Chief Operating Officer (COO)

@ GHJ
GHJghj.com

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Posted 1 day ago

About the job

GHJ Search provides accounting and finance talent; a law firm seeks a COO to oversee administration, HR, recruiting, and operations, supporting growth and leadership.

Requirements

  • Leadership in law or professional services
  • Strong HR and people management
  • Operations improvement skills
  • Vendor relationship management
  • Legal or professional tech familiarity

Qualifications

  • Progressive leadership experience
  • Degree in Business or related
  • Financial acumen
  • Discretion and judgment
  • Executive presence

Full job description

GHJ Search and Staffing serves as the recruitment division of GHJ, a prominent national accounting and advisory firm. Our team provides qualified Accounting and Finance professionals on a temporary and permanent basis across a broad range of industries. GHJ’s relationship with our Global Advisory and Accounting Network provides the resources needed to better understand client’s needs, attract a higher caliber of candidates and assess candidate potential.

A well-established, multi-office law firm is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as the firm’s senior business executive and trusted partner to the Managing Partner. This is a rare opportunity for an accomplished professional services leader to take ownership of firm administration, strengthen the organization’s people and processes, and help shape its next chapter of growth and leadership succession.

The COO will lead the firm’s non-attorney administrative functions, with a particular focus on human resources, recruiting, people management, and practice operations. The role is designed for a hands-on, highly organized leader who can bring structure and accountability to firm operations while building trusted relationships across attorneys, staff, and firm leadership.

Financial acumen is important, but this is not a traditional CFO role. An established Controller oversees day-to-day accounting and finance, allowing the COO to focus more broadly on people, operations, strategic initiatives, and organizational effectiveness.


Key Responsibilities

  • Lead HR, recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and retention initiatives
  • Oversee benefits strategy and renewals, including relationships with brokers and providers
  • Lead firmwide administrative operations and establish clear, scalable procedures and accountability
  • Evaluate staffing needs, resource allocation, workflows, and operational efficiency
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to the Managing Partner and support firm leadership on strategic initiatives
  • Help capture and institutionalize critical operational knowledge while supporting long-term succession planning
  • Negotiate major vendor, insurance, benefits, and legal technology contracts
  • Maintain strong working knowledge of legal technology and business systems and support new implementations
  • Partner with the Controller on budgeting, financial planning, KPIs, and business performance
  • Foster a collaborative, high-performing culture while providing leadership and mentorship to administrative teams

    • Qualifications

  • Significant progressive leadership experience within a law firm, accounting firm, or other professional services environment
  • Strong background in HR, recruiting, employee relations, and people leadership
  • Demonstrated success improving operations, workflows, and organizational processes
  • Experience managing and negotiating significant vendor and service-provider relationships
  • Familiarity with legal or professional services technology and business systems
  • Strong financial acumen and ability to partner effectively with finance leadership
  • Exceptional judgment, discretion, organization, and follow-through
  • Executive presence with the ability to build credibility across partners, leadership, and staff
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, or related field

    • Why Join?

  • Serve as the senior business executive of an established law firm with direct access to the Managing Partner
  • Take ownership of a broad operational function where your impact will be highly visible
  • Play a meaningful role in leadership succession and the long-term evolution of the firm
  • Join a relationship-driven culture that values collaboration and long-term employee retention
  • Competitive $350,000–$450,000 base salary, plus bonus opportunity and comprehensive executive benefits


    • #GHJSS #LI-MC1

    Show full description

    Similar jobs in Columbus, OH

    See all Chief Operating Officer jobs