a fact-pace, collaborative environment, prioritize workload and time-sensitive projects with strong organizational and communication skills.
• Proficiently use Microsoft Office applications (Word, SharePoint, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe InDesign, along with a willingness to continue learning advanced tools. 
• Experience in the architecture/engineering/construction industry with knowledge of AIA contracts.    
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative team-oriented environment with multiple deadlines.
• Excellent business/legal judgment to identify and assess legal risk and mitigate the firm’s exposure to legal liabilities. 
• Tact and good judgment in handling confidential information.  
• High degree of initiative, self-direction and ability to work well independently as well as with a team. 
• Open to receiving and learning from feedback. 
• Collaborative, inquisitive, proactive, positive and energetic, with the desire to help drive creative solutions to novel and challenging issues.  
• Eager and open to learn and grow in their career with NBBJ.