Portfolio Operations Manager

Department: Firm Administration

About Us:

Ballard Spahr is a nationally recognized law firm with more than 750 lawyers across 19 offices in the United States. A career at Ballard Spahr means joining a team of talented mentors, colleagues, and friends, supported by strong leadership that actively encourages professional growth.  

Ballard Spahr is looking for a Portfolio Operations Manager responsible for day-to-day operation and governance of the enterprise portfolio. This individual will exercise discretion, build relationships, and develop plans while leading diverse project teams to achieve successful delivery. The selected individual will work closely with EPMO leadership, Project Management teams, business leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders, the Portfolio Operations Manager coordinates portfolio intake and prioritization, facilitates portfolio governance and review activities, and provides leadership with timely visibility into portfolio performance, priorities, risks, dependencies, and capacity  This position is remote, and consideration will be given to those near the Philadelphia office or surrounding areas, with the expectation to work in the office as needed.

Why Join Us?

• Innovative Work Environment: Become part of a forward-thinking firm that enjoys substantial support and visibility from the firm’s executive leadership.

• Professional Development: Take advantage of continuous learning opportunities and avenues for career growth.

• Inclusion: Join a Business Resource Group and share cultural, experiential, or job-related interests, experiences, and/or backgrounds.

• Impactful Contributions: Play a pivotal role in developing industry-leading solutions that make a significant difference in legal practice and client service.

Your Role:

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the enterprise portfolio.

• Coordinate project intake, activation, prioritization, and portfolio workflows.

• Plan and facilitate portfolio review and governance meetings.

• Define and monitor portfolio KPIs, metrics, milestones, deadlines, and reporting requirements.

• Develop and maintain portfolio dashboards, reports, and other materials that provide actionable insights to leadership and stakeholders.

• Monitor portfolio performance, risks, issues, dependencies, and capacity, escalating matters as appropriate.

• Drive stakeholder communications and ensure projects meet established readiness requirements prior to activation.

• Maintain accurate and reliable portfolio data across portfolio management tools and repositories.

• Partner with the EPMO leadership to support effective portfolio planning, prioritization, and execution.

• Continuously improve portfolio governance, processes, tools, reporting, and operating practices.

• Identify opportunities to improve portfolio transparency, efficiency, consistency, and decision-making.

• Support project and portfolio initiatives through business analysis activities, including process documentation, workflow mapping, requirements gathering, stakeholder facilitation, and identification of process improvement opportunities.

• Provide project management support for strategic projects and other initiatives as needed, in partnership with the Project Management team.

What We’re Looking For:

• Growth Mindset: Self-motivated with a passion for growth and willing to stay updated with emerging technologies and industry trends, particularly in project management and generative.

• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills.  The ability to listen, understand information and ideas presented, while using analytical skills to interpret the issue at hand and develop applicable or appropriate recommendations and solutions.

• Detail-Oriented: Keen attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently.

• Leadership: Ability to lead, drive, and support projects for successful business outcomes.

Required Experience:

A bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field. 5+ years of experience working at a law firm with experience in portfolio management, PMO operations, project management, business operations or a related function. Knowledge of business analysis and project management best principles, tool and methodologies; including Waterfall and Agile. Strong analytical and problem solving skills with the ability to interpret portfolio data. Experience facilitating stakeholder discussions, documenting business processes, developing process flows and supporting project planning and status reporting. Strong negotiation, conflict resolution and stakeholder management skills. Excellent organization skills and attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly in Excel and PowerPoint with experience working with project, portfolio or workflow management tools. Ability to work independently, sound judgement, identify issue and escalate matter appropriately. 

The salary range for this position is from $120,000 – $150,000, which reflects the Firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Actual pay will depend on several factors such as the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and location.

Ballard Spahr offers an excellent benefits package. A summary of available benefits can be found here in the Careers section of the firm’s website.

Ready to Grow with Us?

If you are ready to play a vital role in the Firm’s success, we encourage you to apply and be a part of our commitment to excellence.

At Ballard Spahr, we believe that our skills, perspectives, and backgrounds drive innovation and excellence, while our unique culture fosters collaboration and success. Our culture of thriving together forms the cornerstone of how we deliver exceptional service and position our firm for a strong future. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Ballard Spahr is an equal opportunity employer. We offer equal consideration to all qualified applicants, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, handicap or disability, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, transgender status, sex stereotyping, genetic information, ancestry, veteran status or any other category protected by applicable law.

The firm is not accepting resumes from search firms for this position.