Information Governance Program Manager

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

Overview

The Information Governance Program Manager owns, directs, and matures the firm's Information Governance Risk & Compliance program and is accountable for program outcomes, target achievement, and continuous improvement. As the functional owner, the role leads cross-functional initiatives across compliance, policy, information lifecycle management, technology governance, and organizational change, including in areas where delivery depends on stakeholders outside the role's direct reporting authority.

The role also owns the Information Governance requirements and oversight framework for generative AI, SaaS, cloud, and emerging technologies, with accountability for understanding where Firm and client information resides, how it moves across systems, who has access to it, and how it is retained, preserved, and defensibly disposed.

Responsibilities

• Direct Information Governance programs, projects, and strategic initiatives in alignment with firm priorities, client requirements, Outside Counsel Guidelines, and regulatory obligations; establish priorities, assign cross-functional accountabilities, and drive execution through completion.
• Own and maintain governance roadmaps, project plans, milestones, dependencies, status reports, performance metrics, and related program documentation; define program targets and remain accountable for their achievement.
• Manage program health and maturity, identify risks, control gaps, resource constraints, competing priorities, and remediation opportunities, and direct corrective action or escalate matters requiring executive attention.
• Direct governance-related compliance activities, including audits, remediation efforts, client requests, regulatory inquiries, and vendor guidance requests. Own findings and action items through closure, approve remediation plans within delegated authority, and escalate material issues as appropriate.
• Lead change management for Information Governance initiatives, including stakeholder engagement, communications, policy implementation, technology adoption, training, and process improvement.
• Lead Information Governance activities for generative AI, SaaS, cloud, and emerging technologies, including governance of prompts, outputs, source materials, workspaces, repositories, logs, and other information created, processed, or stored within these platforms.
• Own the Information Governance components of application inventories and data mapping, ensuring visibility into where information resides, how it moves between systems, who owns and can access it, and the applicable retention and disposition requirements.
• Direct cross-functional assessments with Information Security, Privacy, Legal Technology, IT, Procurement, application owners, the Office of the General Counsel, and other stakeholders to establish information lifecycle, access, retention, legal hold, data minimization, and defensible disposition requirements for new and existing technologies.
• Develop and operationalize governance standards for AI and SaaS platforms, including data ownership, access review, retention, deletion, and periodic review of information that is obsolete, duplicative, or no longer needed.
• Manage governance-related technology initiatives involving information lifecycle management, data classification, retention and disposition, approved repositories, collaboration platforms, generative AI, and other emerging technologies.
• Direct Information Governance reviews of software, cloud services, vendors, and technology initiatives; define and approve Information Governance requirements, retention standards, controls, data-location requirements, and implementation conditions within delegated authority.
• Manage the Information Governance component of third-party risk activities with Information Security, approve applicable governance requirements and risk-treatment conditions within delegated authority, and document decisions and approved risk exceptions.
• Own Information Governance policies, procedures, workflows, communications, and program records. Approve operational standards and requirements within delegated authority and direct improvements that increase effectiveness and program maturity.
• Promote Information Governance awareness and accountability through collaboration, education, communication, and continuous improvement.
• Exercise delegated approval authority for Information Governance requirements, retention standards, control requirements, and risk exceptions; maintain an auditable record of approvals and escalate decisions outside delegated authority.
• Manage the Information Governance program budget, forecasts, purchase requests, and spend against plan; identify resource trade-offs and remain accountable for the effective use of approved funds.
• Manage Information Governance vendors and service providers, including selection support, contracting requirements, performance, service levels, renewals, issue resolution, and delivery against agreed outcomes.
• Establish program objectives, key performance indicators, and maturity targets; report results to leadership and own corrective actions when performance is off target.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in a relevant field strongly preferred.
• 7-10 years of law firm or professional services experience, preferably in Information Governance, Compliance, Risk Management, Records Management, Privacy, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex cross-functional programs, projects, or organizational change initiatives, including accountability for outcomes where contributors do not report directly to the program lead.
• Demonstrated ability to define measurable program targets, monitor performance, and take corrective action to achieve expected outcomes.
• Experience managing program budgets, forecasts, vendor relationships, contracts, service levels, or external service delivery strongly preferred.
• Experience owning or leading compliance programs involving privacy, records management, information governance, regulatory requirements, client obligations, audits, or remediation.
• Experience applying Information Governance principles to cloud services, SaaS applications, collaboration platforms, generative AI, or other emerging technologies strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with application inventories, data mapping, information lifecycle management, access governance, retention, legal hold, and defensible disposition.
• Working knowledge of relevant security, privacy, AI governance, and information governance frameworks, standards, and regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST AI RMF, or LFIGS.
• Experience with Microsoft 365, including Purview and related governance capabilities, strongly preferred.
• Experience with iManage Work and associated Information Governance tools strongly preferred.
• Strong program and project management, business analysis, problem-solving, quality assurance, and process improvement skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, make decisions within delegated authority, and maintain visibility into objectives, risks, dependencies, performance targets, and decisions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with attorneys, business stakeholders, technical teams, vendors, and firm leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to establish accountability, influence outcomes, resolve cross-functional issues, and build consensus without direct reporting authority.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Information Governance Professional (IGP), Certified Records Manager (CRM), Project Management Professional (PMP), or similar certification preferred.

Compensation and Total Rewards Package

Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity.

• Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.: $134,700 - $205,450
• New York: $145,800 - $222,350
• San Francisco, Silicon Valley: $151,900 - $231,650 

Working Conditions

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.