London (Hybrid)
Professional Services | Legal Sector (Essential)

A leading professional services firm is hiring an IT Applications Manager to take ownership of its business-critical applications estate and significantly improve how technology supports fee earners and the wider business.

Reporting to the Head of Technology, this role will lead a mixed portfolio of in-house and off-the-shelf systems, introduce a formal SDLC / Secure SDLC, and mature release, change, and governance processes. Stakeholder engagement is central — this role acts as the bridge between Technology, Partners, and fee earners.

This is a leadership-led role, not hands-on development, but requires strong technical depth and credibility.

Key Responsibilities
• Own and improve the firm’s applications landscape (custom and COTS)
• Define and implement SDLC and Secure SDLC (aligned to OWASP ASVS)
• Lead application governance, lifecycle management, and integrations
• Improve engagement and outcomes with Partners and fee earners
• Oversee releases, change, testing, and prioritisation across BAU and projects
• Support application readiness for Azure migration alongside Infrastructure
• Ensure application security, compliance, and contribution to ISO27001 / CE+

Key Requirements
• Experience in the legal sector
• Strong background managing enterprise applications in a professional services environment
• Proven experience implementing SDLC / SSDLC and maturing delivery processes
• Solid technical understanding of modern application architecture, APIs, databases, and secure development
• Confident senior stakeholder management — credible with lawyers and Partners
• Able to balance operational stability with transformation and change

This is a high-impact role with real ownership, visibility, and the mandate to fix long-standing issues between IT and the business.