Business Development Senior Executive

The Business Development Senior Executive will support business development and strategic marketing activities on a secondment basis for selected practice areas and/or cross-practice initiatives in the Continental Europe region to cover for long-term vacancies due to maternity or medical leave or attrition, providing day-to-day support to the relevant Business Development Manager and assuming responsibility for specific sub-groups, activities and initiatives.

You will be a fully integrated member of the business development team for the business unit in which you are deployed (country, practice or client sector). You will report directly into a senior BD leader for that business unit, and will interact closely with partners and senior lawyers, other BD colleagues in our global team, our communications and marketing experts as well as professionals from other teams such as Pricing or Innovation. You will receive much of your training and onboarding within the local Warsaw-based BD team responsible for the Polish market and will have a close working relationship with the head of the Warsaw BD team and the General Manager in our Warsaw office.

Key responsibilities in these secondment deployments will include:

• Supporting lawyers in identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, including the production of bid documents (pitches, responses to RFPs and capability statements), sometimes in collaboration with the graphics team and the global proposals team; writing and maintaining business development materials such as practice group descriptions and lawyer biographies; identifying potential clients and new areas of business; and conducting competitor, client, and marketplace analysis.
• Supporting Practice Area Leaders and group members in developing business including financial analysis, individual partner goal-setting and corresponding marketing plans.
• Managing information – capturing deal flow information in transaction databases for league table submissions, directory listings, pitches, partner biographies, awards, and other external and internal communication activities; and managing relevant mailing lists within our CRM database.
• Strategic initiatives – assisting with the project management of various practice areas, sector-specific and/or firm initiatives.
• Supporting strategic client relationships – supporting in development and implementation of strategic client plans and managing client teams.
• Marketing communications – assisting with identifying opportunities to position and raise the profile of the practice and partners; assisting with the design and organization of client events/seminars; drafting annual submissions for relevant legal directories; supporting the production of client communications including newsletters, brochures, contact cards, and advertisements, etc.; developing and maintaining content for website and intranet; and assisting with the production and distribution of client briefings and other thought leadership materials; liaising with the communications team and the practice on media relations and media positioning opportunities, participation in seminars/sponsorship, internal communications and website and intranet content.
• Research and analysis – producing detailed research to support practice-specific business development and marketing initiatives, including research on clients and industries in advance of pitches and client meetings.
• Understanding the practice – working closely with the relevant Business Development Manager, to become very familiar with the practices' offerings, clients, and markets.

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) 
• Demonstrated track record of business development/marketing experience in a law firm or professional services firm, or other similar relevant experience in the legal sector (3 years minimum).
• Prior experience in the management of proposals 
• Superior client service skills demonstrated through:
  • Excellent oral and written communications skills
  • Excellent presentation skills
  • Ability to work on proposals autonomously
  • Strong project management and organizational skills
  • Ability to work as part of a team and with lawyers of all seniority levels
  • Ability to work under pressure and manage competing needs
  • Proactive and positive approach
  • Commitment to quality and attention to detail
  • Understanding of our client's commercial objectives and marketplace
• Fluent (written and oral) in English required with a preference for strong skills in German, French, Spanish or Italian.
• Intermediate-advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Outlook; proficiency in CRM systems strongly preferred.

Whatever your area of expertise, you will find a range of career opportunities at Clifford Chance. And wherever you’re heading, Clifford Chance is where you can be true to your ambitions.
Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures and languages. In a world where commercial success increasingly relies on globalisation, we offer clients a truly international perspective, and we offer our people a rewarding and stimulating career. 
We're proud of our approachable, friendly and team-based way of working. Highly professional and self-assured, with an entrepreneurial streak, our people are more than happy to share their expertise and knowledge.

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and develop your skills and knowledge, from formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning. At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society. 
We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age. This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer, and every other aspect of employment.
Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. Find out more here.