Roche

Global Head of Legal Spend Management

Roche$213K — $396K *
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years leading legal procurement or operations in large corporations or top-tier law firms
  • Proven experience managing large global legal budgets and AFAs
  • Strong understanding of AI's impact on legal work economics
  • Skilled in fostering cultural and behavioral change within organizations
  • Bachelor's degree; MBA or advanced law degree preferred

Responsibilities

  • Establish centralized governance and analytics for global legal divisions
  • Lead commercial strategy and rate negotiations for legal services
  • Modernize pricing with Alternative Fee Arrangements and capped fees
  • Evaluate external counsel on technological efficiency and expertise
  • Oversee the rollout of e-billing and matter management systems
  • Align internal legal teams with external law firms and LegalTech partners
  • Educate teams on data-driven budget management practices

Benefits

  • Relocation benefits are not available
  • Bonus potential based on individual and company performance
  • Traditional benefits included via external link
Full Job Description

As our Global Head of Legal Spend Management, you will redefine how our global legal department values, structures, and optimizes external legal services to directly fund our digital ambitions. Reporting directly to the Head of Strategy & Operations, you will oversee a significant global budget, driving financial transparency, pricing modernization, and tech-driven efficiency across our divisions.

The Opportunity

  • Establish centralized governance, real-time analytics, and spend transparency across all global legal and compliance divisions.

  • Lead commercial strategy, rate negotiations, global panel management, and the integration of Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs).

  • Modernize pricing models by evolving traditional hourly billing into structured Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs), capped fees, and outcome-based pricing.

  • Evaluate external counsel based on legal expertise, technological maturity, and their ability to pass AI-driven efficiency gains back to the organization.

  • Oversee the global rollout, system controls, and mandatory adoption of unified e-billing and matter management systems.

  • Facilitate multi-party delivery models that connect internal legal teams, preferred external law firms, and LegalTech/AI software partners.

  • Educate in-house teams on commercial management and matter budgeting to shift organizational culture toward data-driven vendor management.

Who You Are

  • You bring 10+ years of experience leading legal procurement, legal operations, or commercial management within a large corporate legal department or top-tier law firm, including deep knowledge of the US legal market.

  • You possess a proven track record of managing large-scale global legal budgets and negotiating complex Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs).

  • You demonstrate a deep understanding of how AI, automation, and LegalTech alter the economics of legal work.

  • You are an experienced leader adept at driving behavioral shifts, building international teams, and influencing senior stakeholders across business and external partners.

  • You hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Legal Studies, Data Analytics, or a related field (an MBA, Master's, or Law degree is an advantage).

The preferred location for this position is South San Francisco. Depending on the selected candidate, we are open to considering Basel or other Roche locations across Europe. Please note that fully remote working is not an option for this role. 

Relocation benefits are not available for this position.

We look forward to your application!

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of California is $213,400 to $396,200. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law.  A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance.  This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

About Roche

Roche Holding AG is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has bearer shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company headquarters are located in Basel. Roche is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, and the leading provider of cancer treatments globally. The company also produces a range of diagnostic tests for medical professionals and patients. Roche was one of the first companies to bring targeted treatments to patients. In 2019, Roche had over 100,000 employees worldwide, and generated revenue of CHF 61.5 billion.
Learn more about Roche
Size
100,920 employees
Industry
NASDAQ

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