Manager, Business Development – Employment & Labor
Overview of the position
As part of the US Business Development (BD) team, this highly-visible, partner-facing role works with practice group Team Leaders and members across the United States to support day-to-day needs and strategic go-to-market initiatives that generate new client relationships, enhance brand profile, and drive revenue opportunities.

The ideal candidate brings a confident, professional presence and previous professional services manager-level experience, and is a highly-motivated, detail-oriented individual who shows ambition, determination and the desire to develop a career in business development. They are looking for a candidate who can quickly build rapport with key stakeholders and work closely with peer managers, senior marketing staff and firm management to implement initiatives that ensure long-term sustainable competitive advantage for these two practices and the US Firm overall.

They aim to provide you with opportunities to develop your career, encouraging close cooperation and teamwork alongside the broader Marketing and Business Development team. This is an exciting opportunity to bring an innovative strategic approach to two nationally-recognized practices at one of the world's largest law firms.

This position reports into the Senior Manager for Disputes and will be supported by a BD coordinator. The position will be based in Houston, Texas.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• In conjunction with the partners in the US E&L teams, devise and support the go-to-market strategies for revenue generation, profile development and opportunity realization to meet KPIs outlined in the team business plan
• Ensure that the objectives and activities of the US E&L practices are aligned with those of the wider global group and regional sectors, with an integrated approach taken to identifying and developing common opportunities and deepen client relationships
• Manage bid process by collaborating with lead lawyers to evaluate the opportunity, develop the strategic approach, draft the response, and deliver materials that lead to successful outcomes
• Manage, plan and execute client-facing events, conference sponsorships, seminars and CLE programs for the practices in conjunction with the Firm’s events team
  Work with BD team members to provide input on E&L cross-sell opportunities with enterprise client teams and other priority targets to expand the portfolio of services provided
• Work with the CI team to maintain awareness of client priorities, competitor activity and marketplace trends and provide insights that support US BD activities
• Develop and maintain content and experience for the groups to go-to-market efficiently and consistently, and in particular organizing and managing relevant bid content in collaboration with other BD team members. Develop positioning statements, compelling themes, value propositions and other key messaging to drive awareness, recognition and enhance the brand perception for the firm
• Provide input for brand positioning to convey consistent messages about the expertise and experience and ensure all marketing communications channels are exploited, including use of social media in consultation with the digital team
• Manage submissions in legal directories (such as Chambers and Legal 500); report on change in rankings and against targets set; refine approach, as needed
• Work with the communications and media team to identify and pursue PR innovative thought leadership opportunities in key legal and industry trade publications
• Manage budget tracking of spend against budget allocation, measuring and reporting on return on investment and evaluating efficiencies
• Special projects and initiatives to execute on the KPIs set forth by the Team Leaders and the Business Development Team

Please note this job description does not cover or contain all activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
 

Qualifications

• Minimum 8-10 years of relevant experience in a professional services sector; large law firm experience a plus
• Possess solid business acumen, experience in analyzing business and legal trends and developing and executing programs, as well as the ability to synthesize complex information
• An innovative problem solver who is detail-oriented and highly organized; proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience working in a matrix organization a plus
• Self-starter with strong skills in written/oral communication, managing expectations and dealing with ambiguity
• Hands-on experience using all programs under the Microsoft Suite (including direct experience with PowerPoint and advanced functions within Excel
• Confident, persuasive and assertive; capable of building trust amongst the partnership and wider stakeholder community
• Promotes and demonstrates the business principles of quality, unity and integrity
• Ability to work overtime and travel is required
• Bachelor’s degree required