Operations Manager

About the role

• The Operations Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operational management, process oversight, quality control, escalation resolution, and performance of the firm's judicial foreclosure, litigation, deed in lieu, eviction, quiet title, probate, and related judicial processes in California, Arizona, Texas, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oregon. This position serves as an operational counterpart to the legal teams and ensures inventory progresses appropriately, timelines are monitored, client expectations are met, operational risks are identified and addressed, and processes are performed consistently. The manager partners closely with attorneys, paralegals, supervisors, operational staff, compliance personnel, clients, and other departments to improve efficiency, reduce risk, increase transparency, and deliver strong client service. This is a hands-on management position that requires active involvement in daily workflow management, escalations, file progression, reporting, staff development, and implementation of corrective actions.

What you'll do

Litigation, Deed in Lieu & Eviction Operations

• Oversee operational processes supporting litigation, deed-in-lieu, and eviction inventories.
• Identify process gaps and inconsistencies that affect timelines, quality, compliance, or client satisfaction.
• Monitor contested, complex, aged, and high-risk matters requiring elevated operational oversight.
• Work closely with attorneys and legal staff regarding operational requirements, deadlines, documentation, and escalations.
• Establish and maintain standardized workflows, checklists, controls, and reporting where appropriate.
• Ensure handoffs between foreclosure, litigation, deed in lieu, eviction, title, and other affected departments are documented and completed.

Escalation Management

• Serve as the primary operational escalation point for assigned judicial services.
• Research, track, and resolve escalated matters affecting timelines, compliance, client expectations, or workflow efficiency.
• Conduct root-cause analysis for recurring issues and service failures.
• Develop corrective-action plans, assign ownership, establish deadlines, and monitor completion.
• Partner with clients, attorneys, and internal departments to resolve operational concerns.
• Track escalation trends and provide concise reporting to the Director of Judicial Operations and other leadership.

Quality Assurance & Compliance

• Establish and maintain quality-review processes for assigned judicial operations.
• Validate adherence to client requirements, court requirements, investor guidelines, firm policies, and documented procedures.
• Conduct file audits, operational reviews, and targeted reviews of high-risk process steps.
• Monitor recurring defects and implement corrective and preventive measures.
• Maintain current procedures, checklists, training materials, and reference resources.
• Support client audits, internal reviews, and compliance initiatives.

Process Improvement & Project Support

• Evaluate workflows and implement improvements that increase efficiency, accuracy, transparency, and service quality.
• Support technology initiatives, automation efforts, workflow redesign, and case-management system enhancements affecting judicial operations.
• Translate client directives, legal requirements, and operational changes into documented procedures and staff instructions.
• Lead implementation of new or revised workflows, including testing, training, rollout, and post-implementation review.
• Coordinate with other departments when process changes affect shared workflows or handoffs.

Staff Leadership & Development

• Provide direct day-to-day leadership, coaching, and support to judicial operations staff.
• Assign work, set priorities, review quality, and maintain appropriate coverage.
• Participate in interviewing, hiring, onboarding, training, and performance management.
• Develop subject-matter expertise and accountability throughout the department.
• Establish cross-training and succession coverage for critical processes.
• Address performance, attendance, conduct, training, and workflow issues promptly in coordination with Human Resources and the Director of Judicial Operations.
• Promote teamwork, responsiveness, professional communication, and continuous improvement.

Client Satisfaction & Operational Relationships

• Develop effective working relationships with clients and internal business partners.
• Participate in discussions involving operational performance, escalations, scorecards, audits, and process improvements.
• Communicate operational risks, emerging issues, and corrective actions proactively.
• Use scorecards, client feedback, metrics, and escalation trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Ensure operational commitments and follow-up items are completed accurately and timely.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directly supervise assigned judicial operations employees and any designated supervisors or team leads.
• Set expectations, monitor work, provide coaching, and complete performance-management responsibilities.
• Maintain sufficient staffing, cross-training, and backup coverage for critical functions.
• Escalate material staffing, performance, compliance, client, and operational risks to the Director of Judicial Operations.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Legal Studies, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
• Minimum of five years of experience in mortgage default servicing, judicial foreclosure, litigation support, eviction operations, deed-in-lieu operations, or related legal operations.
• Minimum of three years of management or supervisory experience preferred.
• Experience managing multi-state judicial operations strongly preferred.
• Experience with client scorecards, audits, escalations, inventory management, quality controls, and operational reporting preferred.
• Experience working in a mortgage law firm or mortgage servicing environment strongly preferred.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Support client audits, internal reviews, and compliance initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of judicial foreclosure, litigation, deed in lieu, eviction, probate, quiet title, and related default operations.
• Strong leadership, coaching, decision-making, and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced problem-solving and root-cause-analysis abilities.
• Exceptional organization, prioritization, and workload-management skills.
• Ability to use inventory data, operational reports, and performance metrics to make decisions.
• Ability to identify risk, develop corrective actions, and drive accountability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project-management and process-improvement capabilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, reporting tools, and case-management systems.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to changing operational needs.

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.