US Finance Director

Team

Kennedys Finance team support the firm globally producing timely and accurate financial and management information, reporting solutions and operational support to maintain the high standard of service offered to the firm's internal and external clients.

Our Global Finance team is made up of Group Financial Reporting, Client Reporting and Insights, Pricing, Finance Systems and Finance Operations (billing, credit control, cashiers, finance database). The US Finance team based in Berkeley Heights, NJ support US and Bermuda financial operations and reporting.

Finance has a presence in multiple international offices.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a strategic advisor to the business in the US, providing constructive challenge, early identification of risks and issues and prompt escalation of issues where colleagues can add value.
• Act as a deputy to the CFO as required.
• Work closely with the CFO, US Managing Partner and the rest of the finance leadership team to streamline financial processes across the region and, with the rest of the world, rolling out best practice.
• Ensure that the US produces a cash flow identifying pinch points, and liaising with the central Treasury function to  ensure  that  cash  is  moved  between  offices  and the  central Treasury function as required. Produce a consolidated cash flow for the US.
• Guide members of the US finance team, encouraging personal development and work with teams and individuals to strengthen the depth and breadth of skills and competency across the teams.
• Undertake team performance reviews and manage resourcing needs for the region.
• Provide business partnering and commercial support to the US Managing Partner and practice group heads including provision of management information; budgeting and planning and forecasting as well as working with lateral partner candidates on their financial business plan.

Additional responsibilities

• Implement robust processes for finance transactions in the operations team to ensure that working capital is managed effectively and efficiently and that working capital targets are met as advised by the global treasury team.
• Work with the global teams to ensure that all statutory and tax reporting requirements are met.
• Ensure compliance  with  financial  global  policies  and  maintain  good  internal control systems and operational processes for audit review and ISO 9001 accreditation.
• Liaise with the Global Finance team to produce, prepare and analyse balance sheets, Profit and Loss audit schedules, management reports, yearly financial statements and any other management reports required.
• Work with the finance team, Managing Partner, office and practice group heads to prepare the annual budgets in accordance with the global timetables.
• Collaborate with the US Managing Partner and US Human Resources Director to develop and evaluate partner compensation structures that align with the firm's strategic objectives, financial performance, and market competitiveness.

General Duties

• Maintain the high standard of service offered to the firm's internal clients and to assist in creating and developing the professional reputation of the function
• Understand and live by Kennedys values – approachable, straightforward, supportive and distinctive
• Be subject to varying degrees of supervision on a day-to-day basis
• Create and maintain professional and positive relationships with partners and employees
• Work in line with the firm's Contribution Areas which are specific to your role and level
• Maintain trust and confidentiality at all times
• Act as a Trusted Advisor by building relationships across all business services teams to ensure a consistent approach and service
• Undertake any specific training as and when required
• Operate safely and considerately in the workplace.

Required Experience and Desired Skills

• 10+ years of progressive financial leadership experience, with at least 7 years in a senior finance role, ideally within a professional services or law firm environment
• Experience managing global finance operations
• Prior involvement in partner compensation modelling, profitability analysis, and financial performance metrics within a law firm or partnership structure.
• Strong commercial acumen and a results-driven approach
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Experience managing and developing a high performing team
• Client service orientated and solutions focused
• Pragmatic and measured problem solver
• Strong collaborator and relationship builder
• Self-starter, positive and enthusiastic
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

The annualized salary range for this role is $235,000 - $265,000 . However, this is contingent upon level of experience, location and other job-related factors permitted by law.

FLSA Status: Exempt 

This is a developing role and the job description is not exhaustive and may vary in line with changes in the team's objectives and firm policy.

About Kennedys

Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 2,750 people worldwide across 48 offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and America we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field.

Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims.

We're a fresh-thinking firm, and we're not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time.

What do we have to offer?

We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you'll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference.

Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive and distinctive. Our values are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for.

The Firm recognises the value of investing in our people's development and believes our culture and values contribute to the quality of our work and of our client relationships. With a culture of on-the-job and experiential learning, peer to peer learning, mentoring, resources and tools that enable you to drive your career, we can support your development in your current and future roles.  A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices.

We strive to celebrate diversity, empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work.  We've created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority.  We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work.  Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work.

Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.