Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Thorntons

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Welcome Note

Thank you for your interest in joining Thorntons. We are really excited about the critical role that our next Chief Operating Officer will play in Thorntons’ future as we finalise our next 5 year strategic plan.

We are privileged to be one of Scotland’s largest and most respected, full service legal and property firms, serving a wide and diverse client base. Our focus is to deliver high quality practical advice together with exceptional client care to help businesses and individuals deal with life’s challenges and opportunities. In recent years we have successfully implemented a plan of structured growth with mergers and acquisitions resulting in a significantly elevated position in terms of scale and external profile.

We wish to continue to grow our business to drive economies of scale which will enable us to keep investing in our people,  digital innovation and workspace design whilst retaining the culture that defines who we are. We believe that our unique culture is key to Thorntons’ having continued to thrive through the growth over the last strategic plan, as well as through the challenges of the past year.

Our people have shown remarkable commitment, adaptability and resilience throughout the pandemic, continuing to provide excellent client service in the most challenging of times. We are looking forward to working with them and our next Chief Operating Officer to use this opportunity to do something innovative and different in defining what the future will hold for our offices and working life for our colleagues.

Whilst you’ll see that our success is rooted in a strong history, we hope you’ll get an understanding from some of the site pages, that we are forward thinking – well beyond the confines of a traditional law firm and are determined that we keep investing and retuning to continue to improve and grow.

We look forward to receiving your application and to explore with you, the part you can play in our plans to make Thorntons the most progressive of all Scottish independent law firms, unlocking potential and delivering prosperity to our colleagues, our clients and our communities.

Many thanks,

Colin Graham, Chair & Lesley Larg, Managing Partner

Thorntons’ roots can be traced back to 1857. Over generations, Thorntons has grown significantly and is now one of Scotland’s most respected full service legal and property firms.  As well as providing high quality advice and exceptional client care, we play an active role in supporting the communities we serve, providing rewarding careers for our people and giving back to communities by supporting social causes and charities. We do this through living three core values: Inspiring, Community and Human.

In recent years, we have successfully grown via smart mergers and acquisitions which significantly bolstered our profile in the market and allowed us to better cater to our mission; to help our clients, colleagues and communities succeed. Moving forward we plan to further strengthen our offering by organically and inorganically growing the firm, to not only drive economies of scale, but to further enable our people so they can continue to embrace new opportunities, strive for excellence and make a difference in the communities in which they operate.

While we expect high standards from our people, we recognise and value the contribution they make to our business and our success. We see the whole person and truly believe that our diversity of thought is a huge part of our strength.  Our advanced technology which already allowed many of our people to benefit from agile working has enabled us to continue to flourish despite Covid restrictions.

At Thorntons we pride ourselves on doing what is right, and as two-time winners of the Scottish Business Insider Employer of the Year Awards you can see why people choose and enjoy a career with Thorntons. We are proud of our achievements to date, noting some below, and are excited about what the future holds.

Thorntons is currently a £30m plus turnover business and has bold growth aspirations over the next five years. This transformational journey will require the appointment of a highly motivated and strategic Chief Operations Officer (COO). The successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing and implementing a strategic plan that supports the firm’s vision and goals. The selected professional must be able to design and deliver an agile organisational structure that enables new market opportunities to be captured and be able to marshal our people to make any of this opportunities a reality.

The desired impact this professional will have on the business will include:

  • Successful delivery of operational excellence against business objectives
  • Successful integration of any acquired businesses via merger or acquisition into the existing business, to achieve strategic aims
  • Acting as an advocate for positive change and transformation, constantly embracing new technologies and new ways of working
  • Embracing Thorntons’ collaborative way of operating and empowering others to operate in the same way
  • Successful structuring/organisation of the firm through periods of growth
  • Inspirational Leadership, successfully influencing the partnership and being a trusted and respected business leader
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Candidates wishing to apply should provide a tailored CV and covering letter. This should be addressed to [email protected]

Should you have questions or wish to discuss the opportunity prior to applying please contact Sophie Randles, Director at Livingston James on 07432 480922.

The recruitment of this position is managed by Livingston James