Business Development Manager

We are seeking an experienced Business Development Manager in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This is a unique opportunity to be part of a team supporting the Senior Regional BD Manager covering the Middle East offices (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh) across a range of practice areas including Corporate, TMT, Energy and Infrastructure, Litigation and Arbitration and Infrastructure and Construction Disputes. These market leading groups work for some of the firm's largest clients on high profile and first of a kind projects, transactions and disputes.

Role based in Riyadh, KSA.

CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 80 offices in over 45 countries and 5,800+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.

We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.

The Business Development Manager will play a key role in supporting the BD and Marketing function across CMS Middle East offices, with a primary focus on CMS Riyadh. This position is responsible for executing and delivering business development strategies that drive client engagement, brand positioning, and revenue growth.

This is a broad and hands-on role, covering both operational and strategic BD responsibilities. The individual will be expected to work closely with Partners, Fee Earners, and the Senior BD Manager to provide proactive support across business planning, client targeting, marketing campaigns, events, tenders, and pitch development.

Key responsibilities:

1. BD infrastructure – To support the development and maintenance of a BD infrastructure for the group, including credentials, standard pitch content, client mailing lists, brochures, flyers and inserts, events and target clients.
2. Pitching – To support pitches and capability statements, where necessary collaborating with other practice groups or sectors, or new business team resources. To monitor the outcome of pitches and record results on the firm's pitch database. To conduct pitch reviews as necessary.
3. Reporting – Creating weekly progress reports for the Riyadh office showing progress against targeted BD activities, pitches and tenders.
4. Campaigns – To contribute to the development and execution of marketing and thought leadership campaigns aligned to the integrated campaign plan for CMS Middle East and for the firm as a whole.
5. Events – To manage various events across Riyadh, including planning, organisation and execution.
6. Clients – To support activities aimed at targeting potential clients or further developing existing clients, working with the sector marketing team as appropriate.
7. Communications / PR – Working with the Heads of Communications and Brand & Sector Communications, to help the firm differentiate in the market through identifying, developing and then promoting a meaningful proposition.
8. Directory and award submissions – To ensure that directory and awards submissions are completed on time and reflect the correct messaging about CMS and our overall strategy.
9. To develop and maintain effective working relations with key individuals across the firm.
10. To support other initiatives and activities as requested by the Senior BD Manager.

We will invest in your ongoing training and development to support your professional goals and help you to thrive in your role from day one. Our opportunities are open to all suitably qualified applicants, so to be considered for this role, you must meet the following skills and experience:

• Proven experience in a BD or Marketing role within a professional services or legal environment.
• Strong ability to manage multiple projects and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced setting.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail, fluent in English and Arabic.
• Ability to build strong relationships and influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience with CRM systems, KSA bid submission portals and digital marketing platform.

Arabic speaking is essential to this role.

Our preference is to hire a Saudi/ GCC national for this role.

We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name a few, these include:

• Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)
• Flexible, hybrid working policy
• Generous bonus scheme
• Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)
• Holiday exchange scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Enhanced parental leave
• Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits, please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

At CMS, we place diversity and inclusion at the centre of our culture and the heart of our organisation. As a firm we recognise, celebrate, and embrace the diverse talent our society has to offer because we know that to solve big problems, we need the best and brightest minds available to us. In support of this goal, we commit to actively breaking down barriers which stand in the way of those from diverse backgrounds and play our part in levelling the playing field.

As a Future Facing Firm, we strongly believe that a career in law should be open to people from all walks of life, because not only does diversity of thought and experience make our firm a stronger and more sustainable business, but it also makes it a more rewarding place to work.

When recruiting, we prioritise attracting talented people and we actively promote a flexible working environment which enables all our team members to thrive. If you see a role you are interested in, but don't feel you meet 100% of the criteria we encourage you to still consider making an application. We also welcome applications from those who may be looking to return to the workforce after a career break.

We are proud to say our leadership in creating an inclusive working culture has been celebrated and recognised externally, including being listed for a number of years in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women and the Social Mobility Index.

We are a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer, and we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity throughout our recruitment process and in every element of the employee life cycle. If you require assistance, or if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please contact Becky Lowe at TalentAcquisition@cms-cmno.com who will be happy to support you.

We look forward to receiving your application online via the CMS careers site. Please contact our Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions.

Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.

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