Sr. Consultant, Discovery Project Management

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Summary: The Sr. Consultant, Discovery Project Manager will lead the Discovery Management Unit (DMU) and Litigation and Employment Department (LED) in understanding project management (PM) techniques and principles and applying them to drive effective planning, cost control, resource allocation and risk management in discovery projects. Formal PM principles shall be followed when the matter is of large scope, has potential to span a significant period, involves several stakeholders and/or involves a significant amount of information tracking.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Managing Counsel.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

Establish project management (PM) templates, processes and best practices for DMU/LED for the purposes of discovery management Educate DMU/LED on the project management process (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure) In coordination with DMU and LED leadership, draft guidance for DMU/LED that defines when formal project management is expected Apply PM knowledge and tools to ensure all involved parties (DMU/LED, outside counsel, technology vendor(s) and document review provider) are on the same page regarding scope of work, responsibilities, timelines, expectations and overall plan of action Own oversight for creating, updating and adhering to the project/work plan Coordinate all aspect of the project team resources including human, technological and financial Manage the on-boarding and oversight (including serving as liaison with provider on all administrative matters) for third-party attorneys or paralegals contracted for review projects Track progress and establish communication mechanisms and reporting protocols for all stakeholders Identify interdependencies between tasks and resources Eliminate bottlenecks or confusion as to responsibilities or sequence of events Connect people with questions to the appropriate people with answers Document and/or develop processes as needed Work side-by-side with counsel, litigation support professionals, technical data experts and IT professionals to advance responses to legal requests and discovery requirements in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible Capture and communicate lessons learned at conclusion of projects

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Qualified candidates will possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree (J.D. or Master’s Degree preferred)

License/Certification/Designation: Obtaining certification as an E-Discovery Specialist through the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists may be required within the first 12 months of employment.

Experience: Five or more years’ experience within law, technology, consulting or project management; Corporate legal department, law firm, or litigation processing/hosting environment strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

Demonstrated leadership of people either directly or by leading through influence as an independent contributor Demonstrated strong understanding of PM principals and workflows that you use to drive complex projects Corporate legal department, law firm or litigation processing/hosting environment strongly preferred Significant understanding of the litigation lifecycle and e-Discovery project management experience PMP certification or willingness to obtain certification is a plus Possess or ability to gain strong knowledge of various tools, systems and software used to support discovery/litigation within the DMU, LED, Digital Forensics Investigations (DFI) or elsewhere in the company (e.g. Nuix, Relativity, Axcelerate, Legal Hold Pro, O365, Microsoft Office, SourceOne, TeamConnect, Passport, iManage, etc.) Highly organized and detail oriented, but also adaptive and able to rise above the detail to see broader implications and anticipate both short and long-term consequences and/or cause and effect of decision-making Highly Collaborative, credible, engaging and authoritative with an ability to build strong working relationships at all levels across the company and with external partners Ability to work with ambiguity in a highly matrixed organization Demonstrated comfort navigating through change and leading others through change Passion for building or enhancing process Strong time-management skills Self-starter/Pro-active Exemplary communication skills Willing to question assumptions and propose alternative solutions, including justifying recommendations and rationally handling objections and counter-proposals Ability to work extended hours, as needed

Job Description

Reports to: Director/AVP/Vice President.

Key Responsibilities:

Viewed as a top-level consultant in the design, development configuration, customization, deployment, maintenance and updating of a wide variety of business and system processes and procedures. Ensures processes are followed within business organizations. May govern customer communication and the process results to a satisfactory level.

May manage the day-to-day operations of multiple business and systems processes with recognized expertise, including the operation of process-related tools. Manages key process events and the fulfillment of customer requests and process deliverables through all phases of multiple process lifecycles.

Consults and provides top-level expertise to executives, customers and core business functions on a wide variety of process redesign and/or re-engineering initiatives and projects through continuous process improvements. Identifies and implements new and creative business process redesigns for a wide variety of processes and strategies through facilitation and marketing.

