Purpose

• Working closely with your manager and the lawyers in the offices in China including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, you will proactively support on all aspects of the BD & Marketing which includes responsibility for supporting BDM campaigns, events, and initiatives, drafting targeted marketing collateral and briefing notes, provision of client overviews to support client meetings/trips, client reporting and relationship documents, managing directory, award & league table submissions, pitching for new work and supporting the delivery of practice priorities.
• The role encompasses a broad range of tasks related to supporting the lawyers in China. It is important to work across all practice objectives in order to perform well in the role.
• The role will also encompass ad hoc special projects which will mean working closely with the global and Asia BDM teams.

Key dimensions

• Plan and lead incisive and value-adding BDM support to key stakeholders in your practices to generate business – working across clients, sectors and geographies.
• Act as the ‘go to’ person for all BDM activities including communications, events, promotions and other profile-raising marketing activities.
• Ensure your practices remain engaged with the wider Asia teams and practices to leverage and share the firm’s resources, best practice, and knowledge.

Key responsibilities and challenges

Clients

• Support the lawyers on all aspects of client activities, helping advise on and execute the implementation of the practice’s BDM/client plans.
• Provide input to relationship reports being compiled by Client Relationship Managers for upcoming client meetings.
• Capture and disseminate client intelligence/research as it relates to your market and ensure actions are followed-up and implemented where appropriate.
• Guided by your manager, you will have CRM responsibilities for a number of priorities clients.
• Identify value-add opportunities for priority clients of the practice.
• Secondment management and reporting - track practice secondments and act as the liaison point for the secondee.
• Work with lawyers at all levels to enhance their understanding and knowledge of BDM and how to apply it to their practice.

Practice/Sector/office

• Work hand in hand with the Asia pitch team, provide timely and high-quality support in the development and delivery of pitches to key clients and targets. 
• Assist in the development and adoption of best practice in pitching for new work.
• Draft client-facing material to support client meetings.
• Draft and provide practice/client/sector overviews and material to support BD trips.
• Maintain your practices marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, factsheets, and the Linklaters website to ensure they reflect up-to-date and consistent key messages and experience.
• Maintain pitch & credentials infrastructure, practice mailing lists, relevant intranet pages and deal databases – accessible by the global team.
• Work with your manager and lawyers to develop and implement practice group action/business plans.
• Where relevant, manage and coordinate internal asset trackers/sales pipelines opportunities.
• Attend practice group meetings so you are fully plugged into and adding value to the business. The key is to play an active role in identifying opportunities for practice development, defining ways in which this can be delivered and providing support to lawyers in order to strengthen and broaden client relationships.

Marketing Communications

• Internal communications activity to support cross-selling and better understanding of the practice’s activities, successes and plans.
• External communications, including the project management of marketing campaigns and production of material aligned to business goals, such as targeted brochures, newsletters etc.
• Media relations – work closely with our Asia comms team, oversight of press releases, lawyer profiling, league tables, sector press development etc.
• Advise on the best use of digital and social media to raise the practice profile, including the firm’s social media accounts, the website, client knowledge portal, e-marketing, client alerts, bulletins, client updates, etc.
• Project management of the directory, award and league table submission processes, ensuring submissions successfully capture the relevant achievements.
• Execute a programme of appropriately targeted events to include seminars, roundtables, client events, industry conferences, sponsorships etc. Assessing advertising and sponsorship opportunities against business goals.
• Ensure key materials are up-to-date, available and easily accessible to all lawyers and the global BDM team.
• Ensure the practices client contact details are up-to-date and appropriately categorised by secretaries.

Team

• Work closely with the Asia BDM team to drive and share best practice.
• Share relevant key learnings and insights about client development, pitches, sector activity and interesting deals or happenings with the lawyers in your practices.

Characteristics, Skills & Experience required:

Character

• Self-motivated with a positive, can-do attitude
• High energy, inquisitive, pro-active drive and initiative results driven personality.
• Ability to build empathy and trust.
• Being able to work independently as well as a team player.
• Robust - ability to bounce back when challenged.
• Highly flexible and culturally sensitive
• Outstanding influencing skills – must take all parties with you.
• Persuasive
• Resourceful
• Flexible
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Have a continuously improve mindset.
• Pragmatic and determined.
• Excellent organiser and co-ordinator

Skills/Languages

• Excellent Mandarin and English language/communications skills – written and speaking.
• Knowledge of China market and business

Education / Qualification

• Degree or equivalent relevant experience
• Further studies in marketing or business education (desirable)

Practical experience

• At least 4/5 years of work experience, ideally playing a BDM role in a professional service environment.
• Experience of marketing in a global organisation (desirable)

Office skills

• Excellent time management
• Highly IT and social media literate
• Excellent communicator & presenter
• Ability to facilitate meetings effectively

Commercial Skills

• A high degree of commercial acumen
• An understanding of how business operates and makes decisions.
• An understanding of business and cultural nuances in China
• Ability to think strategically.

Technical Skills:

This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.