Specialist, Business Development, Finance - Project Development & Finance

About the Role
The Business Development & Marketing team plays a critical role in enhancing the company’s reputation, expanding its client base, and driving revenue growth. This team develops and implements strategic marketing plans to promote the company’s legal services, leveraging digital and traditional marketing channels to reach target audiences. They conduct market research to identify industry trends and client needs, positioning the company competitively within the legal marketplace. The team also manages client relationships, orchestrates business development initiatives, and seeks opportunities for partnerships and networking. Through compelling content creation, event planning, and public relations efforts, they ensure that the company maintains a strong market presence and continues to attract and retain clients.
The Specialist, Business Development is an experienced professional support resource within the BD team, providing dedicated support to the Energy, Infrastructure, Projects, and Finance (EIPAF) team in the UAE. Working closely with the BD Manager and relevant partners and lawyers, the Specialist supports the effective execution of the practice’s business development and client development priorities. The role includes taking ownership of defined pitches, proposals, credentials requests, market and client research, experience management, and other BD workstreams, with appropriate managerial oversight.
The Specialist applies strong knowledge of BD methodologies, tools, and best practices to ensure that outputs are accurate, timely, commercially focused, and aligned with company standards and priorities. The role also contributes to the continuous improvement of BD processes, data management, reporting, and knowledge resources, helping to improve consistency, quality, and efficiency across the practice.
This position requires an individual who can manage competing deadlines, coordinate input from multiple stakeholders and communicate confidently with partners, lawyers, and colleagues across the wider BD function. The Specialist will provide day-to-day execution capability and operational continuity.
The company operates a robust presence in Saudi Arabia as part of its wider Middle East network, which spans Egypt, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE. With more than 70 years of experience in the region, the company boasts one of the largest teams on the ground in Riyadh, including over 30 lawyers. Equipped with both local and international expertise, the Saudi team advises on high-stakes transactions and disputes, including Islamic finance, capital markets, M&A, project development, and regulatory matters. Its Riyadh office serves as a pivotal hub for supporting complex, multijurisdictional challenges across the region.

Roles and Responsibilities
Proposals and pitch excellence

• Take ownership of defined client pitches, proposals, capability statements, and credentials requests from initiation through to completion, coordinating inputs from relevant stakeholders and ensuring materials are accurate, tailored, commercially focused, and aligned with client needs and company priorities.
• Develop, maintain, and quality-check pitch-related content, including deal lists, lawyer biographies, credentials, and case studies, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and effective reuse across BD outputs.
• Coordinate complex and time-sensitive submissions involving multiple partners, practices, and jurisdictions, managing deadlines, stakeholder inputs, and escalation points with appropriate oversight from the BD Manager.

Strategic planning and client cultivation

• Conduct research and analysis to support the identification and qualification of new business opportunities, including analysis of market and client data and the preparation of background materials for BD initiatives.
• Maintain and develop client relationship maps, track engagement, and provide insights to support client cultivation strategies and account-planning activity.

Positioning practices & partners

• Deliver research and analysis to support thought leadership, market positioning, and practice-development initiatives, including monitoring industry trends, competitor activity, and client priorities.
• Coordinate the development and distribution of content for directory submissions, rankings, awards, campaigns, and external events, supporting the profile of the practice and its partners.

Cross-practice & stakeholder collaboration

• Work closely with the BD Manager, partners, lawyers, coordinators, and other business services teams to gather information, share insights, and support the delivery of integrated BD initiatives.
• Act as a key resource for data collection, analysis, and reporting, taking ownership of cross-functional projects and process improvements.

Contributor capacity

• Apply specialist BD, legal-sector, and process knowledge to support high-quality delivery, promote best practice, and contribute to the continuous improvement of BD operations.
• Provide informal guidance to junior team members, supporting their development and knowledge of BD processes, where appropriate.

Performance and impact

• Analyse BD activity, processes, and data to identify and implement opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, quality, and commercial effectiveness.
• Maintain accurate reporting on BD activities and outcomes, supporting the measurement of performance against key metrics.

This role reports to
Manager, Business Development, Finance - Project Development & Finance

Note: The company may modify and amend any job description at any time at its sole discretion. Nothing herein creates a contract of employment or otherwise modifies the at-will nature of employment. The above is only a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.