Senior Business Development Specialist

Baker McKenzie; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Baker McKenzie in New York seeks a Business Development Senior Specialist to advance the office's strategic growth through BD and client engagement initiatives. You will advise partners, lead market-facing activities, and align with the firm's strategic goals across major client programs, events, pitches, and proposals.

The role sits in the In‑Market Client Development team and requires strong BD/marketing experience in a law firm environment, exceptional communication, and the ability to manage

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or business required.
• Strong BD and marketing experience, preferably in a law firm.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work with minimal supervision.
• Outstanding organization and interpersonal skills with cross‑team collaboration.
• Strong project management and ability to handle multiple deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Firm Profiling and Events – organize seminars, receptions, and local events.
• External Engagements – manage sponsorships and networking opportunities.
• Business Development – identify new opportunities and cross-sell with clients.
• Client Relationship Management – support client programs and regional targeting.
• Marketing Collateral – develop marketing materials and pitches.
• Proposals – contribute content for proposals with Global Client Pursuits.
• Brand Management – maintain firm and office branding, create ads.
• Budget Management – monitor office budget and seek funding.
• Client Entertainment – manage tickets to events and client entertainment.
• Project team work – contribute to strategic projects and opportunities.
• Other duties to support firm strategy.

Skills

Business development

Marketing experience in a law firm

Client engagement

Communication skills

Project management

Relationship management

Time management

Proactive / self-motivated

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or business

Tools

Outlook

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

The Business Development Senior Specialist will be instrumental in advancing the office's strategic growth objectives through the development and execution of strategic business development and client engagement initiatives. Serving as a trusted advisor to New York partners, this position is responsible for driving market-facing activities and client development efforts that support the office's priorities while aligning with the Firm's broader strategic goals. Big Law firm experience is highly preferred.

The role is an integral member of the Firm's In-Market Client Development team. The Senior Specialist will lead and execute client development initiatives that strengthen the Firm's market position, support key client relationships, and drive measurable outcomes, including major sponsorships, client programs, events, marketing collateral, and pitches and proposals.

Responsibilities:

• Firm Profiling and Events – Collaborate with the client team, practice groups, events team, and others to develop, organize, coordinate and execute seminars, receptions, and special events taking place in the local market. Responsible for creating and managing critical dates and timelines concerning local events and sponsorships. Draft and manage all internal and external communications for programs, liaising with the NA Communications team. Oversee maintenance of the office's client mailing list. Analyze and track event effectiveness and return on investment.
• External Engagements – Evaluate, recommend, and manage key sponsorships and networking opportunities with professional organizations and associations in the local market. Execute all deliverables associated with office-identified key sponsorships. Leverage the Firm's involvement to strengthen client relationships, and create client and attorney connections across the organizations.
• Business Development – Support the New York office by working independently and with the broader BD team to identify new business opportunities. Work with the industry and practice groups to develop cross-selling opportunities with key clients, and to implement strategies to capture those opportunities. Conduct sophisticated market, competitor, and client research to identify emerging opportunities, industry trends, and strategic targets.
• Client Relationship Management – Work with the client team to support strategic client development projects, including the Firm's global client program and regional targeting initiatives, to identify opportunities for revenue growth, cross-selling, and deeper client engagement. Provide overall support for activities that focus on target clients in the local market, including monitoring and reporting on client development activities and outcomes.
• Marketing Collateral – Responsible for the development and maintenance of office-specific marketing collateral, capability statements, pitch materials, and other client-facing content. Responsible for obtaining and verifying that information is readily available for use in Directory submissions, marketing materials, CVs, and proposals.
• Proposals – Work with the Global Client Pursuits team, and provide input into the development of proposals including collecting relevant content such as practice area descriptions and case lists.
• Brand Management – Ensure the Firm's brand and that of the office is maintained, and implement the various activities supporting the brand of the Firm and that of the office. Create advertisements as required in support of Firm-sponsored activities and purchase promotional items for use at client events.
• Budget Management – Develop business cases for budget requests based on business planning. Monitor annual budget expenditures for the office and seek funding from global sources where appropriate.
• Client Entertainment – Manage the allocation of tickets to the Firm's various sporting and sponsored events and other opportunities in the local market. Work closely with attorneys to maximize relationship-building opportunities and client engagement outcomes.
• Work as part of a project team on strategic projects/marketing opportunities as identified by leadership.
• Other duties as assigned to develop and drive the Firm's strategy.

Skills and Experience:

• A Bachelor's degree is required, preferably in marketing, communications, marketing, business, or a related field
• Strong experience in business development and marketing, or another relevant field preferably in a law firm environment and with partners/senior executives
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to lead high-level client calls and present to senior stakeholders and partners
• Self-motivated and independent, able to work with minimum supervision
• 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
• Organized, detail-oriented individual with strong project management skills, and the ability to work on multiple tasks with competing deadlines and coordinate competing priorities
• Excellent computer skills (including Outlook, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, or similar)
• High level of discretion, diplomacy, and a commitment to maintaining the highest level of confidentiality
• High level of energy and persistence, and understanding of the importance of delivering exceptional customer service to internal and external clients
• Familiarity with the internet and web-based platforms
• Flexibility to travel to meetings and events when needed and work long hours during peak training and meeting periods