Business Development (Bid & Proposals) Manager in Southampton

Lester Aldridge is a full‑service UK law firm with a strong reputation across key sectors including healthcare, shipping, banks & other lenders, housebuilders, ports & harbours, charities, AI and private clients. We are committed to delivering legal advice that creates commercial or personal opportunity for our clients and do that by building long‑term client relationships. We are at an exciting stage in our development as a firm and also to our approach to business development, so this is a unique opportunity to help shape that for a firm with bold and ambitious plans.

Role Overview

The BD & Proposals Manager will work closely with partners and fee‑earners, as well as the BD & Marketing Director and Marketing colleagues, to identify and create BD opportunities and develop compelling, client‑focused proposals that demonstrate LA’s proposition. This is a high‑impact role with visibility across the firm, supporting strategic growth in our priority sectors.

Key Responsibilities

• Bid & Pitch Management
  • Produce compelling, tailored proposals (including credentials and tenders) that demonstrate Lester Aldridge’s proposition in their approach.
  • Manage multiple concurrent submissions, ensuring high‑quality outputs by deadlines.
  • Support go/no‑go decisions aligned to firm strategy and sector priorities.
  • Develop and maintain a high‑quality library of proposal‑ready credentials, case studies and CVs.
• Sector Initiatives
  • Help develop the firm’s sector BD strategy.
  • Track sector issues for impact on clients and high‑value targets.
  • Identify opportunities to support clients and targets by drawing on expertise across the firm.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Partner closely with Partners and fee‑earners across all parts of the full‑service firm.
  • Challenge and shape bid strategy to improve win rates for high‑quality targets.
  • Support and coach fee‑earners in best‑practice pitching and proposal development.
  • Facilitate review sessions and capture lessons learned from wins/losses.
  • Collaborate with Marketing on campaigns to attract targets through events (seminars, webinars) including identification of invitees and management.
  • Ensuring new cold enquiries are responded to quickly by fee‑earners.
  • Help devise new processes for pipeline management at a firm, sector, team and individual level.
• Firm Initiatives
  • Support new firm initiatives such as a key alumni programme.
  • Support pricing strategy implementation.

Key Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven experience managing proposals in a law firm or professional services environment.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with partners and fee‑earners and be seen as a trusted adviser with credibility.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to produce high‑quality, client‑ready content.
• Excellent project management skills and ability to manage competing deadlines.
• Commercial awareness and understanding of client decision‑making.

Desirable

• Experience using tools such as LinkedIn and AI in research.
• Advanced PowerPoint skills for proposal production.
• Experience of CRM systems and pipeline reporting tools.
• Experience working within one or more of Lester Aldridge’s key sectors, e.g. healthcare, shipping, housebuilders, private wealth.

Reporting Line

Reports to: Business Development & Marketing Director.

Why Join Lester Aldridge?

• Opportunity to play a key role in the firm’s growth strategy.
• Exposure to a broad range of sectors and legal services.
• Collaborative and supportive culture.
• Flexible/hybrid working approach.
• Clear opportunity to shape and enhance the firm’s business‑development culture.