Strategic Projects Manager

The opportunity

Freshfields is one of the world's most prestigious law firms, advising the biggest corporations, financial institutions, and governments on their most consequential matters. Behind that client-facing excellence sits a Management Office (MO) that drives the firm's own strategic agenda — and we are looking for an exceptional Strategic Projects Manager to sit right at the heart of it.

This is a rare opportunity to work directly with Freshfields' most senior leadership — our Senior Partners — on the firmwide initiatives that shape how the firm performs, governs itself, and evolves. If you thrive in high-stakes, fast-moving environments and find yourself energised by the challenge of switching from one complex initiative to the next with speed and precision, this role was built for you.

What you'll be doing

You will flex across a wide and ever-changing portfolio of strategic projects and initiatives simultaneously, bringing structure, momentum, and clarity to everything you touch. One day you might be deep in a business performance analysis to inform a critical leadership decision; the next you will be preparing a high-stakes presentation for a governance meeting or orchestrating deliverables across multiple workstreams. No two weeks will look alike.

More specifically, you will:

• Drive strategic insight — draw on data, market intelligence, and stakeholder inputs to synthesise analysis that connects to the firm's broader priorities and translates into clear, actionable recommendations for senior decision-makers.

• Produce outstanding executive communications — prepare decision-ready briefing documents, management reports, governance papers, and presentations that are precisely tailored for senior audiences.

• Lead project management across multiple initiatives — proactively track progress, risks, and dependencies across a portfolio of workstreams; maintain momentum and coherence; identify issues early and drive practical solutions.

• Raise the bar on Management Office effectiveness — own MO knowledge management, governance standards, and ways of working; spot opportunities for improvement and implement them.

• Coordinate and connect — act as a trusted partner to MO leadership, helping to sequence stakeholder meetings, manage competing demands, and ensure the right inputs arrive at the right time.

• Support financial oversight — assist with cost analysis and budget tracking across specific projects and initiatives.

What we're looking for

We expect you will bring a background in management consulting or a senior executive/Chief of Staff office — somewhere that has given you genuine experience of holding multiple complex projects simultaneously, navigating competing priorities, and delivering to exacting standards at pace.

Beyond that, you will be able to demonstrate:

• The ability to flex rapidly between strategic problem-solving and granular execution — laser-focused on one initiative one minute, pivoting to another the next.

• A track record of producing high-quality materials for — and engaging confidently with — very senior stakeholders.

• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, including experience interpreting large data sets and developing business cases.

• Experience of project tracking, reporting, and documentation management, ideally within a large, complex, multijurisdictional organisation.

• The ability to influence without authority and drive outcomes across teams you do not directly manage.

• Sound judgement, discretion, and the confidence to push back constructively when it matters.

• A command of Microsoft Office applications — Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and SharePoint.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; the ability to produce engaging, polished content for a senior audience.

Who you are

You are someone who takes genuine end-to-end ownership — not just the task you have been handed, but the outcome it is meant to achieve. You make sound decisions under pressure, operate effectively with imperfect information, and bring credibility and calm to the most demanding environments. You are passionate about driving progress within a large, complex organisation and you know how to bring structure and discipline to ambiguity without losing speed.

You work brilliantly as part of a close-knit team but are equally comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy once priorities are set.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.