Senior Business Development & Communications Officer

What’s in it for you?

• The opportunity to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for A&O Shearman’s clients;
• First-rate training and development opportunities;
• A company that is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion;
• Support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing;
• What truly defines a career at A&O Shearman? They recruit the best and ask for the best of you so that you can redefine success together.

What your future may hold

As a Senior Business Development & Communications Officer you will report to the Head of Business Development & Marketing at A&O Shearman Belgium. The role sits within the wider Belgian BD & Marketing Team consisting of junior, mid-level and senior Business Development & Marketing professionals working harmoniously together with lawyers and business teams to deliver stellar commercial support.

The role is based in A&O Shearman’s Brussels or Antwerp office and you will be an integral part of a market-leading team consisting of both lawyers and staff members.
The role encompasses three key areas of responsibility.

External Communications:

• You manage a strategic external communication plan to convey the firm's brand, values, and messages to different target audiences;
• You write and edit content together with A&O Shearman’s lawyers, including press releases, website content, digital newsletters, podcasts, brochures and other marketing material that communicates the firm’s services and expertise in alignment with the global brand standards and strategy;
• You monitor press to stay ahead of the latest global economic and wider market trends; you deal with media inquiries, organise interviews and manage relationships with journalists;
• You manage A&O Shearman Belgium’s social media presence and develop a social media strategy to enhance our reputation and engagement with clients and the broader public;
• You monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of A&O Shearman’s communications activities, making recommendations to optimise performance;
• You become the lawyers’ trusted advisor and are able to influence and challenge them on communications-related initiatives.

Internal Communications:

• You work closely with communications colleagues and other stakeholders across our European and global network to exchange best practices and optimally leverage information streams;
• You lead training programmes for lawyers on communications-related topics and skill sets.

Business Development

• You are the trusted commercial adviser to your assigned practices IP, Tech Transactions, Licensing & Data Privacy.You define and implement strategic BD planning for the Belgian offices in line with global/regional objectives;
• You advise and lead on winning profitable work by delivering high-quality, innovative commercial proposals (requests for proposals, panel pitches, short turn-around capability statements, etc) including:
  • managing the pitch process (from scoping kick-offs and determining the preferred approach to drafting the pitch and obtaining client feedback);
  • fielding our relevant global product offering (sector, product, pricing, Advanced Delivery Services, etc);
• You help your lawyers develop and closely monitor client relationships, and be involved in the preparation and follow-up of effective client-relationship meetings, with a specific focus on selected key clients;
• You are responsible for knowledge management of markets, prospects and clients (data collection and reporting), and share information with key stakeholders by drafting tailored client briefing notes.

Your skillset

You are an experienced, proactive marketing & business development professional with:

• a Master’s degree in Communication, PR, Marketing, Law, Management or a related field;
• at least 5 years’ experience in a similar role, preferably in a professional services environment (such as law firms);
• a strong understanding of PR, multichannel communication and social media/digital strategies;
• an excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English as well as Dutch and/or French (with at least a good understanding of the other language);
• outstanding verbal and written communication skills;
• a team player mindset with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong relationships with your stakeholders within the (global) firm, including lawyers, personal assistants, your BD & Marketing colleagues abroad, as well as members of the Business teams;
• an eye for detail and strong analytical skills;
• the capacity to identify opportunities;
• the versatility to work both as a team player and autonomously in a highly professional and demanding environment;
• a strong client-focus and results-driven approach;
• to be willing to travel abroad when needed, e.g. for business purposes and trainings.

Our Client

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, U.S. law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. They work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. 

Interested?

Apply immediately via the website or contact Diether Vandenbussche for more information.
Contact Diether by mail: diether.vandenbussche@youconnect.be or call +32 477 22 95 52.

When you apply, we will keep your CV and other personal data you give us in our database in accordance with our privacy notice. 

This vacancy is in exclusive cooperation with YouConnect | Partners for legal & HR talent.