Marketing and Business Development Assistant - International Technology & Communications groups

The opportunity

We are looking for a talented Marketing & Business Development professional to join Bird & Bird’s International Technology & Communications groups, to drive forward their MBD activities. The successful candidate will work closely with the TMT Business Development and Client relationship teams, reporting into the Tech & Comms Business Development Manager, and will develop good working relationships with partners, lawyers and other MBD colleagues worldwide.

You will get great on the job training and experience as part of our high functioning and experienced central MBD team. You will be eligible for professional training courses offered by our external training partners and our internal Learning and Development team. You will work with stakeholders at all levels across our international firm. You will be part of a friendly and supportive Business Services team who will help to guide and support your career development. And you’ll be working for a top international law firm with strong market presence and a reputation for being tech focussed, with a cutting-edge approach and a friendly and supportive culture.

The team

You’ll be joining our Central Marketing & Business Development (MBD) team who work in partnership with senior stakeholders across the firm to set the strategy and shape the tactics to build our firm's profile. They help to win new work and strengthen and deepen client relationships, using a data driven and sales focused approach. The team is mostly based in London and is made up of over 60 specialists in marketing communications, business development and client service.

As a central team we lead global activities while working closely with our network of MBD colleagues based across our international offices. Whether it's driving a new content strategy, pitching for cutting-edge work, building our brand, or contributing to the development of our client relationships, we're committed to providing exceptional service to the firm and are known for leading the way when it comes to new technology and solutions. Energetic, creative and global, we're looking for people who have a passion for MBD and are keen to take a fresh approach.

Your Client Groups:

Technology & Communications

Our International Technology & Communications sector group is made up of more than 900 lawyers across Europe, the Middle East and APAC, who have spent their careers guiding many of the leading blue chip tech multinationals, as well as the next generation of game changing disrupters. Universally recognised as international market leaders, we work with businesses who are driving forward innovation and developing some of the most cutting-edge and disruptive technology in the world, including 5G, blockchain, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence.

This role will also support a number of established cross-sector interest groups focused on

Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Data, Tokens and Digital IDs &Trust.

As well as our Regulatory and Tech Transactions practice groups, which are closely aligned to the wider T&C sector group.

What you'll do

You’ll support the implementation of the international MBD plans for our TMT groups. This role will largely focus on the marketing/operational activities, covering the entire portfolio and supporting the BD Managers and Client team-members who will have a greater focus on the BD, winning new work and client relationship activities. Your role will include:

• Supporting on marketing implementation to execute MBD plans for the groups
• Supporting business development and client focused activities involved in winning new work and the client relationship journey
• Helping to encourage lawyer involvement in marketing activities by clearly communicating the value and rationale of various strategies and initiatives

Reputation and positioning: going to market in an effective and efficient manner

• Supporting the execution and implementation of the MBD plans for the two groups. Supporting the facilitation of cross-selling opportunities with other appropriate sector/practice/country teams, including client/industry research, reporting and advising on key findings.
• Helping produce excellent and up-to-date marketing materials (e.g. brochures, flyers, social media posts etc).
• Leading on the creation of regular newsletters and ad hoc client alerts.
• Supporting the coordination of key digital marketing tools such as blogs, apps, videos, podcasts and online resources.
• Supporting pitches, bids, and tenders, adhering to the firm's best practice guide.
• Supporting on event preparation (including Bird & Bird-led seminars/webinars, as well as industry conferences), ensuring that value is derived and recorded (e.g. creating targeted lists and assisting with follow-up actions).
• Assisting in the preparation and co-ordination of legal directory and awards submissions and publication of rankings and client testimonials
• Working to periodically recommend updates to the group’s website and pitch content.
• Updating content in the groups’ apps and helping create new apps if necessary.

Infrastructure, process and principles: delivering first time every time with consistent and rigorous standards

• Developing and maintaining key MBD-related infrastructure, including the intranet, CRM (contact management system), Loopio (credentials database) and pitch related content.
• Attending and preparing for all appropriate group meetings, contributing to the agenda and following up regarding relevant initiatives.
• Supporting with the preparation for group retreats and group/strategy meetings.
• Helping ensure that outcomes from initiatives are monitored and reviewed effectively.
• Helping insure that client/industry knowledge, intelligence and team news is shared within the groups.
• Supporting with the management of the marketing budget, including providing data to help understand the ROI, value, and opportunity cost of initiatives.
• Monitoring and responding to general BD queries.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is interested in the world and emerging trends, is curious and loves solving problems. Someone who is driven to achieve and improve, who sees opportunity in change and knows sometimes it’s more art than science. You should be able to build long lasting and effective relationships easily and when it counts, just roll up your sleeves and get on board.

Your education and technical skills:

• A degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or related field (or equivalent experience)
• Previous experience (such as an internship) in professional services environment, ideally with international exposure, would be a plus
• Experience supporting senior stakeholders would be helpful in this role
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Strong commercial awareness, including experience of/an interest in the key legal and commercial issues affecting the sector/practice groups.
• Strong writing skills, editing ability and proficiency in MS applications including Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel, experience with other platforms such as Salesforce/Vuture etc. would be a bonus
• Willingness to learn to use new tools and AI-powered legal technology to improve efficiency and workflow processes
• Excellent communications skills, both written and verbal, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.
• An understanding of social media’s benefits and application.

Other desired attributes:

• Business development experience is a plus, including in relation to pitching and targeting campaigns
• A pro-active mind-set, willingness to learn and desire to deliver high quality work.
• Ability to work flexibly in a fast-paced environment with changing deadlines.
• A positive, enthusiastic and flexible attitude.
• Driven to achieve and improve with a desire to develop skills and knowledge relevant to the role.
• Takes responsibility for their own tasks and shows integrity.
• Ability to multitask, to prioritise projects and respond quickly to urgent requests with tight deadlines.
• Attention to detail

The main responsibilities of this role are outlined above; however, this description is not exhaustive, and the job holder may be required to undertake additional duties from time to time to ensure the smooth running of the department. The role may require some working outside our normal working hours of 9:30am- 5:30pm.