Global Legal Spend & Operations Manager
World Kinect · Cape Town
At World Fuel, our employees are the key to our global success. We are industry leaders due to the innumerable talents of our approximately 5000 strong professional team. Our people thrive in an entrepreneurial and culturally-diverse environment, where innovative thinking, collaboration and efficient execution are highly valued. Our high-performance culture is what allows us to drive sustained growth. Stronger together, we promote an environment where individuals can thrive.
Global Legal Spend & Operations Manager
Who we are
World Fuel is a global leader in the marketing, trading, distribution and financing of Land, Marine and Aviation fuel products and services. With 3,000+ employees across all continents, we are headquartered in Miami and ranked within the Fortune 500.
Position Location
Cape Town, South Africa – Hybrid
Overview
We are seeking a Global Legal Spend & Operations Manager to join our exceptional legal team. This is a hands‑on, execution‑driven role focussed on legal spend management, operational efficiency and continuous process improvement.
Reporting to the Legal Counsel and joining our 35+ member legal team which operates from the US, Singapore, UK, South Africa, Costa Rica and Brazil, this role presents an exciting opportunity for an organised, analytical and commercially minded professional who understands how legal services are delivered and billed, and enjoys identifying inefficiencies, controlling costs, improving processes and driving measurable results.
The successful candidate will partner with attorneys, finance teams and external law firms to improve the instructing, management and billing of legal matters globally. This role will drive ownership of legal spend reporting, budgeting, matter management processes, billing controls and outside counsel management across the global legal team, helping to ensure that legal resources are deployed efficiently and cost-effectively.
World Fuel embraces technology and efficient working practices. This role offers hybrid working, with regular attendance at our Cape Town office (two days per week), to maintain connection and collegiality.
Responsibilities
- Manage and continuously improve the legal team's processes for matter intake, matter management and matter reporting
- Review, analyse and process invoices from external law firms and other legal service providers
- Monitor global legal spend and provide regular reporting, budget tracking and spend analysis
- Develop and maintain billing guidelines, outside counsel engagement protocols and invoice review procedures
- Identify opportunities for cost savings, fee reductions and alternative fee arrangements with external counsel
- Assist with the selection, onboarding and performance monitoring of external law firms and legal service providers
- Develop and maintain legal spend dashboards, reporting tools and management information for legal leadership
- Create and maintain centralised systems for matter tracking, legal vendor management and spend management
- Partner with Legal, Finance, Procurement and Accounts Payable teams to improve operational efficiency and financial controls
- Drive legal operations initiatives focused on process optimisation, data quality, automation and continuous improvement
- Build and continually refine repeatable playbooks, templates, procedures and governance frameworks to support efficient legal operations
- At all times be a positive brand ambassador for World Fuel
Background and Skills
- A degree or other qualifications in Business, Finance, Legal Studies, Paralegal Studies or a related discipline. Relevant experience will be considered in lieu of formal qualifications
- 3-5 years' experience in legal operations, legal billing, e-billing, legal vendor management, contract administration, paralegal support or a similar role
- A strong understanding of how law firms operate, including legal billing practices, fee structures, staffing models and matter management processes
- Experience reviewing and analysing legal invoices, budgets and accruals, with the ability to identify billing anomalies, inefficiencies and cost-saving opportunities
- Highly organised and detail-oriented, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Strong financial and commercial acumen, with the ability to work confidently with budgets, spend reporting and management information
- Ability to assess competing priorities, take ownership and drive initiatives through to completion with limited supervision
- Strong stakeholder management skills; be emotionally intelligent and able to win trust and develop and maintain internal and external business relationships
- Professional presence and integrity
- Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, dynamic, performance-driven culture
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Experience with legal operations platforms, e-billing systems, matter management systems or spend management tools is favourable but not essential