Senior Business Development Manager - Asset Management M&A and Sponsor Solutions

Ropes & Gray•Boston, MA

41d•$180,700 - $289,150•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Business Development Manager (SBDM) is a strategic and tactical role created to drive business development alignment between the firm’s Asset Management M&A and Sponsor Solutions groups, in the pursuit of parallel initiatives to build brand, influence decision makers, and grow revenue. The BDM will serve as a trusted advisor to the co-leaders of both practices, and to partners and business development colleagues, providing strategic, commercial, and practical support on the implementation of business and client development priorities. The SBDM will act as the connective bridge and central point of coordination and communication between the two groups, enabling them to work in tandem by coordinating pitch efforts, client events, and brand-building initiatives while ensuring consistent marketing materials and messaging across both practices. The SBDM is responsible for initiating and executing integrated marketing and business development plans that increase the firm’s brand visibility, attract new clients, and drive client satisfaction and loyalty.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
Professional experience, including management of direct reports.
Minimum of ten years of experience in business development within a professional services firm or corporate environment.
Superior client service skills.
Able to quickly establish credibility with lead partners and key stakeholders by balancing a confident, measured, and persistent approach.
Work effectively and efficiently as a team player with enthusiasm for developing relationships. Able to engage with and support colleagues and stakeholders across all aspects of the business.
A confident leader and self-starter in a dynamic environment.
Commercially minded and solutions orientated.
Excellent organization, communication, and project management skills.
Attention to detail and accuracy in all aspects of the role and responsibilities.
Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with all levels of attorneys and business professionals.
Experience writing in a professional services environment.
Able to set clear goals and priorities, multi-task and meet multiple deadlines.
Creative and flexible when managing individual as well as team workloads and priorities, taking colleagues’ time into account, to respond quickly and positively to shifting demands and opportunities.
Able to demonstrate creativity and initiative by continuously looking for areas to improve and ways to implement positive changes to all aspects of the role and responsibilities.
Ability to thrive in a challenging and dynamic environment.

Nice To Haves

MBA or JD is helpful but not required.
Demonstrated knowledge of asset management, private equity, M&A or related financial services sectors is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and execute business development and marketing efforts designed to generate new business and improve market visibility for Asset Management M&A and Sponsor Solutions.
Serve as the central point of coordination between Asset Management M&A and Sponsor Solutions, ensuring strategic alignment of business development priorities, go-to-market efforts, and client-facing initiatives across both groups.
Collaborate with practice co-lead partners and global teams to develop and implement business and client development plans for target clients, including budget planning, expense monitoring, and identifying joint initiatives to grow revenue and relationships.
Coordinate with asset management and private equity practices and colleagues across the organization to identify cross-practice opportunities, share market intelligence, and support firm-wide client development efforts.
Drive the development and implementation of AI-enabled business development practices—particularly around pitch and RFP response workflows, prospecting, industry research, and events—contributing to workflows and processes that can be scaled across the firm.
Build practice-specific AI successes and support innovation across BD and ensure their team is proficient in and regularly using AI tools in traditional BD activities, particularly pitches and RFP responses.
Establish and maintain effective internal reporting and communication frameworks to track progress, share outcomes, and support management reporting across practice groups and affiliated teams.
Manage and drive the development of existing client relationships and the pursuit of new engagements in collaboration with other relevant business support colleagues including the following:
Organizing, participating in, and maintaining internal business development meetings – be responsible for all aspects of client and target development efforts, including creating agendas, capturing, and circulating action steps, and proactively driving follow-up and making connections to other global business development and practice development colleagues.
Develop expertise in the asset management and private equity industries, including by commissioning and conducting business research to keep abreast of industry/market intelligence and to support the business development strategy.
Project manage the delivery of client, market and competitor research, and tailor the data for partner or client consumption and share insights from other practice groups and offices for collaborative initiatives.
Monitor and identify market opportunities and asset management and private equity driven trends and themes for client engagement.
Drive pitching and new business generation by:
Project managing and executing large pitches, proposals, and RFPs, including leading a team to develop a winning strategy, identifying ways to differentiate from the competition, and helping to write aspects of the pitch.
Working with finance to develop compelling fee arrangements.
Maintaining accountability for the timely and accurate completion and submission of the RFPs or pitches, ensure proper document storage and tracking, and establishing and executing appropriate follow-up action steps post-submission.
Developing and maintaining up-to-date pitch content, practice materials, client information and experience tracking.
Promoting best practices and knowledge sharing across global business development and marketing teams.
Acting as trusted advisor to attorney teams to scope, prepare for both in-person meetings and pitches, and provide post-pitch client and target feedback.
Building a strong working knowledge of adjacent practice and industry group services and a clear understanding of the relevant group's strategy, priorities, and clients.
Work with the marketing team and business support colleagues to:
Strategically identify opportunities to create and implement integrated branding and profile-raising campaigns.
Assess market conference opportunities, advise the lawyers on selection, participation in and execution.
Identify the appropriate client and market targets for the delivery of knowledge marketing.
Support the development of attorney-facing BD training.
Manage and develop junior members of the business development team, fostering a culture of teamwork, accountability, continuous improvement, professionalism, and integrity.