Consults as a top-level expert for a wide variety of processes to perform evaluations and develop recommendations by use of benchmarks, pilots, prototyping and modeling to assess potential use of new methods and workflows across multiple business processes. Consults on the evaluation of a wide variety of business processes for design effectiveness and resource utilization to ensure process performance meets targeted service levels.

Viewed as an expert in the analysis and alignment of customer vision, strategies and goals including process design, product delivery, and systems, organizational functions and overall business structure.

Develops and provides recommendations on possible enhancements and integration of multiple processes, tools and controls to increase the quality and optimization of business services and resources. Leads ongoing process design programs for multiple customers as an expert process consultant.

Consults with executives, customers, peers and core business partners to develop business cases, process programs, and key strategies to identify, quantify, and deliver process design efforts in support of business visions, objectives, and strategies. Manages and monitors process design programs.

Provides world class consulting on the management and negotiation of timelines and purpose of process design programs. Serves as a subject matter expert on a project team involved with the development, implementation, administration and operation of a wide variety of new business processes and strategies, which include multiple functions, product lines, and business activities. Serves as a subject matter expert on post-implementation and conformance reviews for complex processes to ensure conformance to process requirements.

Provides top-level expert consultation for a wide variety of integrated complex process tools and methods in order to develop, design, implement, monitor, maintain, operate, and improve multiple business processes. Mentors, educates and trains others on the use of multiple process design techniques, methods and tools as well as on the use-of and execution-of multiple business processes and tools.

May manage a variety of collaborative relationships with vendors, partners and suppliers to support customer plans. Manages service evaluations regarding a variety of outside consulting service vendors.

Acts as a source of process expertise for direction, mentoring and guidance for less experienced staff. Recognized across the organization for expertise in a wide variety of process design, process support and process operations. Sought as a resource for resolution of the most complex design, implementation, support and operational problems.

May help govern activities for a process program office and assist in managing program schedules and costs.

Establishes process awareness strategies to help customers increase their awareness of process techniques, methods and tools to identify opportunities for performance improvements. Advises business and systems partners on the issues and problems that they will face as process implementation activities unfold. Recommends process design or operations team members. Develops office-wide vision and strategies for processes.

Acts as a top-level process consultant for large-scale, complex projects and programs that involve or impact processes. Serves as a top-level consultant for the most complex, integrated process design projects and programs involving a wide variety of process disciplines and impacting multiple business units.

Develops the overall strategic vision for processes and provides a broad range of ideas regarding multiple process design, implementation, support and operation initiatives. May serve in an operational authority or approval role in the execution of processes.

Performs other duties as assigned.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education: Undergraduate degree in areas related to Business or Mathematics related field preferred.

Licenses/Certifications/Designations: Process-related certifications preferred. Product-related technical insurance course work (CPCU, CPU, LOMA) preferred.

Experience: Ten years minimum experience in business process design or operations. Experience in leading process teams.

Knowledge: Maintains and comprehends business process operations or redesign techniques, methods and tools. Maintains current understanding of business trends to support process design and operations to improve performance. Maintains current understanding of insurance and financial services industry, focusing on the Nationwide enterprise and key competitors.

Skills/Competencies: Demonstrated expertise in multiple process disciplines such as insurance or financial business processes required. Demonstrated knowledge of project management concepts and techniques required. Must have an understanding of customer business environment. Must be fully competent in process development or process operations. Must have strong leadership skills with the ability to work with business teams, including virtual teams. Proven ability to work with process vendors in the delivery of project solutions. Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to make decisions and recommendations on process strategies while considering various options for business units and senior management required.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values and Guiding Behaviors.

Staffing Exceptions to the above minimum job requirements must be approved by the: Vice President and HR Officer

JOB CONDITIONS:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Occasional travel. non-standard or extended work may be required based on project needs.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

Job Evaluation Activity: 9/2014 CAH

Job Function/Family: ADM/PRO

Additional Job Description

Position Grade: H2

Job ID: 54059

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