Business Intelligence Team Lead

Department: Finance

Team: Finance Systems

Employment: Permanent

Reports into: Head of Finance Systems

Direct reports: 5

Reference number: 10701

The Department

The Business Intelligence Team plays a significant role in the operational success of Dentons. We look for focused, flexible individuals from a variety of backgrounds who are team players. Previous experience within the legal sector is not always essential and we seek people who relish opportunities to excel, grow and share in our success. We want to give everyone the opportunity to develop their potential fully and, therefore, provide support, training, and encouragement to members of staff at all levels.

The Role

The Business Intelligence Team Lead is a hands-on leadership role within Finance Systems, responsible for leading the Business Intelligence team and helping modernise the firm’s reporting and analytics capability. The role combines people leadership, technical direction, business analysis and service ownership, while championing reporting best practice across the firm’s financial data and wider reporting estate.

Following the implementation of the firm’s new Practice Management System, the successful candidate will help maximise the value of that investment by providing timely, accurate and trusted information. It will also play a key role in the transition from legacy reporting towards a governed, modern Microsoft Fabric and Power BI analytics platform.

Role Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Management

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of Power BI developers and reporting analysts, creating clear accountability for delivery and quality.


• Manage team workload, priorities and resources across project delivery, continuous improvement and business-critical reporting support.


• Provide technical leadership and act as the senior escalation point for Power BI, reporting and analytics issues.


• Build strong relationships with Finance, HR, Risk, Practice Groups and other business stakeholders, translating requirements into practical BI solutions.


• Work effectively with data architects, technology teams, vendors and other specialists across the firm.

Data Platform & Integration

• Own and maintain the BI delivery roadmap, working with the Head of Finance Systems and key stakeholders to prioritise initiatives the roadmap and shape and implement the BI elements of the firm’s modern Microsoft Fabric and Power BI architecture in collaboration with data architects and platform teams.


• Provide technical direction for scalable Fabric/SQL-based data models and integration of data from Elite 3E, global EDB and other firmwide applications.


• Promote robust development lifecycle practices across Development, UAT and Production environments, including source control, deployment, testing and change management.


• Improve monitoring, performance and reliability across the BI platform and reporting estate.


• Identify appropriate opportunities for automation, self-service analytics, AI-assisted analytics and conversational BI.

Reporting Development & Delivery

• Provide technical ownership and assurance for the firm’s Power BI reporting estate, including dashboards, reports, semantic models and supporting data products.


• Oversee the design, development and deployment of high-quality financial, operational and client reporting, remaining hands-on where appropriate.


• Ensure reporting outputs are accurate, consistent, performant and easy to use.


• Establish clear ownership of business measures, KPI definitions and reusable semantic models to promote a consistent version of the truth.


• Oversee appropriate reporting and data security, including row-level security, object-level security and associated access controls.


• Support the controlled migration and rationalisation of legacy reporting, including SSRS and Excel-based solutions.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Champion BI governance and standardisation, working with data architects and business owners to ensure clear responsibilities for data, models, measures and reports.


• Define and maintain BI development standards, naming conventions, documentation requirements, report UX standards, security standards and change-control processes.


• Define and maintain agreed data definitions and reporting measures in partnership with relevant business owners.


• Promote documentation, version control, testing, reconciliation and quality assurance as standard development practices.


• Ensure BI investment delivers measurable business value by reducing manual reporting and improved data quality and self-service capabilities helping users understand and make effective use of the information available to them.


• Stay current with developments in Power BI and Microsoft Fabric and assess where new capabilities can add practical value to the firm.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

Essential:

• Significant experience within a Finance, IT or professional-services BI, analytics or reporting environment.


• Strong hands-on Power BI expertise, including data modelling, DAX and Power Query.


• Practical experience with Microsoft Fabric or a comparable modern Microsoft data platform, with the ability to provide credible technical leadership.


• Experience leading, mentoring or providing technical direction to BI/reporting professionals.


• Solid understanding of data warehousing, ETL/ELT, semantic modelling and enterprise reporting concepts.


• Proven experience delivering and supporting business-critical, enterprise-level reporting solutions.


• Ability to manage competing priorities, translate business requirements into effective solutions and work with senior stakeholders and vendors.


• Strong analytical, organisational, documentation and communication skills, with meticulous attention to detail.


• A collaborative, customer-focused approach and the ability to operate effectively through periods of change.

Desirable:

• Experience in a law firm or other professional-services environment.


• Knowledge of Elite 3E, Aderant or a comparable practice management system.


• Experience with SQL, Azure data services, Synapse or related Microsoft data technologies.


• Understanding of legal-sector financial and performance measures such as WIP, billing, collections, utilisation and matter profitability.


• Experience establishing BI governance, reporting standards, deployment processes or semantic model standards.


• Exposure to AI-assisted analytics, conversational BI or other emerging analytics capabilities.

What success looks like

• A well-led BI team with clear priorities, strong technical standards and reliable delivery.


• A trusted, consistent reporting estate built around governed measures and reusable semantic models.


• A controlled transition from legacy reporting towards modern Fabric and Power BI capabilities.


• Improved reporting performance, security, usability and confidence in the data.


• Greater adoption of trusted analytics and self-service reporting across the business.

Why Dentons is different

The legal profession is changing rapidly and Dentons is leading the way in advancing change for the benefit of clients. We are driven to challenge the status quo, delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value to our clients in new and innovative ways. With over 12,000 individuals in more than 179 offices the opportunity is huge.

Dentons continues to receive external awards and recognition, including for our continued international expansion over the last 12 months; for ground-breaking innovation through the development of Nextlaw Labs and Nextlaw Global Referral Network; and for success in advising clients across multiple regions. Dentons is also a leader on the Acritas Global Elite Brand Index and a BTI Client Service 30 Award winner. 

Against such rapid growth and change, this role offers the successful individual the chance to play a lead role and make their mark in driving the successful implementation of this global program.

Applications from current residents in the following locations will be considered:

London

Disclaimer: Please ensure when applying for this role you are legally eligible to work/live in your location. Visa sponsorship or relocation costs will not be provided.

Firm Profile

Across more than 80 countries, Dentons helps you grow, protect, operate and finance your organisation by providing uniquely global and deeply local legal solutions. Polycentric, purpose-driven and committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and sustainability, we focus on what matters most to you. www.dentons.com

Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to building an inclusive culture here at Dentons where our people can thrive, regardless of their background or circumstance. As well as being the right thing to do, it makes good business sense too. A richness of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives helps us best serve our clients and the communities in which we operate. You can find out more about inclusion and diversity at Dentons here: Inclusion and Diversity

Dentons is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. We welcome applications from everyone including of any age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, neurotype, disability, or with parental or caring responsibilities. We are also “Happy to Talk Flexible Working” and welcome conversations about flexible working arrangements.

Dentons is a Disability Confident employer. Candidates with a disability may choose to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme. We will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. Where application volumes are high, we may offer interviews to those who best meet the minimum criteria, consistent with our approach for all candidates.

During the application process, all applicants have the opportunity to tell us about any adjustments or support they require so they are able to perform at their best. Any information you share with us during the application process is treated in confidence.

If you have any questions about this or the role criteria, please email [email protected]. 

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

If you are interested in applying for this position, we welcome direct applications via our careers page, but if you have any questions beforehand, please email  [email protected]. Enquiries only please – applications will not be accepted via email.

Please note that we will not accept unsolicited CVs sent to the business, nor will we accept any associated terms of business.