Vedder Price's Chicago office is seeking a Chief Information Officer. The Chief Information Officer is responsible for developing and executing the Firm's strategic technology initiatives. This key leadership role will require a dynamic and innovative professional who is well-versed in transformational leadership of technology management and staff, driving Firm strategy, and leveraging existing technologies to support overall organizational growth and operational excellence. The Firm currently has nine (9) offices in the United States, England and Singapore.

As the Chief Information Officer, your duties will include but not be limited to:

• Proactively interface with Firm leadership to determine technological deficiencies, recommending data driven solutions to ensure effective and timely delivery of business programs
• Collaborate with key stakeholders, management and staff across the Firm to assess overall user experience and to implement best practices for business effectiveness
• Develop and execute an innovative technology strategy that aligns with the Firm's growth and business objectives
• Establish Firm efficiency and efficacy standards to develop proactive technology policies and procedures
• Analyze technology infrastructure and systems performance to assess operating costs, productivity levels, upgrade requirements, and other metrics and needs to optimize and enhance use of all Firm technologies
• Ensure seamless deployment of new technologies, applications, system upgrades, and security protocols, minimizing disruption to business operations
• Manage process improvement to ensure that technology tools and workflows are as efficient as possible
• Maintain up to date knowledge of industry trends and emerging technologies, making recommendations to enhance user and client experience
• Position the Technology Department to provide best-in-class service to end users in alignment with the business objectives of the Firm
• Responsible for mentoring Technology Department management team to ensure that they are engaged and positioned to enhance the skillsets necessary to meet and exceed Firm expectations
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with external IT vendors and service providers
• Recommend, specify, and oversee outsourcing of technology projects to external parties as appropriate
• Evaluate staffing requirements, development needs skillsets, and organizational structure of the Technology Department
• Manage staffing, including recruitment, supervision, scheduling, development, evaluation and disciplinary actions
• Work with other teams to maintain optimal collaboration on all special projects

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical users at all levels of the Firm
• Superior understanding of the Firm's goals and objectives, with demonstrated ability to apply technology in solving business problems
• Strong organizational skills, capability to schedule and coordinate multiple activities in results-oriented environment. Initiative and ability to enforce policies and procedures
• Must subscribe to being highly available and responsive to after-hours issues, consistent with the Firm's 24x7 operations

Qualifications & Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree required
• 10+ years of technology focused leadership experience required, ideally in the legal industry or other demanding professional services environment
• Position also requires the ability to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines

Computer Skills:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be proficient in the following:

• High level of proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Visio, etc.)
• High level of proficiency in 3E, iManage, Intapp, UKG/UKG Pro, CRM, PowerBI, Iridium, Chrome River Data Fusion, and SharePoint
• Working knowledge of SQL server and fundamentals of database design

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vedder Price P.C. is an equal opportunity employer. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability (where applicant is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations), medical condition, protected veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We participate in E-verify.

Applicants who are interested in applying for a position and require special assistance or an accommodation during the process due to a disability should contact the Vedder Price Recruiting Team at vprecruiting@vedderprice.com.