Business Development Manager – Americas Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and the Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP•New York, NY

1d•$160,000 - $180,000•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a high-impact, manager-level opportunity to partner with the firm’s highly regarded Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and Financial Institutions Group (FIG) practices across the Americas. The Business Development Manager will lead business development and marketing initiatives for these practices and help build best practices across the team. We are looking for a proactive self-starter who will reach out to partners, develop a genuine command of the substance and needs of each practice—from transactional finance to FIG regulatory—and keep competing priorities moving forward.

Requirements

This role is ideal for a high-energy, ambitious self-starter who can serve as the business development point-person for partners in the Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and FIG practices.
The successful candidate will understand the substance and needs of each practice, build trusted partner relationships, and juggle competing demands—including occasional work outside traditional business hours—while partnering with senior BD leadership on experience management, pitching, and client targeting.
5+ years of relevant business development experience in a professional services firm.
Excellent analytical and research skills, with the ability to synthesize and summarize information from a wide variety of sources clearly and concisely.
Ability to work collaboratively and build strong relationships across functions, levels, and geographies.
Extraordinary attention to detail, with the ability to juggle and prioritize competing demands.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
A genuine interest in developing strong substantive knowledge of the supported practices and markets.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of, or experience with, Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and/or financial institutions regulatory matters—or a strong drive and demonstrated ability to learn them quickly.
Experience writing pitches and proposals.
Corporate law firm experience.

Responsibilities

Lead the business development efforts and initiatives for the Americas Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and FIG practices.
Drive the execution of the practices’ strategic business plans and track progress on a continual basis.
Work closely with senior BD and practice leadership on global and local cross-selling and client targeting, including supporting the firm’s key client program and related client industry groups such as Digital Assets and Capital Solutions & Private Credit.
Work with the Global Business Development Director of Practices to create and implement best practices for the Americas Debt Finance, Structured Finance, and FIG teams.
Proactively reach out to and build strong relationships with partners across the practices, providing hands-on support and follow-through to ensure initiatives keep moving forward and do not get lost in the mix.
Organize and attend partner meetings, develop agendas, document key takeaways, and follow up on agreed actions.
Foster a collaborative environment and help promote an exceptional culture across the team.
Oversee pitches and RFP responses, directory and award submissions, conference sponsorships and road shows, and the development and maintenance of practice group credentials, ensuring each is tailored to the opportunity at hand.
Coordinate with other teams such as Events and PR/Comms to ensure a seamless process that helps raise the profile of the firm and these practices in particular.
Act as Client Account Manager on up to three of the firm’s key client accounts, coordinating relationships globally and leveraging a strong understanding of the clients’ strategies, challenges, and competitive and regulatory landscapes to identify development opportunities.
Conduct client feedback interviews and ensure that feedback is onboarded and acted upon, as appropriate.
Work with the Competitive Intelligence team to assess practice strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and research clients, competitor activity, and market trends to drive strategic decisions and create revenue opportunities.