Business Development Manager (5664)

Irwin Mitchell LLP; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading national law firm in the UK seeks a Business Development Manager to enhance their Business Services Group. The role involves developing business strategies, managing client relationships, and collaborating with teams for growth. Ideal candidates have experience in a legal or professional services environment and a proven ability to drive business initiatives while ensuring client satisfaction.

Benefits

25 days holidays plus bank holidays

Generous pension schemes

Volunteering days

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in business development within a medium to large organization, ideally in the legal sector.
• A proactive, market-facing approach, with a strong track record of building relationships.
• Strong strategic thinking and financial planning skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute business development strategies to drive profitable revenue and client acquisition.
• Build and grow new business pipelines while deepening existing client relationships.
• Collaborate with teams to identify and maximize domestic and international opportunities.

Skills

Business development strategies

Relationship building

Strategic thinking

Data literacy

Job description

We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our legal experts are here for you. Whether it’s personal or business, we understand that everyone’s situation is different. But we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team of people working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs. Working here you’ll feel a part of our friendly and inclusive environment.

We’ll value you for who you are and what you bring. We support each other and push boundaries to achieve incredible things and make a real difference to our clients and communities.

We're always looking to support our colleagues to work in a way that works best for them and everyone else, including our clients, the business and the regulators. Please speak to a member of our Recruitment and Onboarding team for more information.

What You’ll Be Doing

We’re looking for a strategic and commercially minded Business Development Manager to join our Marketing and Business Development team. This role is aligned to our Business Services Group - a dynamic division of Irwin Mitchell that delivers commercially focused legal and advisory services to support businesses in achieving strategic growth and managing risk – both domestically and internationally.

You’ll be responsible for shaping and delivering business development strategies, managing a strong pipeline of opportunities, and driving growth in line with both commercial and strategic objectives. Working closely with colleagues across the Marketing team, particularly within Acquisition and Campaigns, you’ll play a key role in identifying, securing, and nurturing new and existing client relationships.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Lead and execute business development strategies to drive profitable revenue and client acquisition.
• Build and grow new business pipelines while deepening existing client relationships.
• Collaborate with Business Development Managers across units to identify and maximise domestic and international opportunities.
• Use data insights and reporting tools to track performance and inform commercial decisions.
• Actively engage in the market—attend meetings, identify opportunities, and build strategic partnerships.
• Promote and advise on the Group’s legal and financial services to external clients and contacts.
• Manage accurate budget forecasting aligned with business unit goals.
• Prepare business cases and proposals to support growth initiatives.
• Work closely with Marketing and BD teams to ensure aligned support and execution.
• Own key accounts and partnerships, driving ROI through strategic action plans.
• Support bid and tender strategies in collaboration with the Bids and Acquisitions Team.
• Champion CRM usage to track relationships, identify risks, and drive growth.

About You

• Extensive experience in business development within a medium to large organisation, ideally within the legal sector or professional services
• A proactive, market-facing approach, with a strong track record of building relationships with clients, intermediaries, and partners
• The ability to work autonomously, while also thriving in collaborative, cross-functional teams.
• Strong strategic thinking and financial planning skills, with a focus on long-term growth and ROI.
• A natural ability to anticipate opportunities and challenges, always considering the bigger picture.
• A commitment to high standards, leading by example with resilience and accountability.
• A passion for client service excellence, always seeking to exceed expectations.
• Strong data literacy, using insights to inform decisions and encourage data-driven thinking in others.
• A flexible, creative mindset—comfortable with change and always looking for better ways to do things.

Our Benefits - What We Can Offer You

• 25 days holidays as standard plus bank holidays - You can ‘buy’ up to 35hrs of extra holiday too.
• Generous and flexible pension schemes.
• Volunteering days – Two days of volunteering every year for a cause of your choice (fully paid)
• Westfield Health membership, offering refunds on medical services alongside our Aviva Digital GP services.

We also offer a wide range of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace and to make sure you’re fully supported. This includes our Flexible by Choice programme which gives our colleagues more choice over a hybrid way of working subject to role, team and client requirements.

We have been ranked in the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing for Large Organisations for 2024!

Our responsible business programmes are fundamental to who we are and our purpose. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish, and we have established a number of inclusion network groups across our business to support this aim.

Our commitment to Social Responsibility, community investment activity and tackling climate change is a fundamental part of who we are. It’s made up of four strands: Our People, Our Community, Our Environment and Our Pro Bono.

Additional Information

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, colleagues, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

We carry out pre employment screening to establish your eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record and financial checks with our trusted 3rd parties.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.

We\'re proud of our values, and we\'re looking for people who share them

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