Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is seeking an experienced Financial Applications Instructor. Reporting to the Manager of Training, the Financial Applications Instructor shall ensure that lawyers and members of the staff at Akerman LLP receive superior training in the use of our financial applications software.  The successful trainer will view his/her role as a mix of educator, instructor, best practices and productivity coach, skills assessor, and training material designer.  As part of the Akerman training team, the trainer will prepare and deliver training to personnel in virtually all of the firm’s offices, either through video conference, web conference, or other distance learning methods, or by occasional travel for periods of one to two days and more infrequently up to one week.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Applications Trainer will have responsibility for ensuring that firm personnel receive comprehensive, effective, and timely training to enable them to productively use the financial systems and applications that Akerman LLP has developed, acquired, or customized.  Trainer will be helping lawyers and staff members identify and implement best practices for use of financial software to fulfill individual or work group needs.

The Financial Applications Trainer will:

• Continuously advance his/her knowledge of and ability to 1) use Microsoft Office and other software used by the firm, 2) use the software in specific law firm scenarios, 3) improve the application of technology or methods to deliver training in the most effective manner possible.
• Plan, design, develop and maintain 1) class training materials, 2) quick reference guides, 3) full end user documentation, 4) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), 4) on-line asynchronous and synchronous learning materials, and 5) additional instructional or informative documents as required.
• Assist in developing and maintaining financial training curricula, course descriptions, class schedules, evaluation criteria, learning paths.
• Work with Human Resources, Office Administrators, and department heads to plan and adapt training to specific needs of attorney assistants and other members of the staff.
• Develop strategies to apply financial software features to specific individual and work group challenges in order to improve quality of work or increase productivity.  Promote best practices among various end user communities through outreach, communication, and direct assistance.
• Conduct floor support exercises involving scheduled presence in end customer work areas to provide desk-side training and coaching to individual customers.
• When project phases demand implementation support, assist end users by helping resolve problems that require an advanced skill set (i.e., problems that cannot be handled by the firm’s User Support Center).
• Assume other duties as may be assigned from time to time by your supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Experience training in a medium-to-large law firm and working directly with partners or other lawyers is strongly preferred.
• Extensive and advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), OneNote, iManage.  Ability to quickly grasp new concepts and applications.
• Experience training end users on commercial financial software commonly used in large law firms – such as Elite 3E Workspace (time entry, Proformas, Billing, Data Insights, wires, trusts), Chrome River (expense and invoice)
• Prior use of a learning management system to establish learning paths, administer classes, and track and record attendance is preferred. 
• Experience creating training videos, animations, or online materials using Adobe Captivate, SnagIt, or Camtasia is preferred.  The candidate must be willing and able to create training materials as well as conduct training classes.
• Superior public speaking and personal interaction skills are essential.  The selected candidate must be able to communicate clearly, professionally, and comfortably with lawyers and staff alike.
• Must be able to educate and motivate as well as train – the candidate must be able to relate software features to customers’ work environment, tasks, and objectives in an effective manner that leads to improved quality and productivity.
• Problem-solving and analytical abilities are important.  The selected candidate must be able to work with customers to apply software to specific task needs, and to find innovative short-cuts or work-arounds for new or complex scenarios.
• This position also requires excellent organizational abilities and commitment to continued learning. 
• Candidate should have a solid understanding and proven experience in:  planning training courses and developing materials tailored to education/training/work objectives; researching best practices; continuously improving presentation abilities and use of technology for training; and developing writing styles and skills.  

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

• A Bachelor’s Degree is preferred.  Candidate should have a minimum of three years of experience providing computer applications training in a corporate or law firm environment.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

This position requires excellent verbal and written English skills.

We offer an excellent compensation and benefits package. Please submit your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements.  EOE

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