Marketing and Business Development Manager
The Marketing and Business Development team provides the operational and strategic hub for the region - helping Partners and senior lawyers to attract and retain profitable client relationships, managing market profile and developing a sense of community in order to build strong and cohesive client teams. The Marketing and Business Development team in the Middle East forms part of a larger international Marketing and Business Development team based in locations across Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific, with a strong core team based in the UK and Australia. The successful candidate will support a broad range of areas to help the firm enhance its profile with clients, in the market generally, and win profitable business.
Main duties and responsibilities
Work closely with Partners and senior lawyers in order to develop and action strategic business development initiatives; including the development and execution of Marketing and Business Development plans maintaining and progressing the Marketing and Business Development connectivity with the wider region (regular calls etc.) required to deliver these plans and lead all supporting activity
Support Partners/fee-earners on fostering and strengthening key client relationships via client targeting programmes, with a view to increase cross-selling opportunities within the region and the wider firm
Championing the use of strategic business development tools such as Qorus and Experience Hub
Support Partners/fee-earners on development of innovative products/tools, and associated marketing campaigns and/or thought leadership
Report on marketing campaign and initiatives results and Return On Investment
Leverage the power of our internal systems and utilise data analytics, to provide a smarter Marketing and Business Development service and experience to the team
Work closely with our local Knowledge team to identify key issues affecting clients, and collaborate with Partners/fee-earners and the Knowledge team to bring related thought leadership and client alerts to market
Create and execute targeted marketing campaigns and deliver engagements/events designed to raise our firm's profile and win new business from target audience/s
Manage the production of marketing and business development content from concept through to distribution
Work closely with the digital marketing team to create and manage content for digital marketing channels, in particular to profile our subject matter experts
Work with Partners and the PR team to manage relationships with the media and proactively seek out the most appropriate press coverage
Advise on pitch qualification and strategy, prepare pitch documents, manage rehearsals for new business pitches and perform pitch debriefs
Work with Partners/fee-earners to identify opportunities arising from industry association memberships (e.g. new business, speaking opportunities)
Arrange insightful research on companies, industry sectors and countries
Coordinate and add value to the main legal directories and awards
Identify and organise networking and profile-raising opportunities for the lawyers with clients and prospects, such as seminars and webinars
In order to deliver the areas of key responsibility identified above, the successful candidate will be expected to:
Shape and manage projects and campaigns
Evaluate and present information to demonstrate business advantage
Contribute information and ideas to the Marketing and Business Development strategy and Group plans
Create competitive and effective operational and communication plans
Manage and maintain competitive products/services or portfolios and develop them to meet future business needs
Establish and develop effective support for channels to market
Manage and report on project delivery against plans, budgets and objectives
Use information on marketing systems to make strategic decisions and identify design requirements
Measure the effectiveness of marketing activities
Coordinating internal business development Group meetings with fee earners, including running agendas, recording key actions and ensuring implementation of actions
Help create and build effective client solutions
Encourage and help others develop their competencies relevant to their marketing role
Embrace change - influence others to modify their behaviours and attitudes where necessary
Build relationships with other functions and disciplines within DLA Piper
Be involved in activity which promotes the overall well-being and/or standing of the business; evaluate ethical codes to ensure marketing activities are compliant
Develop and manage budgets demonstrating analytical skills to interpret financial information
The job holder may be required to undertake additional duties from time to time.
About you
The successful candidate must have:
A Degree or equivalent qualification
Regional experience with a professional services background
A high level of written and oral communication skills. In addition you will be expected to have strong probing, consultative listening skills coupled with the ability to negotiate and persuade senior legal and client personnel
The ability to display a consistently positive and proactive attitude and demonstrate a collaborative working style; operating both as an individual and as part of a wider team
A deep knowledge of Marketing and Business Development processes for professional services - a sound understanding of new business processes, digital marketing, Client Relationship Mangement and the emerging technologies that will help us win and retain legal work
An exemplary professional approach and demonstrably high levels of commitment and internal client care
Excellent communication and project management skills
Demonstrable experience in demanding, partner-led international environments, where success has depended on an ability to:
multi-task and work to deadlines - manage conflicting priorities and expectations in a robust and fast-paced atmosphere - perform at a consistently high standard - remain calm and composed in what are often demanding situations - see delegated tasks through to completion at a high standard
A proven ability to deal with confidential and sensitive information
High level of literacy in IT and marketing systems - Excel, Word, Powerpoint, MS Teams and Outlook are essential; experience of InterAction / Client Relationship Management and design software would be beneficial
Sales techniques and coaching skills
Managing Stakeholder Engagement: Working with partners, associates and business development teams across different jurisdictions to understand the specific requirements of an Request for Proposal and provide a tailored value proposition that resonates with clients' objectives
Ability to understand and identify with the firm, its objectives and values
This job description is not designed to be exhaustive and can be varied, as required, to develop, or fulfil, the role.