Global Business Relationship Manager

The Global Business Technology (GBT) department is essential to meet the Firm's strategic vision. We help to align technology services with the Firm's objectives. This alignment is essential for providing excellent service and value to the firm and its stakeholders. The Firmwide technology function mirrors the firm's Verein structure, balancing the delivery of standardized global services enabled by GBT with tailored local solutions offered by local technology teams. This approach reflects the firm’s strategy of building an integrated global law firm, while also recognizing the unique needs of individual local firms. Since its establishment in 2016, GBT has become an integral component of the firm’s support infrastructure, relied upon by Verein Members and Affiliates (VMAs). The team, now spanning over 50 members across 12 countries, has seen significant development with its adoption of best practices across various disciplines such as project management, IT service management, and technology operations, highlighted by the introduction of the Central Technology Support (CTS) service.

GBT's role and mission have adapted to support the Firm's strategic decisions, such as enabling an integrated firm ethos, maintaining a single brand promise, and supporting growth. The objective is to support and enable cross-border client work. These strategic choices required a technology team with a global focus to; enable and support a unified domain, embrace early cloud adoption, implement shared systems, and develop a common digital platform for global integration and collaboration. This has led to the creation of systems that aggregate data for client and people management and support cross-border incentive programs.

Global Business Technology is shaped by industry best practices and is designed to optimize technology delivery within the firm's Federated IT model. The team is structured around four core groups: Global Technology Programs, Global Data & Application Services, Global Technology Services, and Global Commercial Services. Each group is responsible for specific areas of technology and business, ensuring effective collaboration and clear accountability. This structure enables GBT to focus on delivering on its promise of Service Excellence.

Role

The Global Business Relationship Manager (BRM) will play a pivotal role in fostering strong and collaborative partnerships with our business stakeholders to ensure that the needs and objectives of the business are clearly understood and effectively translated into technology goals. Reporting into the Global Business Relationship Management team in the Global Technology Programs group, the BRM is a strategic thinker proficient in facilitating effective communication and collaboration with business units, building a culture of creativity and innovation, and aligning the goals of GBT to the business to deliver value. The BRM will target improved customer satisfaction and building stronger alignment between technology investments and business priorities.

Requirements

• Meet regularly with critical global business leaders to understand their goals and strategic direction.
• Act as a main point of contact between GBT and other business units (e.g. Clients & Markets, Talent, Finance, etc.) that rely heavily on technology for their daily business.
• Act as an internal consultant for business units to advise on solutions to business problems.
• Translate business objectives into business requirements and subsequently into technology goals, roadmaps, and projects.
• Manage the requirements intake process and priority setting for requirements from global business units.
• Help enrich the GBT project portfolio, feed the annual budget process, and establish business cases focused on technology deliverables.
• For approved projects, create business cases and assist with other important documentation for projects.
• Measure and communicate value delivered to business units.
• Help build out the BRM capabilities of GBT including a BRM framework, tooling, surveys, KPI’s/reporting.
• Have a deep understanding of Dentons business, vision, culture, values, and strategy.
• Have a deep understanding of the technology related expectations and challenges of Dentons global business units.
• Have a deep understanding of Dentons technology capabilities and limitations to articulate how best GBT can support and enable the business.
• Have a desire to invest in oneself to continue to grow and develop professionally.
• While this role's scope is acting as a liaison between GBT and global business units, there may be an opportunity to expand this role in the future to liaise between GBT and local IT leadership.

Skills and Competencies

The Global Business Relationship Manager must demonstrate a diverse set of skills and competencies including:

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills to effectively establish rapport and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.

· Strong presentation skills.

• Flexibility and adaptability to adjust communication style and language to suit different audiences and situations.
• Exceptional negotiation, problem-solving and influencing skills to define root causes of issues or problems and achieve successful outcomes with stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in building, managing, and nurturing relationships, including effective collaboration with teams and vendors.
• Ability to listen, build trust, and develop credibility as a trusted strategic partner.
• Capable of setting expectations with stakeholders
• Creative and strategic thinker with the ability to translate business requirements into technical outcomes to help mobilize projects.
• Methodical approach to documentation with a strong focus on accuracy, attention to detail, and quality.
• Good understanding of standards and frameworks (i.e. ITIL)

Education, Experience and Certifications

• 3-5 years’ experience in a Business Relationship Manager, management consulting or related role.
• Business Analysis, Project Management and/or IT Service Management experience is considered an asset.
• Formal qualifications or accreditations are considered an asset (e.g. BRMP, CBRM, MBRM, PMP, Prince2, ITIL, other).

Language Capabilities / International Experience

We are a truly global law firm and as such, always welcome individuals with foreign language capabilities. Additionally, we welcome individuals with a global background including professional experience gained across different geographies.