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Womble Bond Dickson- Various

Billing Executive (0960)

Central to our success as a Firm are of course our very talented lawyers, but they couldn’t achieve their results without the ongoing support from our Finance team who have an essential role to play in growing the business and maintaining our financial performance.  We now have a great opportunity for a Billing Executive to join the team on a full time, permanent basis.

This role can be based out of our Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol, Plymouth or Southampton office.

The role

You’ll play a vital role in ensuring the firms’ billing is maximised, including proactive WIP management, whilst working closely with the rest of the Finance Team and our Business Assurance Unit.  You will organise and attend regular working capital meetings with partners and fee earners, using your skills & experience to identify opportunities to improve processes, solve problems, and provide support to our clients and the wider firm.

Other roles & responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

  • Dealing with and overseeing the firms centralised billing clients; as well as looking for opportunities to increase clients on monthly billing.
  • The production of bills, credit notes including dealing with e-billing systems and all billing associated programmes.
  • The production of and manipulation of finance and billing reports.
  • Providing visible finance support covering all billing aspects as well as system driven support.

What are we looking for?

Ideally you’ll have experience of working in a billing/finance role within a law firm or other professional services environment.

You’ll have good IT skills and knowledge of most Microsoft applications, especially Excel. It would be great if you’ve used bespoke E-billing systems, but full training will be given on the systems we use.

We’re looking for somebody who is proactive in terms of service delivery, and meticulous in their attention to detail to ensure we’re providing an excellent service to clients.  You’ll communicate clearly, prioritise your workload effectively and be recognised as a committed team player who is helpful and supportive to colleagues.  You will lead by example and understand the importance of working together, sharing responsibilities and promoting team spirit.

To be successful in this role, you’ll need as a minimum:

  • Comfortable using Microsoft Office packages, particularly Excel.
  • Experience working in a client facing or professional services environment
  • Experience of working with Aderant (or similar packages) would be preferable.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we’re more than just suits!

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it’s important to us that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work. We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing and we’re very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns.

Through our DEI initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued. We have an Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage, LGBTQ+, disabilities, families, and women’s career development and we’re in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody). Find out more about ED&I at WBD here. We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long term condition and need us to make any adjustments to give you the best possible recruitment process, please let us know by contacting the recruiter on the right hand side of this page. Please also let us know if you need this job advert or the application form in a different format.

We will offer an interview to candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the minimum criteria for this role. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response to this question is only used for this purpose, is only visible to the recruitment team and is not used for data monitoring.

New Business Development Managers (0838)

We’re on the hunt for two experienced BD specialists to join our newly created New BD team as managers.

With a new firmwide growth strategy launched, and our marketing & BD strategy signed off by the Board, this a great time to join the business.

What’s the team and role about?

Our New Business Development team identifies opportunities to win new work from pipelines of clients, prospects and targets in agreed sectors and markets.

As a manager in the team you’ll manage a handful of BD pipelines, working closely with the sector leader and partners to embed our sector go-to-market strategy, grow and broaden relationships with our clients, and build new relationships with our defined prospect list.

What will you actually be doing?

Working alongside colleagues in the New BD team and across the wider Marketing & BD Group, you will:

  • support a sector leader to embed sectors as our primary route to market, championing a sales-driven culture, and sharing knowledge internally so that all relevant stakeholders know what’s happening in the sector and buy in to the objectives that are set
  • build relationships and work closely with colleagues in the US and Lex Mundi network, to develop cross-border opportunities and ensure that we’re thinking as a global firm to present our full capabilities to the market
  • coach and support Client Partners on BD efforts with their nominated clients, prospects and targets in the BD pipeline
  • work with the Marketing Planning & Campaigns, and Brand & Communications team to develop BD and marketing materials to support our BD efforts, whether standard brochures, credentials or capability statements, and
  • collaborate with Client Partners and client teams to attend meetings with clients and prospects as appropriate, and represent the firm externally at relevant conferences and events.

You’ll also be supporting our flagship marketing campaigns and ensuring we follow up on the opportunities generated; promoting Microsoft Dynamics and Introhive as part of our CRM toolkit; supporting the Bids & Tenders team on pitches to clients & prospects in your BD pipeline; working closely with our Data, Content & Insights team on the learnings from our client listening programmes are used to improve our BD and CRM efforts, and in particular that any specific client feedback is acted on; helping to onboard new clients in our priority sectors, and setting the foundations for the best possible client experience.  And if that weren’t enough … you’ll collaborate with our Knowledge Management, Know-How and Information Services teams to present clients in your BD pipeline with the full suite of our value-added capabilities in training, insights, innovation, legal technology, DEI and ESG; you’ll also support our business groups and teams with legal directory submissions, using our approved boilerplate copy and structured approach to make the process as smooth and easy as possible.

 

Why should you be excited about the role?

  • The M&BD strategy we’ve defined follows a really thorough review and has been signed off by the Board, so you know that we’re serious and committed about what we’re doing.
  • You’ll spend lots of time in and amongst a group of partners who are hungry and all focused on the same part of the market, so there’ll be lots of energy, conversations and knowledge sharing between everyone.
  • Working alongside the New BD team will be our Marketing Planning & Campaigns team. While you manage the BD pipeline, they’ll manage the marketing plan, and you’ll form a tight team working alongside the sector / market leaders.
  • We’ve just finished a large-scale qualitative and quantitative research project. So we know exactly what the market thinks of us and have plenty of insight to help you formulate approaches to the target decision makers, whether that’s GCs, FDs, HR directors, IT directors or others.
  • We’ve got some great flagship marketing campaigns in the offing, so there’ll be lots of activity happening that will support your granular BD efforts and help get us in the room with the right people.
  • We’re doing a lot more with our colleagues in the US, so there’ll definitely be opportunities to collaborate on cross-border projects and international growth plans.

