Business Development Manager - Legal, Banking & Finance

Our client is looking for an experienced, commercially minded Business Development Manager to play a key role in the growth and development of their Banking and Finance service line across Jersey, Guernsey, London and Dubai. This is an opportunity to join a forward-thinking, international firm where collaboration and fresh ideas are encouraged. Working closely with the global Banking and Finance BD lead, partners, senior lawyers and BD and marketing colleagues, you’ll help deliver focused, client-led growth plans, strengthen key relationships, enhance the firm’s market profile and identify new opportunities across their jurisdictions. You’ll be part of a supportive, people-first culture that values development, while giving you the platform to make a meaningful commercial impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy, planning and financial management
  • Work with the global Banking and Finance BD lead, jurisdictional partners, senior lawyers and relevant BD colleagues to develop and implement client-focused Banking and Finance BD plans for Jersey, Guernsey, London and Dubai offices.
  • Support annual planning, budgeting and prioritisation for the service line in these jurisdictions, ensuring activity is aligned with commercial objectives and market opportunities.
  • Proactively identify, qualify and help progress new business opportunities, including cross-practice and cross-jurisdictional initiatives with related teams across our client’s legal and corporate administration arms.
  • Monitor delivery of agreed activity, track spend against budget and report on progress, outcomes, return on investment and lessons learned.
• Effective use of data and targeting
  • Develop and maintain effective target, client and intermediaries lists for the service line, helping partners and senior lawyers identify priority prospects, intermediaries, client opportunities and market gaps and use these to support focused partner outreach and trip planning.
  • Produce high quality distribution lists for client mailers, thought leadership campaigns, event invitations and targeted intermediary communications.
  • Drive effective use of the CRM system and related BD technology, ensuring opportunities, activity, referrals and client engagement are captured, consistently maintained, tracked, measured and used to inform reporting, targeting and decision-making.
  • Support commercially focused BD trip planning, including target setting, meeting strategy and messaging, priority introductions, pre-trip briefing and post-trip follow-up to maximise relationship and business development outcomes.
  • Work with the wider BD team to facilitate introductions and cross-selling.
• Events, conferences, seminars, webinars and sponsorships
  • Working with the partners and the BD Service Line Lead, own the BD strategy around priority Banking & Finance conferences, sponsorships, seminars and webinars, including target audience planning, messaging, partner briefing, follow-up and ROI assessment, working closely with the central events, brand and marketing communications team.
  • Work with the central events team to ensure agreed corporate hospitality events, seminars and webinars are highly targeted and delivered professionally, on budget and in tune with internal best practices.
  • Proactively identify relevant industry conferences and sponsorship opportunities in key markets.
• Legal directory submissions
  • Take ownership for delivering high quality submissions for the Banking and Finance teams in Jersey and Guernsey for the core legal directories, making use of best practice guidance, coordinating referee lists and closely monitoring results and rankings.
• Pitches, proposals and presentations
  • Working with partners, proactively lead and coordinate high-quality Banking & Finance pitches, proposals, credentials, capability statements and client presentations, ensuring materials are commercially relevant, tailored to the opportunity, compelling and consistent with our client’s brand, positioning and value proposition.
  • Act as the main point of contact for bank panel initiatives, coordinating questionnaire responses with internal business services teams and leading global RfP responses for bank panels, supporting the firm to position effectively for panel opportunities and related relationship development.
• Develop own network of peers
  • Build and maintain relationships with external networks including key industry associations, intermediaries and networks relevant to banking and finance to strengthen market intelligence, enhance the profile of the Banking and Finance service line and support relationship development.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Relevant qualifications and 7 years + experience in BD within a legal or professional services environment with evidence of operating credibly with senior stakeholders and delivering commercially meaningful business development outcomes.
• Strong commercial understanding of the legal / professional services market and the Banking and Finance market, including relevant clients, intermediaries, products, competitive dynamics and market trends, with the ability to translate that understanding into focused BD opportunities and partner advice.
• Evidence of developing and implementing commercially focused effective BD plans, campaigns and client targeting programmes.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the confidence and judgement to build trusted relationships and influence stakeholders across different seniority levels and jurisdictions.
• Confidence in meeting and networking with clients, intermediaries and senior professionals in relevant banking and finance markets.
• A strong team player with a collaborative, intelligent, proactive, hands on and pragmatic approach – willingness to actively contribute to both strategy and delivery and share best practices.
• Strong problem solving and analytical abilities.
• Excellent level of attention to detail, project management skills and the ability to manage multiple workstreams across jurisdictions.
• Strong capability in CRM systems, reporting and BD technology is required, with confidence in using data, digital tools and new technology to improve efficiency, targeting and BD effectiveness.
• High proficiency in all aspects of Microsoft Office is required with openness to BD tech tools and continuous improvement, including approved AI-enabled ways of working where appropriate, and contribute to the adoption of more effective and scalable BD processes.