Business Development Advisor in Manchester

Mills & Reeve are hiring a Business Development Advisor into their established, national Business Development team. This permanent role will focus on supporting the current business development operations in our Real Estate National Service Line (NSL) and Built Environment Sector. The role reports to a Business Development Manager. This role can be based out of any of our offices, except for London.

As a Business Development Advisor you will be working with the sector and NSL BD manager to support the delivery of campaigns and projects. Working with other members of the BD team, you will be helping to develop strategic business development plans, identification of BD opportunities and pipeline management and driving key account management programmes. You will take ownership of projects and initiatives, ensuring they are executed successfully whether by yourself or by other members of the marketing team.

You will be expected to demonstrate strengths in terms of:

• Understanding and experience of a range of BD and marketing techniques in a professional services environment – the core principles of marketing and BD.
• A working knowledge and understanding of the legal business market place / Real Estate or Built environment sectors.
• Experience of using AI in a professional services environment.
• Commercial acumen: understanding of our business and our clients and their requirements.
• Advisory and influencing skills as well as persistence and tenacity.
• Good communication and networking skills to enhance the strong relationships already in place, as well as influencing decision makers.
• Ability to manage multiple projects whilst at the same time prioritising critical tasks.
• Credibility and confidence to work with and add value to our partners.

The activities include:

• Working with partner leads and senior BD team members to develop business plans which identify opportunities to generate growth in line with the firm's 2030 strategic plan.
• Drive the development and execution of the annual BD plan for Real Estate NSL and Built Environment Sector and measure results.
• Collaborate with the wider BD team to promote and identify sector and service line opportunities.
• Driving process for building pipeline of new business opportunities.
• Supporting sales pipeline activities.
• Undertaking market and sector research to identify target organisations and their business issues, opportunities and hot topics, and devising ways to communicate these to key stakeholders and clients as appropriate.
• Leveraging data and insights to identify, plan and implement key BD campaigns and projects.
• Identify and evaluate involvement in key market memberships and strategic sponsorships.
• Supporting the planning and execution of major campaigns and initiatives (e.g. thought leadership).
• Working alongside team members to deliver BD training and mentoring and coaching to partners and lawyers.
• Driving BD best practice.
• Developing your own external network to promote M&R, sector and NSL profile.

Supporting client relationship partners to implement key growth account client plans focused on delivering new business from current clients by utilising appropriate client listening and cross-selling initiatives. Attend legal and sector association events and conferences to build knowhow and network with clients and prospects. Maintain sector and service line knowledge including market trends and emerging issues via legal and trade media. Undertaking regular briefings on client developments. In-depth understanding of multipliers and referrers of work. Maintain a record of work referred in/out and provide advice on which referrers are growing/declining in importance. Promote cross sector and NSL working, communication and referral activity within the BD team and among lawyer groups.

Drive agendas and pipeline of regular meetings with your office/group/teams. Ensure awareness of all marketing/business development taking place within sectors/NSLs and working with marketing team colleagues to ensure delivery of aligned projects. Play an active role in sharing intel, knowledge and experience to help develop skills and broaden commercial awareness.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

As you'd expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits.

If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve. Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning, and receive consistent experiences with no surprises. We tell them what they need to know when they need to know it.

We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need. And if clients need things we don't offer, we draw on our network to give recommendations. Our 1,450 plus people and over 850 lawyers share one vision – achieving more for clients.

By joining Mills & Reeve, you'll have the chance to build your skills and experience within a firm that's not only ranked in the top 50 UK law firms, but also one that truly values their people. We're also ranked in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list, and have been awarded Platinum Investors in People. Our mantra is “Achieve more. Together.”, which we feel embodies our purpose and is more than just a catchphrase!

Our values are the principles that help us fulfil our purpose. Our people shaped them and live them every day.

• We're ambitious - We aim high, we embrace new ideas and we're passionate about our work.
• We're open - We communicate openly and honestly to build trust, and we do what's right.
• We care - We're committed to each other, our clients, our communities and the planet.
• We collaborate - We're easy to work with, we offer help willingly and we get things done – together.

Everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these.