Senior Business Development Manager - M&A, PE and Healthcare

McDermott Will & Schulte is a leading global law firm that brings together more than 1,700 lawyers and 1,400 business professionals.

The Senior Business Development Manager will be responsible for driving and implementing strategic, revenue-generating business development activities for the Corporate M&A, Private Equity and Healthcare & Life Sciences practices in London. The role involves creating market-leading initiatives aligned with the firm’s global goals, advising fee earners at all levels as a trusted advisor, fostering collaboration across practice areas between London, European, and US offices, and managing two direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Organise and drive client targeting programmes for supported areas, including prompting, monitoring pursuit activities, and tracking and reporting results.
• Lead and draft content for cross-practice RFPs and pitches, coordinating with colleagues.
• Guide lateral hires through onboarding protocols, creating integration plans, tracking progress via Salesforce, and supporting their wider integration into the firm.
• Identify and facilitate cross-selling opportunities across the firm, crafting and executing go-to-market strategies and collaborating with other practice areas and industry initiatives.
• Conduct strategic research on potential clients, competitors, and practice developments to identify business trends and opportunities, ensuring optimal market positioning.
• Build effective agendas for meetings, prepare materials and speakers, project manage actions from meetings, and create & maintain materials to support pitches and proposals.
• Coordinate firm-hosted business development events (receptions, client entertainment, substantive presentations, webinars, etc.), working closely with participating lawyers and Marketing colleagues on invitation lists, event materials, participant tracking, engagement, on-site management, and follow-up activities.
• Identify and facilitate participation in sponsorships, conferences, memberships, and other key profile-building opportunities for the office and individual lawyers.
• Manage workflow and performance of two direct reports, oversee creation of proposal collateral, and provide ongoing performance feedback.
• Manage, review, and track the business development budget for the designated practice groups.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree.
• At least ten (10) years of related work experience.
• Prior experience managing others.
• Excellent project management skills, with keen attention to detail and the ability to prioritise and execute multiple tasks under tight deadlines.
• Superior presentation, writing, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong leadership skills.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word).
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential information.
• Availability to travel and work flexible and/or fluctuating hours.

Job Posting Preferences

• Flexible, forward-thinking, proactive, energetic, detail-oriented team player.
• Professional yet approachable demeanor, comfortable and competent in dealing with senior lawyers and in collaborating with other lawyers and business services.
• Effective change-management approach.
• Team player mentality with great collegiality, adaptability to evolving environments, and willingness to lend support where needed.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by people within this classification. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this job.