Job Description

Dentons Business Services EMEA is the operational backbone of Dentons across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As part of the world’s largest global law firm, our business services teams support legal professionals and business teams across multiple jurisdictions, helping them deliver high-quality service to clients.

At Dentons Business Services EMEA, we are committed to excellence in supporting legal professionals with cutting-edge solutions. Our dynamic and diverse team collaborates seamlessly to provide a wide range of services, including finance, IT, human resources, marketing, and more. We pride ourselves on fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.

The Senior Finance Manager (International Legal Business and Sovereign Practice) will be a senior member of the Europe finance team, supporting Dentons’ international legal business with a primary focus on the Sovereign practice. The role will act as a finance business partner to relevant practice and regional stakeholders, providing financial oversight, analysis, reporting, challenge and operational support.

In addition to supporting the international legal business agenda, the role will act as finance manager for an assigned suboffice or specific region, overseeing finance operations, reporting quality, coordination with local teams and finance-related risk management. The role will also be assigned to selected regional finance projects, including projects related to finance structures, reporting processes, governance, controls and operating model improvements.

This is a senior, hands-on role requiring strong finance management experience, commercial understanding, stakeholder confidence and the ability to work independently in a complex, matrix, multicultural environment. The successful candidate must be comfortable challenging assumptions, managing conflict constructively, escalating risks and driving delivery across multiple stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

Finance support for international legal business and Sovereign practice

• Act as finance business partner for selected international legal business activities, with a primary focus on the Sovereign practice.
• Provide financial insight, reporting, analysis and challenge to support practice leadership and regional finance stakeholders.
• Monitor financial performance, profitability, billing, collections, work in progress, costs, budgets and forecasts for the assigned practice or business area.
• Support preparation and review of financial reports, management information and performance dashboards.
• Identify financial trends, risks, opportunities and areas requiring management attention.
• Work closely with partners, practice leaders and finance teams to improve financial discipline and commercial visibility.
• Support decision-making through clear financial analysis, commentary and recommendations.
• Ensure consistent application of finance policies, reporting standards and internal processes across assigned business areas.

Finance manager responsibilities for region

• Act as finance manager for an assigned suboffice or specific region.
• Oversee day-to-day finance coordination for the assigned location or region, including reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cost control and financial governance.
• Liaise with local finance teams, office leadership and regional finance stakeholders.
• Review financial information submitted by local teams and challenge inconsistencies, unusual movements or gaps in supporting documentation.
• Support monthly and periodic reporting cycles, including variance analysis and management commentary.
• Coordinate finance-related requirements for audits, statutory reporting, tax support, internal controls and compliance processes, where applicable.
• Escalate financial, operational or control risks in a timely and structured manner.
• Help ensure that the assigned suboffice or region operates in line with Dentons’ finance policies, governance requirements and expected standards.

Regional finance projects and structures

• Lead or support assigned projects relating to regional finance structures, processes, controls, governance and operating model improvements.
• Contribute to finance transformation initiatives, including reporting improvements, system changes, process standardization and data quality enhancements.
• Coordinate project activities across multiple countries, functions and stakeholders.
• Prepare project plans, track deliverables, identify dependencies and escalate risks or delays.
• Translate project objectives into practical finance processes and workable implementation steps.
• Support change management by communicating requirements clearly and helping local teams adopt new processes.
• Provide hands-on support in analysis, documentation, implementation and post-implementation review.

Controls, risk and stakeholder management

• Identify financial risks, reporting issues, control gaps and operational weaknesses across assigned areas.
• Challenge local teams, practice stakeholders or project participants where information is incomplete, inconsistent or not aligned with agreed standards.
• Provide clear recommendations based on financial analysis and business understanding.
• Maintain strong working relationships with partners, practice teams, finance colleagues, auditors and other internal stakeholders.
• Ensure that risks and issues are escalated appropriately to the Head of Accounting and Consolidation or relevant leadership.
• Promote financial discipline, accountability and consistent ways of working across assigned areas.

Requirements

• University degree in finance, accounting, economics, business administration, or a related field.
• 7+ years of relevant finance experience, ideally within an international, matrix, professional services, or law firm environment.
• Strong experience in finance business partnering, management reporting, budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and performance management.
• Experience acting as a Finance Manager/Finance Lead for a business unit, office, region, or comparable area.
• Solid understanding of accounting, financial reporting, controls, and finance governance.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders and providing clear financial insight, challenge, and recommendations.
• Experience leading or supporting finance projects, transformation initiatives, or operating model changes.
• Strong analytical, communication, and project management skills, with the ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with finance/ERP and reporting systems; knowledge of Tagetik or similar tools would be an advantage.
• Professional accounting qualification (ACCA, ACA, CIMA, or equivalent) would be an advantage.
• Experience within a law firm, partnership, or international professional services environment would be a strong advantage.
• Fluent English is required; another European language would be an advantage.

Benefits

• A leadership role in a complex, global professional services environment
• Opportunity to shape and improve accounting, consolidation and reporting processes across Europe
• Close cooperation with finance leaders and local finance teams across multiple jurisdictions
• Collaborative and global working environment
• Opportunity to work with modern finance systems and reporting tools
• Professional development in one of the world’s largest global law firms
• Competitive compensation and benefits package

About Dentons

Dentons is the world’s largest global law firm, delivering quality and value to clients around the world. Dentons is a polycentric firm with offices in more than 80 countries and more than 160 locations. The Firm is committed to collaboration, inclusion and innovation, supported by strong business services teams that help our lawyers and clients succeed.