Director, Client & Business Development - Corporate & Financial Services

Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm in Canada is seeking a Director of Client & Business Development to enhance market profiles and deepen client relationships. The ideal candidate must have a university degree and a minimum of 10 years in business development within a professional services environment. This role requires strong leadership skills and the ability to manage multiple stakeholders in a fast-paced setting. The position operates under a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility for remote work.

Benefits

Hybrid work arrangements

Diverse and inclusive work environment

Qualifications

• Experience in business development within a professional services firm is mandatory.
• Interest and understanding of capital markets and the financial sector.
• Strong management and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic planning for business development and marketing.
• Manage client relationships and oversee engagement activities.
• Develop and track budgets aligned with group plans.

Skills

Highly organized

Strong leadership

Creative problem-solving

Project management

Excellent communication skills

Education

University degree in marketing, business, communications or English

Minimum 10 years of BD experience

LLB (asset)

Tools

CRM technologies

MS Office

Power BI (asset)

Job description

Overview

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms with more than 1,000 firm members based in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and New York. Osler focuses on advising corporate leaders as well as U.S. and international parties with interests in Canada, and prides itself on attracting bright talent, mentoring, and a collaborative culture. Osler is a dynamic place to further your career.

The Director, Client & Business Development – Corporate and Financial Services (the “Director”) is a senior leader within Osler’s Client Development & Marketing (CD&M) team and a strategic partner to the Corporate Practice (capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, emerging and high growth companies, and related finance sector work) and the Financial Services Practice. Reporting to the Chief Client Officer, the Director develops and executes the business-development vision for the groups, drives profitable growth, enhances market profile, deepens client relationships, leads a team of BD professionals, and collaborates with lawyers and firm leadership to achieve the Corporate group’s commercial objectives. The Director also leads the firm’s competitive intelligence function and stewards this resource to support the goals of the entire CD&M team.

Major Responsibilities and Duties

The Director, with direct and indirect reports, leadership and lawyers from their Practice areas and the broader CD&M team, is responsible for leading, collaborating on, and facilitating the following:

• Strategic Planning: Facilitate the development of strategic BD and marketing plans for the assigned practice groups, including competitive analysis, practice positioning, market profile, cross-selling opportunities and new business targets. Set prioritized goals, timelines and KPI’s.
• Collaborate with practice group leaders and firm leadership to identify key target markets, client segments, and service offerings that will drive growth and differentiation.
• Analyze and provide ongoing updates about key industry and local market trends, aligned with the firm and practice group strategic plans, updating plans as necessary.
• Support individual lawyer BD planning initiatives.
• Client Activities: Relationship management, proposals and other engagement activities. Examples: Lead key account management to strengthen client relationships. Guide client relationship partners in planning and executing firm-wide activities focused on strategic clients, including monitoring investment and ROI. Develop and implement client engagement strategies using the CRM platform and other tools.
• Proposals and submissions: Work with Pursuits team on strategic pitches and proposal responses; advise on content and positioning for RFP responses, credentials, and other sales documents.
• CPD & CLE programming: Develop and coordinate client-related education and entertainment programs (seminars, webinars, receptions, networking events, etc.).
• New Business Opportunities: Assist in developing new business opportunities, including generating prospect lists and coordinating information gathering on target clients, industries or geographies.
• Competitive intelligence program leadership: Work with the CCO and CD&M leadership to establish and integrate the firm’s Competitive Intelligence (CI) function, defining its strategic mandate, processes, and deliverables in collaboration with stakeholders across CD&M and firm leadership. Determine the highest and best use of CI outputs, refining focus to align with strategic priorities and client opportunities.
• Champion the adoption of AI-driven research and analytics to generate actionable insights for a competitive advantage.
• Marketing and Communications Strategy: Develop and execute a marketing strategy with the Marketing and Communications Team that aligns with business objectives and enhances market positioning. Coordinate internal and external messaging, digital content, and thought leadership activities.
• Practice and Lawyer Brand Building: Activities may include: Market Recognition: Manage awards, directories and league tables submissions for assigned groups.
• Conferences and Sponsorships: Identify networking and speaking opportunities aligned with BD goals.
• Collateral: Ensure bios, deal lists, and marketing materials are current; digital content is up-to-date.
• Media: Identify opportunities for visibility with business, trade, and legal media; coordinate with the firm’s media team and lawyers on messaging.
• Other Activities to Maximize BD Effectiveness and Client Impact: Examples include: Transitions & Succession Planning: Design structured transition and succession plans for legal personnel approaching retirement in collaboration with firm leadership.
• Data Management: Manage BD data for assigned practices and groups, including databases, league tables, statistics and contact lists.
• Budgeting: Develop and track BD budgets aligned with group plans.
• Internal Communications & Collaboration: Promote collaboration among lawyers; disseminate information about BD activities and client achievements within the firm.
• Training and Mentorship: Develop programs for lawyers focused on BD, cross-selling, client-retention and marketing activities.
• People Leadership: Lead a high-performing BD team, fostering excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement. Design and implement training and mentoring to build capabilities across the team.
• Provide leadership and strategic direction to the Competitive Intelligence (CI) Research role; manage workload and pipeline to deploy CI against high-value BD priorities.

Education and Experience

The position requires a university degree in marketing, business, communications or English and a minimum of 10 years of BD experience within a professional services firm. An LLB is an asset, and an interest and understanding of capital markets and the financial sector and / or the legal space is mandatory. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience is acceptable.

Knowledge and Skills

• Highly organized, proactive, and client-service oriented
• Strong leadership, collaboration and management skills with experience in shared resource management and balancing stakeholder priorities
• Creative and collaborative problem-solving for client and BD initiatives
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and rally teams
• Strategic thinking and analytical skills with strong interpersonal and listening abilities
• Project management, prioritization, deadline management and accountability for quality work product
• Knowledge of local markets and business communities; ability to stay current with market and competitive trends
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• CRM technologies knowledge and integration with marketing platforms
• Ability to lead and mentor junior team members in BD and marketing
• Comfort with relevant technology and marketing media
• General knowledge of how a law firm and practices operate
• Proficient in MS Office; familiarity with AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT); Power BI is an asset

We operate in a hybrid work arrangement, requiring primarily in-office work with the option to work remotely up to two days per week.

Accessibility and Accommodation

We thank all applicants for their interest; only chosen applicants will be contacted. Osler is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment and welcomes applications from people with disabilities and diverse backgrounds. Accommodations are available upon request during all phases of the selection process.

Background and Reference Checks

Any offer of employment is conditional upon background and reference checks, including a criminal record check, credit check, and employment and educational verifications.

If you have the required background and wish to work at one of Canada’s leading law firms, please reply with a cover letter and résumé by the closing date.

LI-Hybrid

LI-MS1

J-18808-Ljbffr