Business Development Specialist - Commercial Practice Group

Baker McKenzie; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Baker McKenzie in Washington, DC, seeks a Senior Business Development and Marketing Coordinator to support the Practice Group's growth, coordinate pitches, and manage marketing collateral. The role collaborates with partners and other groups, oversees proposals, client research, directory submissions, events, and digital content, and tracks ROI and budget with senior BDMC members.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in marketing/BD in professional services and strong communication, organization,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business or related field required.
• 5+ years in a marketing and/or business development role, preferably in professional services.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Business Development – identify opportunities with new and existing clients and cross-sell with other groups.
• Proposals – assist with content, responses, and capability statements for proposals/RFPs.
• Client Relationship Management – research clients, maintain CRM data, and share insights with teams.
• Marketing Collateral – develop and maintain client materials and update rankings/awards content.
• Business Planning – support planning materials, track progress against plans, alert partners as needed.
• Directories – help prepare directory submissions and track rankings/awards.
• Media & Social Media – assist in content for social channels and attorney profile building.
• Brand & Events – support branding, website updates, and client seminars/events.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Excellent communication

Project coordination

Marketing/BD knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business

Tools

QorusDocs

Marketo

Intapp DealCloud

CRM systems

Copilot/AI tools

Job description

To coordinate the In-Market operations and plans for the Practice Group, including supporting pitches and proposals, overseeing the maintenance of business development and marketing collateral for the Practice Group, assisting in business planning, monitoring progress against planned priorities, evaluating ROI, and assisting with submissions for directories and awards. In coordination with senior BDMC team members, improve the profile of the Practice Group and support the Practice Group’s events/webinars, and provide support to develop a strategic focused, market-leading BDMC business-partnering capability which enables the Practice Group to win, retain and grow business through consistently high standards, engaging thought leadership as well as strong relationship and account management.

The role is results-oriented and designed to be instrumental in supporting the strategic objectives of the North America Office, BDMC, and the Practice Group. A primary focus of the position will be to assist in the expansion of work in the Practice Group from the Firm's existing client base, as well as to develop new opportunities from new clients.

Main responsibilities

• Business Development – Works with the Practice Group to identify business opportunities with new and existing clients. Works with other practice groups and industry groups to develop new work and cross selling opportunities and assists those groups to develop and implement strategies to capture those opportunities.
• Proposals – Provides assistance with the development of proposals, RFP responses and capability statements, including: collecting and drafting relevant content such as practice area descriptions, representative matters, and client/matter information. Helps to quality assure and produce the final product.
• Client Relationship Management – Conducts client research, including research on Firm specific information such as billings, matters, and relevant timekeepers. Liaises and exchanges information with other practice groups targeting the same clients. Contributes to and pulls information from Firm's CRM system.
• Business Development and Marketing Collateral – Develops and maintains marketing collateral. Collects client/matter information for all practice sub-groups, updates practice group information, relevant capability statements, rankings and awards, CVs and any other relevant materials, including those appearing on the Firm’s external website.
• Business Planning – Assists with the preparation of materials and conducts research to facilitate business planning. Tracks progress against the practice group business plan and in consultation with the BDMC senior management, proactively notifies and follows up with accountable partners as needed.
• Directories – Assists in in preparation of directory submissions, including working with the Directories team to collect content and prepare a draft response of the Practice Group’s submission to directories, helping to build relationships with key publications and directories, such as Chambers and Legal 500. Tracks all rankings and awards, including the above directories.
• Media and Social Media – Works in conjunction with the communications team to assist in identifying relevant content for social media channels. Works with attorneys to develop their own social media channels to promote the Firm and their practice, and tracking media mentions on behalf of the Practice Group. Posts practice group content to DSM8 platform to aid in attorney profile building.
• Profiling – Assesses other profile raising activities against the strategic objectives of the Practice Group and conducts a cost/benefit analysis. This includes engaging in sponsorship and conference opportunities, memberships and associations. Produces, distributes, and tracks client alerts and internal and external newsletters.
• Brand Management – Ensures the Firm's brand and that of the Practice Group is maintained. Coordinates with the Firm’s web support team to ensure website content is up to date and relevant.
• Firm Positioning and Events – Maintains the Practice Group’s mailing lists. Works with the local office resource(s) to execute the Practice Group's client seminars, conferences, webinars, internal meetings, sponsorships/partnerships with outside organizations, and all other events in which Firm and Practice Group representation and participation are necessary.
• Budget Management – Works with the Practice Group's BDMC senior management to develop business cases for budget requests based on business planning and is aware of the budget available from both Regional and Global sources. Monitors Practice Group business development expenditures, develops and obtains necessary approval on all business development expenses from practice group managers.
• Practice Group Administration – Maintains Practice Group’s email distribution lists and calendar. Updates Practice Group intranet site with relevant material. Supports matter database collection and uploads. Supports Practice Group's external blogs.
• Other duties as assigned to develop and drive regional strategy.

Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree is required, preferably in marketing, communications, marketing, business, or related field
• Five or more years' experience in a marketing and/or business development role, preferably in a professional services environment
• Well-developed and sophisticated organization, communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to relate to and gain the confidence of people at all levels within an organization, as well as an ability to build strong relationships and work in a collaborative environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to effectively coordinate competing priorities
• Strong judgment and ability to suggest well-reasoned independent recommendations and ideas
• A good, developed practical understanding of marketing and communications
• Self-motivated and independent, able to work with a minimum of supervision
• Comfortable working across multiple cultures and time zones in a matrix organization
• High degree of attention to detail
• High level of energy and persistence, and understanding of the importance of delivering exceptional customer service to internal and external clients
• Strong technical skills and familiarity with internet and web-based platforms
• Experience using Microsoft Copilot and AI-enabled technologies to support client and market research, pitch and proposal development, event planning, reporting, and the creation of business development and marketing content
• Familiarity with QorusDocs, Marketo, Intapp DealCloud and other business development and marketing technology platforms is a plus, including experience supporting proposal development, email marketing campaigns, and content management initiatives.