BD Manager - ESG and Sustainability - 12 month FTC

We are hiring a Business Development Manager to support our ESG and Sustainability practice in London covering a period of maternity leave for 12 months.

Department purpose
A&O Shearman's global Marketing, Business Development and Communication team contributes to the setting and achievement of the firm's strategic business objectives. This includes adopting a sector-focused approach to presenting the firm's expertise, managing the firm's relationships with our key, global strategic clients and identifying opportunities to broaden those relationships in to new areas of business.

Role purpose
A&O Shearman's market-leading cross-practice and global Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) group advises on environmental and sustainability issues impacting businesses across all sectors and jurisdictions. Businesses from the financial sector through to the real economy, have been reshaping how they look at their sustainability obligations. This is driven by a significant rise in the level of ESG/sustainability-related law, policy and regulation that will have a material effect on our clients over the next decade, increased shareholder and NGO activism, market-led initiatives and litigation against both corporates and States.

The team provides strategic transaction advice on due diligence, contractual negotiations and sector-specific regulations, while helping organizations with specialist regulatory issues impacting on governance, risk management and regulatory compliance. Their expertise spans highly topical areas including sustainability reporting and disclosure, transition planning, supply chain due diligence and sustainability-related impacts, carbon markets and carbon border adjustment mechanisms, chemicals, packaging and waste.

This role will help manage day-to-day business development for our global ESG practice, working closely alongside partners globally, colleagues in the wider CRM, BD and marcomms team as well as Knowledge Lawyers. This position will play a key role in the development and implementation of our ESG strategy; go to market proposition and client targeting efforts. The individual will be instrumental in helping to coordinate our firm-wide efforts across practice groups, sector teams and offices to ensure a structured approach to pursuing and converting opportunities.

On a topic that will be one of the major macro-economic and societal trends driving the business agenda in future years, having someone examine ESG across practice groups, sectors, offices and clients, helping to pull together the various strands of activity across the firm, ensuring the right people are involved and developing a structured and targeted approach to opportunities will ensure A&O Shearman is seen as one of the 'go to' firms in the market.

Role and responsibilities

• Lead on preparing client pitches, panel proposals and credentials statements for the ESG and Sustainability team. Alongside capturing proposal outcomes and prompting fee earners to act upon feedback and lead on client listening as and when necessary.
• Own and update all ESG and sustainability-related marketing collateral.
• Drive and coordinate BD activity for the global team from London, working closely with the Global Co-Heads of the Environment and Climate Law Group, who are based in London and New York.
• Work closely with team members in our Belfast office on client pitches, events and maintenance of marketing collateral such as credentials, lawyer CVs and brochures.
• Lead on creating directory and award submissions in an effort to increase the market presence of the practice.
• Be responsible for the timeliness, consistency and quality of BD tools. Work with PAs to ensure email distribution and target lists are kept up to date and track and ensure deal information is regularly and accurately captured in the firm's experience system.
• To lead and manage client events and conference sponsorship.
• Challenge partners where appropriate on best use of hospitality opportunities and marketing budget spend. Track marketing spend against clients and individuals/teams within clients to ensure activities are aligned with overall strategic priorities and to measure return on investment.
• Track market, client and competitor trends and developments to inform our ESG strategy and help identify opportunities for revenue growth.
• Help define forward-looking 'go to market' propositions and develop associated multi-channel campaigns and coordinated client targeting initiatives, working with Business Development colleagues, PSLs and CRM as appropriate.
• Identify appropriate industry events at which to showcase our expertise, coordinating our involvement where appropriate.
• Facilitate internal knowledge sharing amongst key stakeholders and client relationship teams.

Key requirements

• Graduate (or equivalent).
• Relevant business development and marketing experience at an equivalent BD Manager level within a professional services organisation, with exposure to multiple practice groups or service lines.
• Some knowledge of ESG/sustainability preferred or decarbonisation and energy transition, otherwise a willingness to develop an understanding and keep up-to-date with industry trends and developments is critical.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills.
• A proactive approach, balancing creativity, tenacity and energy.
• High attention to detail and strong client focus.
• A commercial and ambitious individual with a global mind-set and a proven track record in a similar professional services environment, driven to work in a high performance business development team at a global law firm where commercial insight, developing strong personal relationships and achieving tangible results are valued and recognised.
• Experience in driving campaigns and client targeting initiatives.
• Ability to work to deadlines, juggle multiple projects and deliver under pressure. Ability to plan ahead, anticipate one's own workload and knowing how to work with busy fee earners, balancing conflicting priorities and closely managing expectations.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.