Senior BD Manager - Financial Institutions

Job Description

We are recruiting a Senior BD Manager to help shape and translate the firm's Financial Institutions (FI) strategy.
DEPARTMENT PURPOSE

Our Marketing team contributes to the setting and achievement of the firm's business objectives, which include supporting our partners and associates in their pursuit of becoming our clients' trusted advisors, building and maintaining long-lasting, deep institutional client relationships, winning new clients, increasing the visibility of the firm globally, and positioning the firm as the thought leader among the global elite law firms. The function works as one team across the globe with very close collaboration between the central groups and professionals supporting offices, practice groups, sectors and clients.

ROLE PURPOSE

This role helps shape and translate the firm's Financial Institutions (FI) strategy into practical, measurable go-to-market execution. It drives growth plans grounded in client insight, market dynamics and financial discipline, orchestrating integrated campaigns, account initiatives and pursuits that increase revenue, margin and share of wallet from our global priority clients. Operating as a trusted and proactive commercial advisor to partners, the role brings structure to client development, elevates the firm's market profile, curates thought leadership tied to client issues, and embeds consistent pursuit excellence.

Financial institutions remain the largest source of revenue for the firm and a strategically critical client group. While a mature segment, the sector continues to evolve - shaped by shifting regulatory pressures, increased collaboration with and competition from private capital, and rapid innovation in data, digital infrastructure and AI. This requires a proactive, insight-led approach to client development: anticipating emerging needs, navigating market convergence, and helping clients adapt their business models. As the landscape becomes more interconnected and complex, the role must translate market intelligence into strategic guidance, deepen cross-practice collaboration, and ensure the firm remains a trusted advisor across clients' most significant commercial, transactional and transformational priorities.
Close partnership with practice and sector BD is essential to share insights, identify opportunities, and build a collective understanding of client needs and sector developments - particularly as traditional boundaries between industries and areas of law continue to blur in an increasingly convergent market.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic planning and execution

• Support the Global Head on the production of multiyear growth plans for the FI sector with clear revenue, margin and share-of-wallet targets; translate into annual KPIs.
• In collaboration with the Global Head undertake an annual review of the global priority client relationships and financial performance to assess each relationship team's progress against the agreed relationship objectives and identify forward-looking opportunities and priorities.
• Identify market issues and growth opportunities; develop business and investment cases linked to measurable outcomes.
• Ensure regular sharing of client intelligence, financial performance insights and market-led opportunities across the FI sector to inform relationship investment and future planning.
• Use market, client and profitability data to refine positioning and targeting; advise on scope/scale for new client and market-facing propositions.
• Conduct periodic quantitative and qualitative analysis of internal and external data to ensure the firm is prioritizing the right clients and markets, informing updates to sector plans and the global priority client program.
• Provide performance updates and sector insights to senior leadership, identifying forward-looking trends, challenges and investment priorities.
• Manage and reallocate BD budgets within remit; track ROI and adjust programs to maximize impact.

Market profile, content and campaigns

• Take lead responsibility for a client focused and multi-channel marketing program, including the coordination of centralized client communications.
• Shape the market narrative for the FI sector around client issues; develop thought leadership that supports pursuits and client development.
• Working with the content and comms team, direct multichannel campaigns with defined audiences, objectives and measures; rebalance activity to what demonstrably works.
• Lead the conception, organization and execution of flagship FI sector client events.
• Elevate visibility through targeted conferences, media and directories/awards; ensure consistent, evidence-based messaging.
• Agree simple campaign success indicators (engagement quality, meeting creation, pipeline influence) and report quarterly.
• Ensure sector-specific developments, hot topics and regulatory shifts are captured centrally and shared with relationship teams (e.g., FI briefings, internal updates) to support client conversations.
• Maintain and enhance BD collateral and key product materials for use by the wider practice and sector BD teams.

Client development and relationship management

• Support the Global Head on the development of growth plans for the FI priority client program.
• Manage client focused cross-sector and cross-product initiatives, ensuring agendas, pipelines, and outputs align to growth priorities and market opportunities.
• Lead and advocate for increased client listening and post-matter reviews; convert insights into client-specific value propositions and service improvements.
• Potential to relationship manage a global strategic bank client, working alongside Global Lead Relationship Partners and Client Relationship Assistants to help strengthen the existing relationship and increase revenues and profitability.
• Cultivate direct client relationships where appropriate, ensuring new service offerings and thought leadership reach key decision-makers.
• Oversee the secondee strategy for the FI sector, ensuring placements are aligned to clear KPIs and deliver measurable ROI.

AI, technology and operations

• Define role-appropriate AI use cases for FI BD; set adoption goals and quality standards.
• Ensure FI sector adoption of Dynamics. Track impact on speed, quality and engagement.
• Lead change adoption for the new Target Operating Model.
• Coordinate with central teams to deliver high-quality outputs on time and on budget; share lessons learned across portfolios.

Team leadership and development

• Provide direction, coaching and stretch opportunities to more junior members of the team; set high standards for planning, execution and client focus.
• Potential to line manage individuals, supporting their development and building capability in complex client management.
• Support onboarding and coaching of new relationship partners, especially those new to the role.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Significant BD experience in an international law firm or professional services environment, operating within a complex matrix.
• Proven success leading and growing key client relationships, with clear revenue and pipeline impact.
• Strong commercial skills across pricing, alternative fees, scoping, profitability and pipeline; confident using data to drive decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder leadership and communication; credible with senior partners and comfortable with clients.
• Proficient with Dynamics, marketing automation, experience/credential systems and analytics; familiarity with AI-enabled tools is a plus.
• People leadership experience, including coaching and leading cross-functional teams; strong writing and storytelling.
• Resilient, proactive and outcomes-focused, with strong project management and prioritization; able to navigate a partnership and lead change.
• Experience managing teams (direct and virtual), planning workload and setting expectations; willingness to travel.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE - A&O Shearman does not accept unsolicited CVs. For further information, please see our UK Recruitment Agency Policy and our commitment to direct sourcing here.