Business Development Manager - London (Hybrid)

London, England, United Kingdom

10/2/2024

UK Job Description

The Business Development (BD) Manager will drive and implement the business development tactics for the firm’s EME Corporate Group . Working alongside the US-based Sr BD Manager for the Corporate Group, , this role will liaise across other practice groups, industry groups and task forces with a primary focus on enhancing the firm’s profile, strengthening relationships with key clients, and creating opportunities for collaboration across groups. While predominantly an EME-based role, the successful candidate will work with peers throughout the globe, liaising with both BD and partners worldwide as the Corporate Group operates as a global team, working on key initiatives and projects together.

The highly detailed, organized and hands-on professional will provide strategic and tactical support to drive revenue through a full spectrum of marketing and BD efforts including pitching, client targeting, profile raising and events. This individual will carry through with project planning and ROI measurement, staying close to market trends and maintaining an awareness of competitors.

This role is part of a larger Corporate BD team that includes four team members in the US and will supervise one BD Executive in London.

The Firm

Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions and regulatory matters.

Our team of 3,000 people (including more than 1,700 lawyers) across 30 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, operate as one global partnership to drive progress for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities.

Responsibilities

• Interact with group leaders and other key attorneys on firmwide BD activities; develop strong working relationships and maintain a high level of day-to-day interaction with lawyers.
• Drive strategy for brand positioning efforts, including the management of strategic conference sponsorships, client presentations, seminars and webinars.
• Prepare tailored, compelling pitches and responses for new business opportunities and requests for information and proposals. Develop practice-related pitch materials, such as profiles, experience lists, and case studies. Ensure follow up is sought from client post pitch; track and act on actions which arise; assess how feedback can be used to enhance win rate.
• Using internal and external databases, conduct market research and client analysis to identify industry trends, new business opportunities, and synergies with other practice and/or industry areas.
• Liase with Client Intelligence to prepare research to support cross-selling efforts for existing and prospective clients as well as relationship reports, relationship maps, and targeting plans.
• Maintain contributions and input related to attorney experience and client information into business development systems including CRM and Foundation.
• Draft and edit marketing collateral, including practice area descriptions and attorney biographies; facilitate posting updates to firm website and intranet as needed.
• Manage submissions for major awards and legal directories to further the awareness and positioning of the group; maintain repositories of group accolades and awards.
• Ensure all marketing communications channels are exploited to convey consistent messages about the group and its experience, including the use of social media in consultation with the digital team. Work with our communications and media staff to identify and pursue PR opportunities in key legal trade and industry publications and industry surveys.
• All other duties as assigned.
  
  

Key Skills, Attributes And Experience

Education: College degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or related field required.

Experience

• Five to seven years of business development experience and demonstrated project leadership.
• Law firm or professional services experience preferred.
• Ability to interact and influence members of a large organization.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to handle competing deadlines and priorities.
• Self-motivated and capable of working independently.
  
  

Skills

• Strong computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Technologically savvy and able to quickly learn new database systems.
• Extremely detail oriented, proactive and self-directed with ability to independently manage and appropriately prioritize multiple projects and competing priorities under tight deadlines, sometimes with minimal oversight.
• Able to demonstrate sound professional judgment and a high degree of poise and professionalism when interacting with internal and external contacts.
• Comfortable establishing effective firmwide working relationships with individuals at all levels.
• Possess, and be willing to continue to develop, strong organizational, project management and problem solving skills.
• Able to work independently as well as part of a team, and be flexible in approach.
  
  

Supervisory Responsibilities: This role will supervise a BD Exec and liase with other junior team members as necessary.

At Reed Smith, we welcome direct applications either in response to one of our advertised vacancies or on a speculative basis. Please click on the “Apply Now” button to submit your details and we will be in touch.

No search firms/agencies please.

Reed Smith's success depends heavily on the effective utilization of qualified people, regardless of their race, ancestry, religion, colour, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, veteran's status, or any characteristic protected by law. As a firm, we adhere to and promote equal employment opportunity for all.

We are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you have a disability or a long-term health condition and require adjustments to be made for you within the recruitment process, please contact a member of the Recruitment team. For more information on our approach to diversity and inclusion please visit our website .