Associate Director, IP Technology & Operations

Job Description

Position Description:

Associate Director, IP Technology & Operations

The Office of General Counsel is seeking an Associate Director, IP Technology & Operations to provide application administration and technology management support to the Intellectual Property (IP) organization.

Primary responsibilities are to oversee and manage the cloud-based IP management system and cloud-based IP document management system; enhance IP’s tools and technology portfolio and information governance programs; and design and lead technology-related solutions to further the strategic goals of the department. This position has a flexible hybrid office schedule based in Rahway, NJ.

A successful candidate should possess prior application administration experience, strong project management skills and a curiosity for applying emerging technology. This is a people manager role and is responsible for managing two legal support professionals.

Job Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

IP Application Administration

• Product owner and application administrator of the cloud-based IP management system (TIPMS) and cloud-based IP document management system (First-to-File)
• Responsible for the configuration, administration, and continuous enhancement of above systems
• Evaluate, test and provide training for database version releases and new features, manage data migration and improvement projects
• Apply country law updates to the IP management system and create custom rules and codes
• Design and deliver new process workflows or data-related projects and other process improvements
• Design and manage custom forms, emails and automated reporting
• Prepare and generate statistical and ad hoc reports and design and manage custom dashboards
• Prepare and generate audit and data integrity reports to identify, investigate and resolve anomalies
• Ensure compliance with all corporate and departmental IT risk management policies and practices

Technology Management

• Design and implement a long-term technology roadmap that furthers the strategic goals of the IP department
• Assess existing and emerging technology capabilities (e.g. Microsoft 365 applications, generative AI, machine learning, predictive coding, etc.) to improve technology utilization and operational efficiency
• Evaluate new vendors, suppliers, and solutions to make determinations on where to build, where to buy and where to wait
• Evaluate, test, deploy, and support technology initiatives, ensuring efficient implementation and ongoing functionality; develops standard processes, procedures, and reports for such projects
• Create, sustain, and strengthen vendor relationships to understand and influence their product roadmaps
• Maintain strong working relationships with the IT organization, while taking a customer point of view when examining implications of systems, process, or workflow changes

Operational Excellence

• Actively engage with members of the IP department to develop a deep understanding of the department’s needs and align technology initiatives with organizational priorities
• Continuously assess and identify opportunities to improve operational effectiveness through process reengineering, standardized reporting, and automation
• Automate manual processes, digitize physical tasks, and improve speed and quality through effective change management and the strategic deployment of technology solutions
• Leverage cross-functional relationships to influence the development and adoption of new processes/technologies to make a significant impact across the broader legal organization
• Participate in industry/corporate legal operations roundtables, user conferences, industry benchmarking studies to provide best practices and recommendations to IP Senior Leadership

Information Governance

• Enhance and support the company’s records management strategy and framework, including e-discovery, legal hold, and information review and preservation activities
• Ensure appropriate security for official records and information and oversee access to all sensitive, confidential, and restricted information
• Support and enhance the IP department’s internal and company-facing content management and collaboration tools and sites
• Enable efficiencies by ensuring seamless access to departmental institutional knowledge through the organization and centralization of key templates, policies, processes, memos, and other learnings

Commute/Location:

This role is based at our Headquarters site in Rahway (NJ), with a Hybrid setup (combination of 3 days in-office & 2 days off-site/remote). This position cannot be 100% remote.

Position Qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Bachelor’s degree required

Required Experience and Skills:

• Five (5) years of relevant legal technology experience in a law firm, corporate legal department, or other legal services provider environment
• Familiarity with different IP practice areas, including terminology, roles, work product, and technology preferred
• Strong technical skills; advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite; familiarity with legal technologies (e.g., deal management, rights management, e-billing, contract and document management, e-signature, knowledge management)
• Experience maintaining a legal database, testing software patches and updates, configuring new features, managing user access, onboarding and offboarding, and training users on new features
• Experience in legal technology assessments, requirements gathering, system design, configuration, implementation, testing and deployment
• Experience negotiating and reviewing vendor contracts, renewals, and statements of work
• Proven track record of dissecting complex processes, identifying critical pain points, and implementing solutions that meet stakeholder’s expectations
• Excellent project management skills with experience improving operational efficiencies through automation and technology solutions
• Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills (both oral and written) with experience presenting and concisely communicating complex information to all levels of an organization
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills, ability to foster and maintain good working relationships with stakeholders, different functional areas, and external partners
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and utilize new software programs and tools
• Flexible to evolving in line with advancing legal technology landscape

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience as a patent paralegal and/or IP database administrator
• Experience creating computer macros in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic
• Experience utilizing low-code development tools, specifically Microsoft Power Platform
• Experience utilizing business intelligence software, specifically Crystal Reports and Sisense

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation: No relocation

VISA Sponsorship: No

Travel Requirements: No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements: Not Applicable

Shift: 1st - Day

Job Posting End Date:

10/29/2024