Client Relationship Manager, Financial Institutions

As a Client Relationship Manager in our Financial Institutions Sector Cluster, you will be instrumental in delivering Linklaters' Clients & Sectors strategy. You will work in partnership with the relationship partners, global client teams and the broader partnership to build and deepen client relationships with a selection of the firm's priority Financial Institutions Sector Cluster clients.

Working across Linklaters' international network and drawing on all available resources across the firm, the purpose of the role is to strengthen client relationships with the ultimate objective of shortening the sales cycle and driving profitable revenue growth.

Your key responsibilities

• Use knowledge of the Financial Institutions client's business and external data, work with relationship partners to drive white-space analysis and opportunity spotting with the Firm's Enterprise and Sector Priority Financial Institutions clients to develop new business, focusing on those opportunities that will generate complex, high-margin work.

• Contribute to and execute strategic objectives and deliverables for the client team. Focus on proactively delivering effective CRM and sales cycle support to the business.

• Work with BDM colleagues and fee earners on the development and implementation of an effective and targeted client plan with accountability and SMART objectives.

• Pro-active business development and marketing activity aligned to client plan objectives and the firm's strategy, resulting in effective cross-selling, new business introductions, exploring potential new work streams and protecting existing relationships.

• Identify and create business growth opportunities out of market/sector developments and hot topics aligned to the firm's strategy and topical market themes, both broadly and by creating a personalised channel to key people.

• Proactive dissemination of sector and client-specific relationship information to relevant client teams, summarised in a digestible format with clear recommendations where appropriate.

• Develop client relationships with relevant individuals personally and alongside relationship partners/client teams.

• Regular engagement with client contacts, demonstrating a high level of responsiveness and a willingness to collaborate and assist the client wherever possible.

• In conjunction with the relationship partners and Pricing Team, manage the fee negotiations and assist with the development of client fee proposals, global panel submissions and drafting fee deal letters where required. Participate in client negotiations as required by the relationship partners.

• Alongside the relationship partners, plan for and attend client relationship meetings; draft and disseminate meeting notes and BD-related actions from those meetings. Produce client relationship presentations, bespoke value added and investment reports for clients on a periodic basis and ensuring the timely provision of management information reports.

• Facilitate structured and independent client feedback and promote the benefits of such feedback to relationship partners; where appropriate, lead client feedback conversations on behalf of partners.

• Ensure key action points and recommendations emerging from client feedback are acted upon and clients are informed of how we are addressing their feedback.

• Respond to internal enquiries relating to panel arrangements (e.g., fee deal and engagement terms, disbursement policies, secondment obligations), with support from the Legal & Risk Team where required.

• Internal communication of panel arrangements and respond to related queries from around the firm, with support from the Legal & Risk Team when required. 

• Monitor financial performance and overall exposure of client relationships and/or the sector, escalating issues to the relationship partners/Sector Leaders and, if required, the client.

• Work with the relevant BDM and other Business Teams to ensure that the client team has access to the right resources, understands the client organisational structure, develops knowledge sharing practices (news/developments), is fully conversant with the strategy and needs of the client and the shape, size, and objectives of the global relationship.

• Be strategic around investment in the client(s), including the planning of secondments. Brief and work with secondees to make effective use of their time on secondment and ensure we leverage their knowledge and relationships during and after a secondment. Oversight of the delivery of market-leading and differentiating value-added services to clients

• Support the implementation of Salesforce and champion its benefits and uptake with relationship partners; use Salesforce to effectively manage client activities and drive connectivity and transparency with key clients within the CRM portfolio.

Your experience

• Relevant client development experience in legal or professional services. Experience in client-facing roles is highly desirable.

• Experience in identifying strategic opportunities and helping win work from Financial Institution sector clients.

• Strong relationship building skills with the ability to develop trust with clients, internal client teams and other stakeholders at all levels.

• Strong attention to detail and communication skills (written and verbal), with ability to influence, drive change, challenge and share knowledge. 

• A high degree of commercial acumen – strategic thinker, able to prioritise, make decisions, influence, and gain buy-in

• Comfortable with data, analytics, and reporting to drive decision making.

• Strong client awareness, understanding of the legal market, broad understanding of our products and client targets.

• Planning and project management ability – results oriented, resourceful.

• Knowledge of CRM account planning methodologies, tools and cross-selling strategies in professional services.

Qualifications

• A degree in marketing, business, or a related field, with a preference for marketing qualifications.

What we are looking for

• Highly self-motivated and self-starter with a flexible attitude and willingness to learn – ability to work with little direction.

• Strong team player, collaborative, credible and highly flexible – able to build trust and respect among colleagues, knowledge sharing.

• Resilient – ability to bounce back when challenged.

• Cultural and market awareness – familiarity of working in a global firm and global context.

• An understanding of how businesses operate and make decisions. 

• An understanding of the relevant sectors or client types is desirable.

The Team

You will be welcomed into the BDM function as a key part of the team. BDM is a globally diverse group of specialists dedicated to driving revenue growth, nurturing our priority client relationships, and strengthening the firm's reputation.

In this role, you will be supported by and collaborate closely with the local team and the broader BDM function. Our team thrives on a collegiate atmosphere with a strong focus on teamwork and collaboration with colleagues.

Alongside our lawyers, the BDM function is committed to creating, developing, and executing business development and marketing initiatives that drive growth and align with the firm's strategic goals.

The role within BDM promises a diverse array of tasks and projects.

You will encounter significant opportunities for learning and growth within a nurturing and supportive environment. We look forward to expanding our team with individuals who share our drive, forward-thinking mindset, and enthusiasm.

Linklaters

Linklaters is a global law firm, with 30 offices in 20 countries worldwide.

Linklaters is a people business. Being best in class in the eyes of our clients means that our people must be exceptional.

We look not only for brilliant minds, but for people who will thrive in our environment: people who love working collaboratively and demonstrate the innovative, efficient, agile, entrepreneurial, and responsible mind-set we aim to bring to every interaction.

Ours is an environment of outperformance. We achieve this not with targets and incentives, but by fostering a positive, supportive, fair, and open atmosphere.

We respect and value difference but insist on inclusivity. We celebrate all aspects of diversity and challenge any form of bias. This is vital to our ability to work as one team, with a common goal.

What sets us apart

At Linklaters

• We offer a truly global work experience and the opportunity to be involved in strategic projects that drive innovation and shape the future of our business

• We belong to a firm that embodies its corporate social, environment, and governance responsibility commitments

• We remain focused on talent and having the best people which will result in a diverse workforce

• Having got the best people, we want them to feel included, valued and respected so they can perform at their best

• We advocate speak-up culture to empower our people in sharing their voices and an open-door policy to ensure they are listened to

• We invest in custom-fit career paths for our people in line with their talents and aspirations

• We provide agile working solutions to meet the changing needs of our people and our business

• We are committed to people first relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation

• We support the health and wellbeing of our people, providing a safe space to talk about emotions and mental health with access to expert advice as needed

• We invest in developing leaders of the future who demonstrate emotional intelligence and a passion to discover, coach and develop the talents of others

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.