Business Development Manager (Sectors)

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich, Sevenoaks and Bristol. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do.  RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

The Business Development and Marketing Team comprises more than 30 business development and marketing professionals, who work together as integrated team, in support of the firm’s vision and business strategy.

We have recently streamlined our sectors and as a result we have identified 15 sectors which we will focus on with immediate effect. Of these 15 sectors, we have decided to focus specifically on 7 sectors - ‘Priority Sectors’; these are sectors which require the most support, and/or which we believe offer the best ROI over the next 3 to 5 years.

The Senior Manager – Sectors, is a new position and will play a crucial role in driving the success of the firm’s sector programme and will be specifically responsible for introducing best practice across all sector group business development and marketing activities.  The Senior Manager – Sectors will be expected to have significant interactions with our Sector Leads and groups as well as with other members of the Business Development and Marketing Team will need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the firm’s sectors and how they intersect with our practice teams.  

Specific responsibilities include:

Sector Business Development Strategy, Planning and Budget

• Work with Sector Leads and Business Development Team members assigned to support specific sector groups to develop and drive forward sector group strategies, annual business plans and budgets and / or Strategies on a Page.
• Monitor spend against budget and reporting ROI, ensuring business development activities are delivered within budget and meet agreed objectives.
• Proactively support, input, and coordinate regular Sector Team meetings, working with the Business Development and Marketing sector representatives.

Lead generation (Intapp)

• Work with the CRM and Data Team, support Sector Leads in their usage of sector dashboards, focusing on ensuring that the partners build a robust set of lead generation activities.

Research

• Assist the Sector Leads with the identification of prospective new areas of business and new client segments for selected sector groups.

Events and Sponsorships

• Support Sector Leads with the coordination and project management of events and sponsorships supported by our Events and Sponsorship Team, ensuring that ROI is always top of mind. 

Enterprise Client Programme

• Work with the Client Development Team to ensure that there is close collaboration between the Sector programme and the Enterprise Client programme.

Bids

• Provide direction to the Bids Team on bids relating to sector bid opportunities.
• Ensure relevant sector knowledge and expertise is incorporated into our pitch proposals to demonstrate strong credentials and ensure Sector Leads are aware of all opportunities relating to their sector.

Digitial and marketing collateral

• Work with the Digital Team and the Sector Leads to ensure that sector-related content on the firm’s website, intranet and social media channels is current and relevant, and that content is regularly reviewed and updated.
• Direct the drafting and production of marketing collateral for sectors.

PR and Thought Leadership

• Identify external opportunities to promote the work undertaken within our sector teams, working with the PR Team.
• Work with Sector Leads to develop a Thought Leadership Programme for their sector to include identified campaigns and products which demonstrate creativity and innovation.

The successful candidate will possess:

• A solid senior business development and marketing background with extensive experience across the full marketing mix ideally gained within a professional services environment.
• Strong interest in industry and sector trends.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a high level of attention to detail.
• Well-honed people skills, able to persuade and influence senior stakeholders. 

• Strong understanding of marketing and business development processes.
• A team player with the ability to create a positive impact with colleagues, peers, partners, and clients and to demonstrate diplomacy, listening and influencing skills.
• Proactive rather than reactive in approach, with a ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Demonstrating enthusiasm, confronting, and overcoming obstacles to make progress.
• Applies broad knowledge to analyse problems, suggest solutions and where appropriate, implement them.
• Demonstrating consistent excellent service delivery to internal clients.
• Effective project management skills including the ability to plan and prioritise conflicting demands to meet deadlines for the team.
• Demonstrating an understanding of the firm's business and marketplace.
• Working effectively under pressure.
• Knowledge of CRM or data management systems and their functionality.

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days). 
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme 
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application. 

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.