ROLE OVERVIEW //
We are recruiting for a Senior Pitch Manager, on a permanent basis, to join our established team consisting of a Head of Pitching, a Senior Pitch Manager (on family leave), two Pitch Manager’s (one FTC) and a Pitch Executive. The Pitch Team forms part of the Business Development (“BD”) department within the Commercial function. In addition to pitch, the BD function consists of the Global Client Development team and the Research and Insights team. We also work closely with the Marketing team (consisting of Events, Digital and Content), Business Intelligence and Pricing team, Legal Operations team and Communications team. The functions purpose is to support the development of valued client relationships, win new work, champion Slaughter and May and enhance its market standing.
Your role will be to work closely with partners, associates and other members of Business Services across the whole pitch lifecycle for both panel and transactional pitches, producing high-quality, commercial pitch responses. From exploring and assessing new opportunities, developing and articulating key win themes, preparing pitch documents and presentations which reflect a strong understanding of the client and their needs, through to conducting pitch debriefs and turning feedback into action plans to continuously improve. You will also be responsible for acting as an ambassador for best practice and supporting the development and continuous improvement of the firms approach to pitching.
You will work closely with the rest of the team to drive forward key initiatives to ensure we are constantly adapting and improving our approach to pitching across the firm.
The successful candidate will report into the Head of Pitching while working closely with other team members as required.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES //
The key responsibilities of this role are set out below and there may be others which are not listed. You may be required on occasion to work outside our normal working hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm.
• Project manage a portfolio of pitches simultaneously (both panels and transactions).
• Objectively analyse incoming pitch opportunities and qualify them with the partners.
• Act as a trusted advisor to partners on pitches - manage groups of partners effectively, providing direction, guidance and challenge where necessary.
• Ensure that client/sector research and competitor analysis is part of any pitch strategy.
• Facilitate and lead kick-off meetings to agree strategy.
• Identify and articulate key messages.
• Draft high quality proposal responses which reflect agreed key messages.
• Project manage the pitch process, coordinating responses from others providing content across the firm.
• Support partners in the preparation and rehearsal of strategic pitch presentations.
• Act as an ambassador for pitch best practice across the firm.
• Monitor, analyse and communicate bid outcomes to the partnership.
• Review and maintain standard content and templates to ensure consistency and best practice.
• Proactively conduct pitch debrief interviews and ensure feedback is shared. Turn feedback into action plans to continuously improve performance.
• Support the Head of Pitching in the training and development of the managers and executive in the team.
• Provide strategic oversight to the executive and managers on their bids.
• Support the Head of Pitching in developing the firms approach to pitching through driving forward key projects and initiatives.
• Proactively engage with other Business Services teams such as HR, Learning & Development, Compliance and Finance.
• Work collaboratively with members of the Commercial function to deliver cross-team BD projects
CANDIDATE PROFILE //
Candidates for this position must have:
- Experience of pitching within a law firm environment, particularly in leading on panel pitch processes.
- Ability to write persuasively in clear, succinct English with good use of grammar and high degree of attention to detail.
- Well-developed persuading and influencing skills and the ability to build rapport with senior stakeholders.
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the legal market and clients key issues.
- Excellent organisational skills – able to manage multiple tasks and prioritise effectively.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Inquisitive – not afraid to ask questions to find out further information.
- Collaborative - enjoys sharing ideas and working as part of a team. But also able to work autonomously.
- Takes ownership, accountability, and pride in their work.
- Self-motivated, adopts a ‘can do’ approach and takes pride in work and the firm.
- Thrives on deadlines and able to keep calm under pressure.
- Good listener – able to judge when to listen and when to transmit.
- Confident, assertive, flexible, and resilient – can challenge and coach partners.
- Ability to liaise with people at all levels of seniority and build trusted relationships.
- Comfortable working in a hybrid work environment (i.e., a combination of remote working and in the office).
- Willingness to work extended hours when required.
- Awareness of the principles of confidentiality in the context of dealing with commercially and market sensitive information.
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
- Degree-educated (but not essential).