United Kingdom
Currently a Senior Proposals Manager as part of Dentons' UKIME international BD team, leading on a variety of both UK and global bids opportunities. This involves the strategic management of complex proposals, often covering multiple practices and numerous countries/Dentons regions, alongside providing unique suggestions to constantly improve our proposals function. This also broadens out to providing partners, lawyers and other members of the firm with advice on best practice across the entire proposals process.
- End-to-end ownership of global opportunities, including leading on effective qualification and scoping, developing differentiated value propositions, challenging senior stakeholders on our approach, presentation coaching, detailed client feedback sessions, and inputting into client onboarding. - Delivering hand-on proposals work that adds real value by bringing energy, ideas, creativity and boldness to the shaping of strategically vital bids. - Championing and upholding best practice processes at all times. - Leading on team and firm-wide proposals projects, including the development of client engagement and outcome feedback processes. - Implementing high-quality and applying creative thinking to high-value opportunities. - Working with pricing specialists to develop innovative fee proposals for clients. - Supporting the development and growth of the wider Proposals team, including junior team members when collaborating on opportunities.
- Leading the firm's opportunities team in the production of responses, presentations and win strategies with key partners and business stakeholders, alongside process management, reporting, feedback and analytics. This covers both domestic and international opportunities, including multi-jurisdictional bids with Taylor Wessing teams in Europe, Asia, the USA and Middle East. - Directly managing and supporting a Pitch Assistant, including driving recruitment, workload management, 1-1s, personal development and formal assessments. - Project managing a wide variety of opportunities, from fast-turnaround pitches requiring an intimate knowledge of the firm, to high value bids regularly valued at £1m+. This requires management from initial alert and bid launch, through to submission and follow-up, managing expectations, requirements and deadlines. - Devising bid strategies alongside senior partners inclusive of content, pricing, design and personnel. - Collaborating with partners, fee-earners, Business Services teams, BD team members, as well as Design and Digital functions, to bring together our best people for each bid. - Delivering in the production of high-quality, engaging bids materials for clients by ensuring creativity and new ideas are brought forward at every opportunity, including legal design elements. - Driving profitable revenue growth for the firm through business planning and identifying key objectives for the future. - Leading in the development of our firm's OnePlace opportunities module, including data management, and audit, team training, implementation and strategy. - Building upon our existing bids infrastructure to create a comprehensive knowledge bank. - Creating a formal chance of success process and integrating this into the firm to enhance opportunity assessment and decision making. - Developing the firm's bids processes and working with senior management figures to drive continuous improvement and create process efficiencies.
Working as part of the Weightmans campaigns team to implement Marketing strategies and plans via tailored campaigns. This involved working with other team members, fee earners and partners to devise and design campaign plans with clear reporting KPIs. Campaign goals included: - Launching new legal products and offerings. - Raising the external profile of Weightmans in the marketplace. - Improving relations with our clients. This role required the creation of engaging activities, often to interact directly with existing and prospective clients via such channels as digital media, social media and Weightmans events. These activities were contained within a clear and structured campaign plan which set out goals and measurements of success from the outset. Other key role included co-ordinating the submission of all legal directory submissions for all Weightmans offices. The firm completed over 170 different submissions over the course of a six month period, with the process requiring stringent time management and organisation. Process efficiencies were driven in regards to this project, resulting in significant time savings for the business whilst improving upon a high standard of results in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500's rankings. Additional responsibilities included: - Using website editing tools to update the Weightmans website with new content and information. - Directly adding to the firm's social media pages and profile. - Researching prospective clients, market activity and trends. - Producing and formatting capability statements, tender documents, presentations and pitches as appropriate. - Leading training sessions to members of the Marketing team and others within Weightmans on such topics as Questback and Indesign.
As part of the marketing and BD team, I worked with staff across the firm in order to exploit all available business development opportunities. This frequently involved identifying opportunities for new work, whether from new prospects in existing sectors, or new market sectors entirely. Despite being a junior member of the team, I was given responsibility for a number of firm-wide sectors and practice areas, managing budgets and developing business development plans, alongside aiding the implementation of new legal products. This involved regularly conversing with partners and other senior fee earners in order to plan future BD activity, developing relationships with key stakeholders in the firm. Other duties and responsibilities included: - Researching prospective clients, competitors and current market activity. - Co-ordinating the submission of legal directories. - Producing and formatting capability statements, tender documents, presentations and pitches as appropriate. - Leading training sessions to members of the BD team and others within Weightmans on such topics as Questback and Indesign. - Regularly providing monthly updates to fee earners inclusive of management information, competitor research, and all relevant PR material. - Key point of contact across the firm for business development and marketing activities, ensuring all key messages are communicated internally.
Part-time baggage handler for Main Logistics Ltd, working with Liverpool Cruise Terminal to provide the highest quality customer and passenger experience at one of the UK's most popular cruise destinations. As part of a large team at Liverpool Cruise Terminal, my role involved assisting customers with their luggage both upon their arrival and departure. Largely customer interaction and satisfaction based, responsibilities and skills required included: - Efficient teamwork: ensuring customers received the best quality of service possible whilst completing our tasks as quickly as possible to meet strict deadlines set through the day. - Organisation and flexibility: often working between 10 and 12 hours a day, starting regularly at 5am, and carrying out multiple responsibilities within working hours requiring constant concentration and commitment.