About Ashurst:

Ashurst is a leading progressive global law firm with a rich history spanning more than 200 years. We are proud of our history and are future-focused, having expanded into new technologies through our NewLaw division, Ashurst Advance, and our consulting arm. Our in-depth understanding of our clients and commitment to providing excellent standards of service have seen us become a trusted adviser to local and global corporates, financial institutions and governments in all areas of commercial law. To find out more please visit www.ashurst.com

Overview of Ashurst Advance

ROLE OVERVIEW:

This role is responsible for leading our business development and client engagement efforts for our 'NewLaw' Division, within EMEA. The Senior Business Development Executive is responsible for working with the leadership team to support the development and execution of the Ashurst Advance strategic Business Development plan and for managing the effective execution of the go-to-market-strategy.

This role requires taking ownership of developing a clear understanding of our clients and their strategies, challenges and opportunities to ensure we are furthering our relationships for Ashurst Advance across senior client decision makers. To be successful, a strong understanding of a traditional law firm offering, practice group 'products' and 'NewLaw' products is essential.

This is a market facing role and also involves significant interaction with internal stakeholders across practice and industry lines.

DIVISION OVERVIEW

Ashurst Advance is the award winning and rapidly growing 'NewLaw' division of Ashurst. Ashurst Advance provides dynamic solutions by innovating across three key elements of legal service delivery: process, resources and technology. We successfully combine the Ashurst Advance capabilities with our legal subject matter experts and Risk Advisory and Board Advisory experts in one fully integrated team to offer clients legal and advisory excellence with efficient delivery and digital enablement.

Our holistic methodology, focusing on process, resource and technology, allows us to tailor our approach to the matter in hand, ensuring the relevant specialists from each area are assigned to the right tasks.

Ashurst Advance has two business units: Ashurst Advance Delivery and Ashurst Advance Digital:

•  Ashurst Advance Delivery provides dynamic solutions to our clients' efficiency challenges, focusing on three key areas of legal service delivery: people, process and technology. Our platform includes high quality but lower cost legal analysts, process specialists encompassing both legal project managers and legal process improvement managers, a flexible legal resourcing service and a team of eDiscovery professionals. We combine each of these elements with our Ashurst Advance Digital capability and our legal subject matter experts in the relevant field in a fully integrated team to offer our clients legal excellence with efficient delivery.
•  Ashurst Advance Digital is our digital transformation unit where we create and distribute innovative digital products tailored to our clients' needs.

Responsibilities:

Business development:

• Provide tactical/creative advice to Ashurst Advance leadership team to help drive their marketing/BD efforts, regularly reviewing and reporting on progress versus objectives
• Provide high quality pro-active business development support in a timely and professional manner
• Maintain and give active qualitative input into the content of publications and promotional materials (liaising with the design and editing team as required)
• Manage the distribution of promotional materials, including compilation and management of mailing lists and managing distribution logistics
• Maintain key information systems, such as the firms intranet and website, ensuring content is as up to date and relevant as possible
• Ensure all materials, pitch records, CVs, experience statements and contact/mailing lists are clean, up-to-date and easily accessible
• Liaise with leadership team on a regular basis to keep up-to-date with what is happening in their respective teams and to facilitate flow to the PR team and internal communications team
• Keep up to date with relevant trade/industry press, highlighting articles of interest to the leadership team and proactively work with the PR team on media opportunities, reporting back any coverage
• Build and maintain a good working relationship with the global BD department, promoting Ashurst Advance service offering, and identify opportunities
• Work effectively with the Legal Analyst Development team to raise awareness of the alternative legal careers offered through Ashurst Advance
• Act as an advocate for the BD department, ensuring key messages, brand strategy and marketing output in all its forms is properly understood and appreciated by Ashurst Advance leadership team

Pitching:

• Assist in developing new business, includes providing background research, collating information on the teams experience and drafting copy to produce a focused business proposal highlighting the relevant Ashurst Advance team's expertise
• Manage the production of pitches with great attention to detail and to agreed deadlines
• Provide strategic input on pitches, including suggestions and guidance on fee proposals
• Collaborate effectively with pitch teams to create unique ideas, solutions or approaches to deliver winning pitches
• Organise and manage rehearsals for presentations where necessary
• Maintain the content of the pitch automation system; including regular updates as well as monitoring opportunities and making recommendations for enhancements
• Monitor market/industry trends to ensure that Ashurst Advance's pitch capability keeps pace with competitors and takes advantage of new pitch techniques and technologies, and make recommendations for change

Risk and Control: Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with our regulatory requirements and internal policies.

• Risk and Control: Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with our regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Essential skills and experience:

• Solid experience working in a BD/marketing role within a professional services firm
• Proven success in introducing new business development initiatives to the business
• Campaign management experience
• Authoritative and analytical with the ability to command senior stakeholder respect
• Ability to juggle a busy and varied workload, prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
• Dynamism and great all-round communication skills
• Determination and commitment to ensure successful completion of projects
• Creativity and initiative
• Excellent attention to detail
• High level of confidentiality, discretion and diplomacy
• Lateral thinking and the ability to overcome obstacles