The role

DLA Piper, a leading global law firm, is looking for a commercially minded professional to join as a Commercial Finance Business Partner who will be a key part of our best in class Pricing and Profitability team sitting within the Finance function.

Located ideally in Sheffield (Leeds or Manchester will also be considered), the ideal candidate may have previous experience within a commercial finance function and demonstrate exceptional analytical skills, encompassed with an outstanding interpersonal manner and well-developed stakeholder relationship management.

The firm’s increasing focus on a client and sector driven approach to developing the business has only enhanced the demand for pricing support and profitability analysis of our work for clients. This has been an area of investment for the firm, both by way of increased resource and investing in new technology, as the function supports our Partners at an international level.

Under the direction of the Senior Commercial Finance Manager, this Business Partner will drive the client profitability and pricing agenda at DLA Piper; working with the team to provide relevant and practical advice, liaising with Heads of Operations across the Firm’s regions and practice areas, with ongoing partnering and a co-ordinated approach internationally.

The role is both business and client facing and will require frequent collaboration with key stakeholders and senior colleagues within the finance department, the fee earning community and other business services functions.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Raise awareness of client profitability across the Firm’s matrix, proactively engaging with stakeholders to inform them of the process and drive greater levels of profitability internationally
• Collaboration with both the wider Business Partnering Finance function and other client facing functions such as Pitch, Legal Project Management and Business Development amongst others
• Work closely with International Sector Heads on client strategy initiatives and pricing governance. Ability to provide regular finance updates, key trends, and guidance on overall profitability whilst keeping abreast of industry trends to enhance the information we provide
• Work closely with partners to prepare and propose alternative fee arrangements that meet both client and business requirements, whilst confidently being able to challenge partners and influence a stronger outcome.
• Interpret requirements within RFPs to prepare tactical pricing proposals, with a focus on client strategy, type of advice and firm targets with knowledge and experience in preparing innovative pricing proposals, understanding how to mitigate risk and assess profitability outcomes
• Responsible for proactively following up on successful arrangements with partners at routine intervals in a consistent manner, assessing profitability and reviewing scope change against signed Terms of Business, and preparing concise actions to improve matter management and profitability
• Collaborating with partners and the Client Management Team to maximise the value of client relationships, primarily those within our Key Client and Sector growth client programmes
• Working closely with Finance Business Partners, Sector Leaders, Practice Group Leaders, business support teams and the general partnership to identify gaps in training and provide outreach and support across the entire Firm.

ABOUT YOU

• A strong grounding and experience in commercial finance
• Ability to analyse and model financial data and prepare concise “client ready” reports to assist strategic discussions – advanced user of Excel and PowerPoint
• A continuous improvement mentality to support development of self, colleagues and business processes and interactions
• Excellent communication skills – both written and verbal
• ACCA / ACA / CIMA qualified is desirable but not essential
• Confident presence, and interpersonal skills that enable effective engagement and collaboration with the Firm’s most senior Partners and Directors.
• Tenacity, resilience and patience when dealing with difficult and challenging issues and calmness under pressure
• Flexibility and able to adapt readily to changing requirements and circumstances
• Dynamic problem solving abilities; finding creative, commercial and pragmatic solutions, leading on initiatives in the Sectors, pricing and profitability areas
• The ability to work well and operate comfortably within a partnership structure / culture
• Ability to build relationships with, and influence, senior stakeholders to ensure our commercial perspective is clearly communicated.
• Ability to flex working style to collaborate across functions and geographies and adapt to change.

ABOUT US

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.

OUR VALUES

In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

• Be Supportive – we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully
• Be Collaborative – we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships
• Be Bold – we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions
• Be Exceptional – we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

HYBRID WORKING

We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That’s why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.

PRE-ENGAGEMENT SCREENING

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits and where relevant, we will conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and work-related references.