Senior Business Development Manager, Finance & Real Estate

Ballard Spahr LLP•Washington, DC

18h•Hybrid

About The Position

Ballard Spahr is a renowned national law firm with more than 750 lawyers across 18 offices in the United States. A career at Ballard Spahr offers a diverse group of mentors, colleagues, and friends, and strong leadership that provides support and encouragement for career growth. Ballard Spahr is seeking a dynamic and strategic Senior Business Development Manager to join our Marketing leadership team. This highly visible role is central to driving business development and marketing strategies across the firm’s practices. Working closely with department, practice, and industry leaders—as well as attorneys, BD colleagues, and internal operational teams, you will help advance firmwide growth, client retention, and market expansion goals. The ideal candidate is collaborative, proactive, resilient, and consultative, with a strong ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels. This role also provides leadership within the Business Development team by coaching and supporting BD Managers and modeling cross‑practice collaboration. This hybrid position offers a work schedule of 3 days a week in the office if located in a state with a Ballard presence.

Requirements

Growth Mindset: Self-motivated with a passion for continuous learning and problem-solving.
Communication: Strong verbal and written communication abilities.
Detail-Oriented: Keen attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently
The ideal candidate will hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and bring at least seven years of experience in professional services, marketing or business development, with law firm experience strongly preferred.
Candidates should demonstrate excellent writing, editing, and communication skills, along with strong project management, analytical, and interpersonal abilities.
High proficiency in MS Office is required
Success in this role requires strong business acumen, a client‑service mindset, and the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining a collaborative, team‑oriented approach.
The position may require occasional travel and the flexibility to work beyond standard hours, and regular, predictable attendance is essential

Nice To Haves

Experience in the finance and real estate sectors is highly desirable.
Familiarity with CRM tools such as Interaction is a plus.

Responsibilities

Partner with senior BD leadership to implement best practices, experience management protocols, and quality standards.
Model collaborative leadership across practices, markets, and internal teams.
Demonstrate professionalism, engagement, and strategic thinking in all interactions.
Share insights, ideas, and best practices to drive alignment across the BD team.
Promote the firm’s services while aligning with client priorities
Develop individual attorney business development plans.
Coordinate BD efforts across practices and industries, ensuring communication of opportunities and outcomes.
Assist with developing and managing practice and office marketing budgets, providing ROI insights.
Partner with Communications and PR teams to identify media opportunities.
Lead efforts to promote thought leadership and attorney expertise.