Assistant Director, Finance Systems

About Us:

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP is a leading national law firm focused on serving the transaction, advocacy and advisory needs of Canada's most dynamic business sectors. We have one of the largest business law practices in the country, serving multinational, national and mid-market clients from our offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

Our Culture:

At Cassels, our mission is to attract, retain and promote individuals of exceptional ability and talent from as broad a range of backgrounds as possible. We offer meaningful career opportunities, invest in professional growth, and foster an inclusive environment. Our Firm's success is built on the unique skills, perspectives, experiences and values of each individual. We encourage a corporate culture that respects and celebrates the dignity, value and diversity of all.

Role Overview:

Our Toronto office is currently recruiting for an Assistant Director, Finance Systems in our Accounting department, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer. This role requires a candidate who can work with Business Users to develop, validate, and implement technology solutions and new business practices for financial processes to maximize the utility of our practice management system (3E) and other non-3E interfaces.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Identifying and prioritizing issues and develop action plans pertaining to financial systems including the coordination of Finance and IT resources.
• Providing system or process expertise on complex matters that relate to Finance activities. This role has stewardship of our 3E system and our partner dashboard, including any interfaces that may exist from other systems (i.e. CRM system)
• Monitoring system for usage accordingly to set standards and to maintain data integrity.
• Serving as a trusted partner and advisor of the financial systems; direct key stakeholders to define and analyze areas for process improvements.
• Taking ownership of the project management function for the Finance department. Working with our project management office (PMO) and IT departments to act as the business unit leader for the Finance team to assist/help lead projects as assigned, develop project plans from infancy to execution stage, coordinate Finance team resources, reporting back to leadership on project status, facilitate meetings, work back schedules and performance versus budget.
• Working with system vendors to identify and implement solutions to issues as needed.
• Delivering on portions of multiple operations projects in a fast-paced, intense, results-oriented environment.
• Leveraging technical understanding and accounting/ finance acumen to translate business requirements into functional and technical specifications.
• Improving existing financial system and provide application integration solutions to improve efficient use of the financial system for all users.
• Implementing best practices for data access, design, and support.
• Working closely with the CFO and 3E Reporting team on any enhancements to reports.
• Building key User Dashboards that would steer Business Performance by Connecting Data, People and Plans Across Finance and Operations.
• Supporting and executing projects with multiple stakeholders and help coordinate strategic discussions with senior leaders, including our internal PMO office and IT departments.
• Working with key strategy stakeholder groups to develop cross-functional relationships.
• Developing and maintaining financial, business intelligence, and other decision support tools that deliver required data analysis and insights, and measure and evaluate progress.
• Championing the use of data and information to improve decision making throughout the organization; partner with leaders to discover, define, and articulate analytics and insight opportunities.
• Working with business users and IT to develop and maintain appropriate levels of change order processes.
• Leading process improvement by recommending and implementing continuous improvement solutions to annual business plan and budget, and data gathering and quality issues.
• Working with the CFO on the development and refinement of key performance indicators (KPIs) – lagging and leading KPIs + partner dashboards in support of the organization's business plan and budget management (this includes training the partners on how best to utilize our partner dashboard).
• Managing the File Opening team and owning all the data points and processes that are integral to the opening and maintenance of new files in our system.
• Resolving any first level client and matter conflicts at the time of file opening.
• Leading the preparation of the Partner compensation reports at year end.
• Proactively collaborating with Partners, Practice Group Chairs, and CFO to identify any areas where we see pricing and/or Matter Budgeting recommendations including opportunities for matter efficiency and/or other innovation tools.
• Effectively managing a team to ensure timely delivery of business needs and objectives.
• Coaching, mentoring, and developing staff, providing career development planning and opportunities.
• Empowering employees to take responsibility for their jobs and goals. Delegate responsibility and expect accountability and regular feedback.

The successful candidate must have the following education, experience and/or demonstrated skills:

• 10+ years of experience in a financial systems environment, preferably in a legal environment.
• Ability to provide thought leadership around finance technology strategies, financial operations and reporting strategies.
• Proven track record of building and leading large teams.
• Strong understanding of industry best practices and tools.
• Proven ability to lead ERP projects.
• Deep knowledge of standard law firm accounting procedures.
• Professional working in a multi-matrixed organization where clients can be encountered at any time.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Overtime hours required on occasion.

Employment Type
: Permanent, Full-Time

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation + Extended Health & Dental Care.
• RRSP Matching Program.
• Education/tuition allowance.
• Fitness Reimbursement Program.
• Diversity and Inclusion Centric Culture.
• A Culture of Wellness: Cassels recognizes the importance of wellness and provides a comprehensive program that addresses the mental and physical well-being of our employees by providing resources, services, training and support on an ongoing basis.
• A fully stocked kitchen with healthy snacks, plus coffee, tea, and drinks throughout the year.
• A business casual dress code (client/day specific).
• Employee referral bonus.
• A hybrid work environment.

Cassels is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and an accessible environment. It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, and we will provide appropriate accommodation for candidates with disabilities or accessibility needs throughout the recruitment process, upon request. Please contact our recruiter for any questions, accommodations or specific requests.

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest, however, only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. We regret that we are unable to respond to individual inquiries about application status, unless required for accommodation purposes.