Business Development Manager

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are seeking a Business Development Manager to support strategic in-market initiatives for the New Jersey and New York offices of K&L Gates. The successful candidate can be based in either office but will be expected to travel to both offices to support events and other initiatives as needed, including before or after standard business day hours.  Working under the Business Development Director with accountability to the Office Managing Partners, the Business Development Manager (BDM) will support and execute marketing and business development programs and initiatives for the offices, as well as serve firmwide practice areas and/or industry groups.

You will have significant interaction with lawyers, office and practice managers and firm administration. Successful candidates for this role are strategic do-ers - energetic self-starters with superior written and oral communications skills, project management abilities and the ability to develop and implement strategic directives in coordination across marketing functions. The BDM will see projects through from concept to delivery, sometimes with limited oversight. Candidates must be able to work independently and as part of a dispersed global team, and have the poise and gravitas to positively represent K&L Gates effectively in front of clients at events and conferences. Excellent communication skills and a commitment to providing the highest quality client service are necessary. The successful candidate will be able to engage proactively with partners to develop and execute on business plans, will have substantial local market knowledge of key industries in the region.

If your experience is in B2B sales enablement, in-market project execution, professional services marketing, or financial services product development, marketing or sales, we want to hear from you.

Specific duties include, but are not limited to:

• Co-develop and implement practice- or office-centric business development strategies and plans with practice group or office leadership consistent with the firm’s strategic initiatives.
• Co-develop annual practice/office marketing and business development budget with practice leadership.
• Collaborate with lawyers to execute business development activities and plans, using resources across the firms’ marketing network, for support as appropriate.
• Work closely with lawyers, marketing staff and firmwide personnel to prepare RFP responses, write proposals, and create presentations for new business.
• Manage business development process and pipeline on behalf of the office or practice.
• Plan seminars, conferences and other firm-sponsored events.  Take primary responsibility for program planning, audience development and directing lead follow-up.  Seek opportunities for strategic collaboration with outside organizations.
• Maintain a strong knowledge of the global market for professional and legal services including business trends and competitive landscape.
• Support group and individual lawyers’ business development efforts by identifying potential leads, collecting and sharing market and industry intelligence, representing the firm at networking events, tracking business development activity, identifying professional and trade associations with which the office should affiliate.
• Collaborate with firmwide Marketing staff to assure integrity of the firm brand.
• Coach lawyers as they prepare for marketing- and business development-related presentations.  Follow up with lawyers on outcomes and conduct client debriefings as assigned.
• Identify potential press opportunities, and collaborate with office and firmwide marketing staff to turn those opportunities into media exposure.  Identify attorneys to be sources with key media contacts.
• Assist in orienting new lateral attorneys to the department, office and firm.  This can include communicating Marketing department structure and capabilities, assisting in the creation of press releases and announcements, collaborating with related practice group-oriented Business Development Managers, and helping with initial business development activities.
• Assist in the mentoring, training and ongoing development of local business development and marketing staff.
• Serve as a member of K&L Gates’ firmwide marketing team.  Execute firmwide initiatives as assigned.  Participate in special projects at the behest of the CMO.
• Undertake other projects as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Minimum of seven years of marketing, business development and/or sales experience in a professional services firm or closely related work environment.  Experience within a large national or international firm preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the global marketplace for professional services required.
• MBA or similar graduate-level degree preferred.
• Outstanding communication skills.  Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with individuals at all levels.  Demonstrated ability to influence senior professionals and help them succeed in meeting their business development objectives.
• Ability to work independently.  Willingness to work hands-on to achieve objectives in an environment with little leverage.
• Outstanding project management skills and the ability to juggle competing, shifting priorities.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Consistent ability to meet deadlines.
• Collaborative, team-oriented approach to work.

Working Conditions:

• Manual dexterity required for typing, reaching and lifting of small objects, and operating office equipment.
• Frequent computer use at workstation for extended periods of time.
• Responsibilities occasionally may require an adjusted work schedule in order to meet deadlines.
• Mobility within the office including movement from floor to floor.
• Access information using a computer.
• Effectively manages and communicates confidential issues.

Any information contained on this form represents the usual method of accomplishing the duties in this job.  Reasonable accommodations will be considered in appropriate circumstances.  However, as the nature of an accommodation may vary depending on the needs and desires of an individual with a disability, it is impossible to describe in advance specific accommodations which will be considered.

NOTE: Nothing in this job description restricts the firm’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers across five continents. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered in the past five years emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

To learn what makes us different from other law firms, including our collaborative approach, entrepreneurial spirit, and our commitment to diversity, check out our video, “Grow Your Career at K&L Gates.”

If you agree that we are different from other law firms - and the right place for you to grow your career - please apply for this position.  For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

We offer a dynamic work environment and excellent benefits.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices shall not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, military status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of unlawful harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is sexual, racial, age-related, disability-related or ethnic background-related.