Role overview
We are recruiting a Senior Business Development Executive who will sit within the wider Global Client Development (GCD) team, working with partners on their strategic BD planning, initiatives and campaigns. The GCD team forms part of the BD team which sits within the wider Business Services function.
The GCD team works closely with partners and other fee earners to win work and grow client relationships on a global basis. Taking an integrated approach to client development, the team brings together regional, practice and sector based expertise to maintain, grow and support client relationships and law firm (referral partner) relationships.
The successful candidate will work closely with people across our Disputes and Investigations practice and report to the Senior BD Manager for Disputes and Investigations. They will also work closely with the wider DI Practice Support team.
The Disputes and Investigations (DI) team has grown exponentially in recent years, making it an exciting time to join a dynamic and fast-paced practice at the forefront of high-profile and market-leading work. This role offers significant partner exposure and hands-on involvement in complex matters, providing an excellent platform for individuals looking to accelerate their development and build their skills in a supportive, high-performing environment.
Key responsibilities
The Senior Business Development Executive will work closely with the Senior BD Manager to support and advise partners in the DI practice, as well as other areas of the firm as we cross-sell this offering.
They will have the opportunity to design and implement effective BD initiatives, with the objective of raising the profile of the DI practice in the market, building and maintaining client relationships, and winning new work.
The role offers the opportunity to work across a broad range of projects, requiring versatility, the ability to manage multiple deadlines and responsibilities, and strong communication and interpersonal skills in order to develop and maintain relationships across the business.
This position sits within a dynamic, high-achieving team, and the Senior BD Executive will be involved in a range of activities, including pitches, event coordination and business development more generally, in a role that offers the chance to learn and to work with highly motivated people from across the business.
The key responsibilities of this role will include some or all of the following. You may be required, on occasion, to work outside our normal working hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm.
Opportunity Identification and Client Relationship Development
- Work closely with, and provide support to, the DI Senior BD Manager on the design and implementation of various BD initiatives and strategic business plans.
- Work with BD and fee-earner stakeholders on the preparation, drafting and management of client proposals, credentials and pitch materials, supporting from the initial discussion through to final submission.
- Develop and maintain credentials and other client-facing materials for the practice, specifically for use in pitches and in directory submissions.
- Prepare briefing packs and drafting notes on hot topics to support ad hoc client and other meetings.
- Maintain and update a number of the department’s key BD and marketing documents.
- Monitor market, industry and competitor news and disclosures, along with wider market trends, and feed through to the Senior BD Manager and key stakeholders as appropriate.
- Ensure BD initiatives and campaigns have a multi-practice, and where applicable global, approach and use these to help spot cross-sell opportunities with other practice areas.
- Work with the team to manage the client and target research process to ensure clear objectives are in place for each piece of research and that all research conducted meets the objectives of the BD strategy.
- Support junior lawyers, knowledge lawyers and BD colleagues to provide focus to new client acquisition initiatives, including research, data gathering and analysis.
- Assist with the firm’s Client Relationship Management (CRM) programme and bespoke client targeting initiatives to identify opportunities for the firm from a DI perspective.
- Collaborate with the wider BD department, such as the Pitch, BD Research, Communications, and Brand and Creative teams, to ensure knowledge sharing and best practice.
Practice Support and Development
- Manage the department’s CRM lists using Microsoft Dynamics.
- Project manage (with oversight from the Senior BD Manager) the production of directory and awards submissions in the DI team, including drafting sections and collating input from a wide range of contributors.
- Ensure that matter and contact information is kept up to date, and that relevant information is added to the data systems.
Campaigns and Content
- Assist with organising key flagship initiatives such as targeted events, roundtables, webinars etc.
- Support the firm’s content strategy by providing assistance to the content creation and distribution processes, including maintaining the group’s website pages.
- Assist with developing internal communications that support the DI practice, including internal events, training, announcements and campaigns.
- Work across the GCD team to respond to ad hoc requests, while providing proactive support to the DI practice group.
Candidate profile
Candidates for this position must be/have:
- Degree-educated or have equivalent industry experience.
- The ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with senior stakeholders.
- Be able to demonstrate sound judgement in respect of managing information and understanding the commercially sensitive nature of our work in this area.
- Proven ability to manage multiple deliverables within a tight timeframe and deliver high quality work.
- Previous BD and Marketing experience, most recently at an executive level, ideally in a law firm environment.
- Demonstrable confidence to develop strong working relationships with the partners, associates, Knowledge Lawyers and all members of the BD team.
- Ability to manage and analyse large amounts of data and identify BD opportunities within it.
- Ability to be proactive, entrepreneurial and self-motivated.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written, spoken and presentational).
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Proactive approach to defining needs and delivering solutions.
- Ability to build strong business relationships with internal and external clients and the resilience to deal with demanding individuals.
- Willingness to foster an inclusive team culture.
- High level of professionalism and integrity; displays the highest standard of professional ethics.
We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are barrier-free and as inclusive as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. If you have any questions or require any adjustments to be made to one or both of the application or interview processes, please contact the Recruitment Team.
We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and will offer an interview to applicants with a disability or long-term condition who best meet the minimum or essential criteria for our Business Services roles. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident ‘Offer An Interview’ commitment, please apply via our online application form and not via LinkedIn. You are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. For more information about the Disability Confident scheme, please see the government website here.
We welcome applications irrespective of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, belief or marital status
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