Business Development Manager

Stone King LLP; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Profit Share Scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Life assurance (4 x salary)

Pension scheme

31 days holiday

CSR activity day

Job summary

A national law firm in the UK is seeking a Business Development Manager to drive growth initiatives and manage client relationships. The ideal candidate will have experience in business development, strong analytical skills, and the ability to lead a small team. Responsibilities include implementing client development programmes, managing business development pipelines, and engaging with intermediaries. The firm offers competitive benefits and hybrid working options.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business development or client relationship management.
• Ability to develop and implement growth plans with stakeholders.
• Ability to influence commercial stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Support implementation of client development programmes.
• Maintain and monitor business development pipelines.
• Manage and maintain a sales enablement hub.
• Engage intermediaries and referrers; attend external events to build connections.
• Manage a sales enablement hub to drive cross-selling; ensure resources are up to date.
• Directly manage the BD Executive and lead the team.

Skills

Client relationship management

Analytical skills

Project management

Sales enablement

Leadership

Team leadership

Relationship building

Tools

CRM systems

BD platforms

Job description

About Us

Stone King is an ambitious and purpose-driven firm specialising in the Business & Social Enterprise, Charity, Education, Public Faith and Private Client sectors. Our collaborative culture and core values are intertwined with our ethos of doing the right thing by our clients, communities, and our people. Our passion for the sectors we work in and the purpose-driven work we do with our clients has resulted in SK being recognised as national leaders in our specialist fields across the country.

The opportunity

To drive the delivery of business development initiatives that strengthen client relationships and support growth priorities across Stone King's new matrix structure. Working closely with partners and the Head of BD & Marketing, this role ensures client programmes, pipeline management, and relationship development are executed effectively.

Location

The role can be based in any of our six offices (Bath, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London, or Manchester) and hybrid working will be available.

Reasons to apply

• To be part of an ambitious and collaborative national firm where our culture and values are at the heart of everything we do. We believe our people are our greatest asset and strive to create the best place to work
• Excellent benefits for our people, with a focus on wellbeing and development at the forefront
• Hybrid working – Stone King are proud to be signatories of the Mindful Business Charter as part of our commitment to mental health and wellbeing. We want to support all of our people in achieving a healthy work/life balance and would be happy to speak with prospective candidates about flexible working arrangements

Key Responsibilities

• Client programme delivery
  • Support the implementation of client development programmes for priority clients and groups, ensuring actions are tracked and delivered
  • Coordinate relationship mapping and opportunity identification with partners
• Pipeline Management
  • Maintain and monitor BD pipelines in the firm's CRM system, ensuring data quality and accurate forecasting
  • Drive follow-up discipline for opportunities arising from meetings, events, and referrals
• Opportunity Development
  • Work with partners to progress pursuits, prepare tailored materials, and manage timelines for client-facing activity
  • Ensure BD activity aligns with agreed growth priorities
• Intermediary and referrer engagement
  • Support relationship management with key intermediaries and referrers, including scheduling meetings and coordinating follow-up actions
  • Attend external events where appropriate to represent the firm and build connections
• Sales enablement
  • Manage and maintain a sales enablement hub to drive cross-selling, ensuring tools and resources are accessible and up to date
• Team leadership
  • Directly manage the BD Executive

Requirements

Essential

• Proven experience in business development or client relationship management, supporting growth initiatives and contributing to client acquisition strategies
• Ability to develop and implement growth plans in collaboration with senior stakeholders
• Experience managing complex projects and ensuring timely delivery of initiatives
• Proven track record in managing client development programmes, with the ability to build and foster strategic relationships all with the firm's strategic plan in-mind
• Ability to lead intermediary and referrer relationship management, including attending external events
• Ability to confidently understand performance and create reports with a strong analytical focus to track progress against growth objectives, with the ability to interpret data and provide actionable insights to support decision-making
• Familiarity with CRM and BD platform
• Experience managing sales enablement tools to drive cross-selling opportunities
• Ability to influence stakeholders with a commercial mindset
• Previous experience managing and developing a small team, fostering collaboration and high performance

Desirable

• Previous experience in a similar position within a professional services background or law firm

Personal Attributes

• High attention to detail, with strong proofreading ability to maintain consistency and deliver high-quality content
• Strong organisation skills, taking full ownership of tasks and ensuring delivery within agreed deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey ideas clearly and confidently with colleagues and stakeholders at every level
• Adaptable and proactive, anticipates challenges, and uses initiative to seize opportunities
• Solutions focused approach, balancing client needs with business objectives
• Provides direction, setting clear priorities and aligning team activities with wider firm objectives
• Builds and maintains trusted relationships, acting as a role model and mentor while fostering collaboration across departments
• Communicates with influence, presenting ideas persuasively and engaging stakeholders at all levels
• Demonstrates integrity and professionalism, consistently upholding the firm's core values and inspiring confidence in others

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Individual differences are embraced at Stone King, and we strive to create an environment in which people feel supported and able to be themselves. We are committed to promoting an inclusive working environment that supports the growth and development for all. We are proud to be signatories of the Mindful Business Charter, the Race Fairness Commitment, and the Age Friendly Employer Pledge, and we are a Disability Confident Employer.

Stone King LLP is committed to offering an interview to any job applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the role as defined by the job description and person specification. A full copy of the person specification and job description can be provided by contacting our Recruitment team. In some recruitment situations such as high-peak times, we might need to limit the overall numbers of interviews we offer. This will include the number of interviews offered to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria. When that happens, we'll still aim to offer a proportionate number of interviews to disabled applicants.

We aim to make our recruitment process as inclusive as possible and will make reasonable adjustments where needed. To discuss adjustments or request information in an alternative format, please contact our recruitment team at [e-mail] or 01225 326770.

Stone King LLP is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity by encouraging all our staff to achieve their full potential and guaranteeing that all employment decisions are taken without reference to irrelevant information or discriminatory practices.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Profit Share Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Private Medical Insurance
• Life assurance (4 x salary)
• Pension scheme
• 31 days holiday (in addition to statutory UK holidays)
• Additional day allocated for CSR activities per annum

Closing date

2 March 2026 (Adverts normally close at midday on the closing date, however vacancies may close early if sufficient applications have been received. Therefore we would encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.)

Recruitment agencies - please do not send us unsolicited CVs. If you do so, we reserve the right to contact the candidate directly and your T&Cs will not apply.