 

Who’s this role right for?

To be successful in this role you’ll need as a minimum:

  • Experience in building relationships with people in different roles and levels of seniority across a business.
  • Experience of working alongside senior people, coaching and influencing them on how to approach business development.
  • The ability to immerse yourself in a particular market, so that you understand the trends, issues and opportunities it presents.
  • Experience of business development in B2B or professional services.

Whilst not essential, it would be beneficial if you have experience of working within the Energy sector.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we’re more than just suits!

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it’s important to us that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work. We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing and we’re very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns.

Through our DEI initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued. We have an Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage, LGBTQ+, disabilities, families, and women’s career development and we’re in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody). Find out more about ED&I at WBD here. We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long term condition and need us to make any adjustments to give you the best possible recruitment process, please let us know by contacting the recruiter on the right hand side of this page. Please also let us know if you need this job advert or the application form in a different format.

We will offer an interview to candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the minimum criteria for this role. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response to this question is only used for this purpose, is only visible to the recruitment team and is not used for data monitoring.

We are an in-house recruitment team and will always aim to fill our roles directly in the first instance. If you’re an agency, please click here for ways that you can work with us.

Head of Business Development (0972)

We’re looking for an experienced leader to join us as our Head of Business Development.

With a new firmwide growth strategy launched, and our marketing & BD strategy signed off by the Board, this a great time to join the business.

What’s the team and role about?

As our Head of Business development you’ll be a part of the senior leadership team for the overall Marketing & BD Group. You’ll set the direction for our BD efforts and lead three teams:

  1. The New Business Development team, who help to win work from an agreed BD pipeline of existing clients, short-term prospects, long-term targets, referrers and intermediaries.
  2. The Bids and Tenders team, who prepare for, plan, deliver and manage competitive bids and tenders, across both written documents and presentations.
  3. The Key Account Management team, who devise and manage the firm’s overall key account programme and provide specific support for a handful of our key clients.

 

What will you actually be doing?

Working with and through the three teams described above, you’ll be responsible for:

  • Championing a sales-driven culture to develop our sectors and expand our client base, and connect external and internal opportunities.
  • Setting up and monitoring new business pipelines for our priority sectors, focusing on existing clients, short-term prospects, long-term targets, referrers and intermediaries.
  • Coaching and supporting Client Partners on BD efforts with their nominated clients, prospects and targets in each pipeline.
  • Collaborating with partners and lawyers to represent the firm externally, and to identify new growth opportunities.
  • Embedding bids best practice in all aspects of tendering, with a particular focus on scoping, bid / no-bid analysis, developing a clear bid strategy and pricing.
  • Conducting bid debriefs, and analysing feedback themes to help inform future bid decisions and win strategy.
  • Establishing our key account programme, including defining what it means to be a key account of the firm, both from a WBD and client perspective, and identifying our key accounts and implementing an ongoing review / re-select process for any changes required.
  • Ensuring the right team is in place for each key account, covering all relevant business groups and teams and taking into account succession plans and team diversity.
  • Leading on client journey mapping and client experience, identifying key touchpoints based on client feedback, and linking to our approved positioning.
  • Working with the Data, Content & Insights team to ensure that our client listening programme, including independent partner reviews, and any post-matter reviews and secondment feedback, are implemented with our BD pipelines and key accounts, and that client feedback is implemented.

 

Why should you be excited about the role?

  • Winning new clients and new work from our existing clients is a core plank of our marketing & BD strategy, so you’ll be working in an area that has the full support of everyone in the business.
  • We’re fully in growth mode, so you’ll be working with people who have the hunger and ambition to realise the firm’s potential and commit the effort and time to business development.
  • We’ve done a lot of the groundwork to set the platform for a successful BD programme, but there’s still plenty to be done to realise the results, so you can definitely put your own stamp on things.
  • The people in the Bids, New BD and KAM teams are talented and energetic, and enthusiastic to work with a Head of BD who’ll give them the direction and support to achieve more.
  • There’s a high-performing marketing team that wants to work closely with their colleagues on the BD side of the M&BD Group, delivering great campaigns that will feed opportunities into our pipelines.
  • We have a fantastic BD training programme for lawyers at all levels of experience, which you’ll be able to contribute to and deliver parts of.

Who’s this role right for?

To be successful in this role you’ll need as a minimum:

  • Experience working across the three disciplines of new business development, bids and key account management.
  • Experience of working in B2B or professional services BD roles, in a partnership environment.
  • The ability to lead people and set the direction for a multi-disciplinary team, bringing cohesion and consistency to the way they work.
  • Experience of coaching people on effective business development, from identifying and pursuing opportunities, through to pitching and client relationship management.
  • Understanding of the commercial levers that underpin profitable revenue growth, including different pricing models.

We are an in-house recruitment team and will always aim to fill our roles directly in the first instance. If you’re an agency, please click here for ways that you can work with us.

Please visit website of further details and to apply: 

https://jobs.wbd-uk.com/jobs/home/

Please note that this post may close before the date specified. 

Location: Oceana House, 39-49 Commercial Rd, Southampton SO15 1GA

CLOSING DATE: 30 June 2024