Business Development Executive

Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance their most important assets - their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.

With offices in London, Oxford, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong, we are recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture, market-leading practice areas, sector focused approach and for providing solutions to complex, multijurisdictional business challenges, with a pragmatic and human touch. We have two things at our core: people — both ours and our clients’— and a focus on creative, tech and innovative businesses.

Our culture is encapsulated by an ethos of bravery and kindness, guided by our values of Integrity, Clarity, Unity and Excellence (our ‘I-CUE’). We aim to provide a supportive environment for our people, clients and wider community and embrace diversity & inclusion, ensuring people are able to bring their full selves to work.

The Business Development & Marketing team is comprised of two teams – Business Development (Sectors and Practices) and Marketing Communications.

The Marketing Communications team delivers a range of core firm wide services including digital marketing and brand management, design, marketing tech, events management, marketing data/reporting, internal and external communications.

The Business Development teams provide a broad range of strategic and day to day marketing and business development support as well as managing a range of cross-practice and firm-wide initiatives.

Team members are aligned the firm-wide legal practice and sector groups providing a broad range of business development and marketing support to those groups, and managing a range of cross-practice, firm-wide initiatives.

The Business Development Executive will support a BD Manager working with Corporate, Real Estate and Data practice groups and our Tech and Retail, Hospitality & Leisure sectors. The role will involve helping these groups with their plans to grow fees from existing clients and develop new client relationships. The job holder will focus primarily on business development activities (targeting new business, proposals etc) but will need to have a broad skill set and aptitude for a wider range of marketing activities to support group initiatives.  Specific responsibilities include:

1. Proposals: assisting in the preparation of proposals, working with teams on preparing for proposal presentations, compiling a credentials database, monitoring proposal win/loss rates.
2. Directory submissions: Support the BD Manager, and project manage, the compilation of directory submissions for all categories associated with the Division.
3. Sector specific/specialist groups support: Working with teams on specific sector and/or specialist service initiatives; the role holder with have the opportunity to carry out sector/service research, identify new clients and implement plans which will increase our profile, win new clients and generate additional fees as well as implement marketing initiatives e.g. events, publications, digital marketing etc.
4. New business: Inputting to the management and development of a ‘pipeline’ for new business for the division; This may involve researching new clients, working with teams and individuals who are targeting new clients to identify opportunities to raise our profile with them, communicating to the wider department these activities etc.
5. Client development: Work with the BD Manager, Co-Directors of BD and lawyers to help manage client development – both existing clients and the ‘pipeline’ of client opportunities; providing research, analysis, information on fees, cross-selling opportunities etc.
6. Other support: Carrying out a range of activities that complement the above – this may include:
   • Promoting the effective use of the firm’s CRM database (Interaction); cleansing data for key clients and pipeline targets.
   • Events: implementing a number of the events as part of the sector and specialist group plans and assisting the team on other events throughout the year
   • Assisting with marketing communications projects such as industry award submissions, updating of brochures, team sheets, newsletters, website content, etc

Experience and Skills Required

• Degree or equivalent education; preferably CIM qualified to introductory or Professional Certificate level.
• Expectation that the successful candidate will have at least 3 years experience, preferably in a professional services environment, ideally legal.
• Good all round business development and marketing skills. The role may particularly suit someone who has had exposure to a range of different projects but who has, or is looking, to develop their skills on business development projects as outlined above.
• Good written and communication skills, with an ability to communicate at all levels from senior partner to junior staff.
• Comfortable taking a brief for a project, working as part of a project team with supervision or working on own initiative.
• Proactive attitude, seeking out opportunities for development and learning.
• Sense of humour, drive and tenacity.
• Flexibility to work additional or out of office hours, where business needs dictate.
• Advanced Skills in MS Office packages, including MS Publisher and experience of database management, preferably knowledge of Interaction.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to finding the right person for this role and are open to discussing flexible working patterns and office location.