Manager/Director of Legal Operations & Commercial Finance- Contract to Hire

Lirio is a technology/software company that provides expertise in a variety of behavioral science domains (e.g., behavioral economics, social psychology, public health), data science, and machine learning to drive consumer engagement, close gaps in preventive and chronic care, and promote health and well-being across an individual’s lifespan. Lirio’s behavior change AI platform unites behavioral science with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver Precision Nudging health interventions. Precision Nudging is the application of behavioral science to health interventions personalized by AI to each individual that overcome barriers to action at the right time and place for scalable, behavior change. 

This is a remote role with the opportunity to be hybrid if located in Tennessee. All applicants must be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship.

This is a contract-to-hire role with a contract length of 9 months.

Position Summary 

We are seeking a high-energy, business-minded, and analytically driven Manager/Director of Legal Operations & Commercial Finance to act as the "operational backbone" of our legal and revenue-generating teams. In this hybrid role, you will bridge the gap between Legal, Sales, and Finance, ensuring legal systems and commercial deal structures are efficient, compliant, and scalable. You will own the legal tech stack, manage outside counsel, streamline contract workflows, and provide critical data to drive smarter business decisions.  This job combines the strategic, vendor-management, and tech-enablement aspects of Legal Operations with the contracting, revenue recognition, and spend analysis aspects of Commercial Deal Finance Operations. 

This role will oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of commercial agreements—from initial deal structuring and pricing analysis to final signature. This role will also be responsible for optimizing the Legal & Compliance functions of day-to-day operations by standardizing & improving processes, enhancing operational efficiency, and monitoring departmental key metrics. This requires a unique blend of legal structural knowledge, financial modeling expertise, and process optimization skills. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented, strategic, tech-savvy, and analytically minded leader who collaborates with Leadership to enable sound commercial decision-making and broader business success. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities 

Commercial Deal Operations 

• Sales Enablement: Act as a "translator" between the legal team and Sales/Finance, accelerating contract review times and minimizing revenue roadblocks. 

• Deal Structuring & Advisory: Act as a primary sounding board for sales and leadership on deal structures, ensuring they balance economic objectives with legal risk  

• Deal Structuring Support: Collaborate with Sales/Finance to structure commercial deals, ensuring legal terms align with financial objectives, revenue recognition rules, and risk tolerance.  

• Financial Modeling: Develop predictive modeling and scenario planning to support strategic decision-making for complex multi-year deals or departmental growth. 

• Contract Negotiation: Facilitate negotiations on commercial agreements (sales and vendor) and manage contracting standards and approval matrices. 

• Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): Own and optimize the CLM system to ensure scalable, efficient documentation and clear visibility into deal statuses. 

• Playbook Development: Build and maintain negotiation playbooks and template repositories to ensure consistency across all commercial transactions. 

Legal Operations Management (Process, Technology, Data Analytics) 

• Technology Ownership: Implement, manage, and optimize the Legal tech stack, including Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), e-billing, and matter management systems (e.g., Tropic, DocuSign). 

• Workflow Efficiency: Design and implement scalable, automated contracting processes (NDAs, MSAs, SaaS agreements) to enable self-service for Sales/Finance teams. 

• Knowledge Management: Maintain a centralized repository of contract templates, playbooks, and standardized legal language to ensure consistency. 

• Outside Counsel Management: Oversee law firm relationships, billing compliance, and fee structures to control external costs. 

•  Performance Metrics: Design dashboards to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as contract turnaround times, legal spend by matter type, and deal velocity. 

• Cross-Functional Liaison: Act as the central point of contact between Legal, Finance, Sales, and IT to align legal workflows with broader company goals. 

• Automation & AI: Identify opportunities to automate manual tasks through AI or process redesign to improve departmental productivity. 

• Data-Driven Insights: Develop dashboards to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as contract turnaround times, spend by matter type, and law firm performance. 

• Risk Reporting: Provide CFO with actionable insights on contractual bottlenecks, legal spend risks, and operational inefficiencies. 

Qualifications 

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in Legal Operations, Commercial Finance Operations, Sales Operations, or a similar in-house role, ideally in a fast-paced technology company. 

• Education: BS/BA in Finance, Business, or Accounting 

• Financial Acumen: Deep expertise in P&L analysis, budgeting, and financial modeling. 

• Communication: Ability to translate complex "legalese" into clear business cases for executive leadership.  Proven ability to translate legal and financial complexity for cross-functional stakeholders. 

•  Technical Savviness: Strong experience with CLM systems (e.g., Ironclad), eBilling tools, and advanced Excel/Google Sheets modeling skills. 

• Commercial Acumen: Deep understanding of SaaS contracting, revenue recognition standards, and vendor management 

Benefits (Effective after end of 9 month contract period)

• Medical (HSA available) 
• Dental 
• Vision 
• Short-term & long-term disability (company-paid) 
• Life & AD&D (company-paid) 
• 401K with company match 
• 10 paid holidays, quarterly company closure dates, + holiday week company closure 
• Flexible time off policy 
• Work from home
• 6 weeks paid parental leave
• Salary range: $150k-$180k