Head of Workplace Operations, UK

Linklaters is a global law firm, providing legal services in 20 countries and through 30 offices.
Linklaters is a people business. Being best in class in the eyes of our clients means that our people must be exceptional.
We look not only for brilliant minds, but for people who will thrive in our environment: people who love working collaboratively and demonstrate the innovative, efficient, agile, entrepreneurial, and responsible mind-set we aim to bring to every interaction.
Ours is an environment of outperformance. We achieve this not with targets and incentives, but by fostering a positive, supportive, fair, and open atmosphere.
We respect and value difference but insist on inclusivity. We celebrate all aspects of diversity and challenge any form of bias. This is vital to our ability to work as one team, with a common goal.

The Role:

We’re looking for a senior, forward-thinking leader to shape and lead Workplace Operations across our UK platform — a flagship environment at the heart of the firm.
This is a highly visible and influential role, responsible not just for operational delivery, but for setting direction, driving transformation, and ensuring the UK operating model evolves in line with the firm’s global strategy.
You will operate as a strategic partner to the business, anticipating needs, influencing priorities, and ensuring operations enables performance, experience, and long-term value.

In this role, you will:
Set the strategic direction for UK operations , aligning the workplace model to future business needs and global priorities
Own financial performance , driving transparency, long-term planning, and proactive cost and value optimisation
Shape and lead a best-in-class vendor ecosystem , focusing on strategic partnerships, innovation, and measurable outcomes rather than day-to-day management
Drive operational transformation , leading initiatives that enhance efficiency, scalability, and user experience through innovation, automation, and new ways of working
Champion service and experience excellence , ensuring a consistently high-quality, client-centric environment across the UK platform
Build and lead a high-performing team , developing capability and shifting focus from execution to strategic value creation
Partner with senior stakeholders , acting as a trusted advisor and influencing decision-making at the highest levels

This is a role for someone who wants to shape, not just manage — bringing a proactive, forward-looking approach to how operations supports the firm’s success.

What we're looking for:

We’re seeking a strategic operations leader who combines commerciality, influence, and foresight, with a track record of delivering and evolving high-performing operational environments.

You will bring:
Proven experience operating within complex, global and matrixed organisations , with the ability to drive alignment and navigate ambiguity
A clear track record of setting and delivering operational strategy , demonstrating forward thinking, innovation, and proactive leadership
Strong expertise in strategic vendor and partner management , including designing operating models and driving long-term value and performance
Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills , with credibility and confidence at senior leadership and executive level
Experience leading large-scale, high-profile or flagship operations , with a focus on both performance and continuous evolution
A highly commercial, data-driven mindset , using insight to inform decisions, identify opportunities, and improve outcomes
Demonstrated success in leading transformation and change , embedding new ways of working and enhancing service delivery
Strong capability in building and leveraging performance frameworks, MI and analytics , shifting operations towards predictive and insight-led decision making

What's on offer:

Joining Team Linklaters will see you qualify for a range of benefits designed to reward the vital contribution you'll be making to our success. These include:

Health & Wellbeing
Private Medical Insurance

Free in-house fitness centre and subsidised health club memberships

Free onsite GP service and periodic health assessments

Finance
Pension and flexible savings options

Income protection and life assurance

Mortgage advice and will-writing services

Family & Lifestyle
Electric car and cycle to work schemes

Emergency family care

Additional holiday/birthday leave

Maternity/paternity/shared   parental leave

Travel insurance and season ticket loan

Option to join sports and social clubs, as well as our employee networks groups (such as our Gender Equality, With Pride, or Social Mobility Networks)

If you think this role would suit you, please click apply below. We look forward to hearing from you!

Technical Skills
Budget Management, Change Management, Contract Management, Facility Management, Lease Management, Project Management, Security Management, Strategic Sourcing, Sustainability Strategy, Vendor Management

This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.

Application Policy
Applications and CVs (direct or via agency) are   only   accepted online via the portal. Queries related to our roles must be directed to the relevant recruitment team and   not   the partners, practices or stakeholders ( lateralrecruitment@linklaters.com   for   legal roles   or   ukbtrecruitment@linklaters.com   for   business team roles ).