BD & Marketing Manager (Contentious)

Reporting to the Head of Opportunities, the role plays a central role in helping to develop and execute the firm's business development strategies and plans across one of the firm's legal divisions which contains the Employment and Disputes Resolution Practice Groups, the cross-practice Investigations Group and nominated initiatives. With an ability to collaborate across several distinct practice areas, the BD Manager will have the confidence to constructively lead and challenge on topics such as BD strategy and execution, and client relationship support. The role has high visibility and daily interaction with partners and other key people across the firm, as well as taking the lead on relationship management with our external referral network comprising barristers' chambers and domestic and international law firms. The role is both strategic and operational, focused on executing each group's business plan and always delivering an overall first-class service. The Practice Groups The Employment Practice Group consists of 5 partners and over 26 associates, trainees and paralegals. The Dispute Resolution Practice Group consists of 10 partners and over 32 associates, trainees and paralegals. The cross-practice Investigations Group is led by partners and associates in Employment and Dispute Resolution and includes partners from other practices across the firm. The role will work closely with the Heads of Department, partners, the Knowledge & Information team (centrally and within the respective Practice Group) and Legal Operations team to deliver on the business plan across all elements of our service offering. Key Responsibilities Business and Client Planning

• Develop close working relationships with the partners and wider lawyer team, providing support to implement and refine business plans, demonstrating a deep and thorough understanding of the respective practice areas.
• Create targeted business development and marketing activity plans that flow from the business plans, to help achieve the financial, client and market positioning and penetration objectives set in the respective group's business plan. Monitor, analyse and report on activity against objectives including ROI as appropriate.
• Work with the Head of Opportunities to identify market, sector and client trends within each Practice Area and across the Contentious division, to target new prospects.
• Work with the Head of Business Development and Head of Client Relationships to identify and maximise growth opportunities from existing clients.
• Work closely with the firm's Head of Client Relationships to ensure that client action plans are created, monitored, supported and actioned for the most significant clients. A key component will be identifying common elements with action plans for other clients across the firm as well as coordinating the intersection with firm wide client initiatives.
• Work with the wider Business Development team to ensure that activities are aligned across practice groups and cross-firm initiatives to ensure a 'one firm' approach to clients and to business development activities.
• Develop a deep and broad understanding of the key client relationships and practices which includes specific partners and areas of specialism, and competitor and market trends to make recommendations to impact revenue and client growth, cross-selling with other practices and client service improvements.
Business Development and Marketing Activities
• Create an annual BD and marketing plan for each Practice Group and nominated 'horizontal' initiatives and ensure that each is executed well. Plans to include all elements of the marketing mix, including marketing brochures and materials, pitch documents, thought leadership articles, social media pages and content, website content, lawyer biographies, events and corporate hospitality.
• Provide market and practice insights to support the Communications team in developing a media and PR plan. Together determine how best to utilise PR and media plans as a complementary business development tool and to position the practice groups to further the objectives of the business and marketing plans.
• Work with the Events team to assess the value and relevance of various sponsorship, events and other corporate hospitality opportunities to ensure best value for the firm and our clients.
• Work with the Knowledge Lawyers and Communications team to plan and deliver targeted thought leadership to clients to raise the profile of the practices' priority areas through targeted materials on the website, through email marketing, on LinkedIn and other appropriate channels.
• Lead on pitches for the respective Practice Groups and cross-practice initiatives, which fall under the Contentious division, including Requests for Proposal, credentials documents and client presentations.
• For firmwide or other cross-practice opportunities, assist the Pitch team in supporting, pitching and winning new business by providing practice, partner, client and market- specific insights to target and tailor each opportunity.
• Take responsibility for managing the practices' directory and awards submissions in line with the firm's directory process, creating high quality content that delivers results.
• Be the Client Relations Management champion for the practice groups and 'horizontal' initiatives working closely with the Head of Opportunities, Brand and Marketing team, the department PAs and lawyers in the practices to ensure that all contact and BD activities are regularly updated, and use the data to drive BD initiatives.
• Manage and track the business development budgets for the groups and initiatives for which you are responsible.
• Actively support the delivery of firm wide client initiatives and marketing programs including client listening, post pitch reviews and the TS Change programmes.
People Management
• Responsibility for managing and developing a BD Executive within the Contentious division, who will work across the Employment and Dispute Resolution practices, providing support for all aspects of BD and marketing.
Other Responsibilities
• Assist in developing the BD team's expertise through active engagement in team meetings and team initiatives, including coaching and mentoring, and proactively sharing best practices from previous firms, other industries, training and original research.
• Work with the Chief Marketing Officer and legal Heads of Department to plan and manage annual business development budgets.
  
  5+ years' experience, with at least one to two years at Senior Executive level, working in a Business Development role in a professional services environment, preferably within a law firm.
• Commercially astute with a strong track record in growing existing and new business.
• High level proficiency in systems skills - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and InterAction.
• Ability to understand macro-economic issues and use them to define appropriate business development plans and activity.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills - able to speak with confidence and influence change both internally with senior leadership and externally.
• Experience of managing, mentoring, and motivating team members.
• Comfortable providing recommendations and advising with confidence to senior level stakeholders, even when there is ambiguity involved.
• An ability to quickly gain confidence and challenge and change behaviours where required.
• Able to inspire a team through a personal and energetic approach - active involvement in getting work done yourself as well as delegating to other team members.
• Strong team player with a positive attitude - a natural coach and mentor.
• Strategic and analytical thinker, able to set and measure the success of programmes across business development.
• Proactive in generating high quality strategic ideas to help the firm grow.
• Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external clients.
• Excellent work management skills - capable of managing and coordinating a broad and demanding, fast-paced workload in an organised, controlled and efficient manner with the ability and confidence to prioritise as required.
  
  Travers Smith is a leading full-service law firm, with a wealth of experience in its areas of specialisation. The firm has a market-leading reputation for its international expertise in Asset Management, M&A and Dispute Resolution & Investigations. Clients include asset managers across the alternative asset classes (private equity, venture, credit, infrastructure and real estate), publicly listed and private companies, financial institutions, and other business enterprises involved in large and complex UK and cross-border matters, transactions and disputes. Our purpose is to provide the highest quality of service to our clients whilst enabling our people to achieve professional fulfilment in a supportive, inclusive and enjoyable working environment.