Assistant Director, Client Development

  • Full-time

Company Description

Crowell & Moring International LLC (C&M International or CMI) is a global government relations, public policy, and public affairs consulting firm that helps clients shape the international regulatory landscape to support innovation, sustainable growth, and commercial competitiveness.  For more than thirty years, C&M International’s team of public policy experts, former government officials and trade negotiators, economists, campaign officials and bio-medical scientists has worked with clients to resolve commercial and trade challenges, clear political hurdles, and shape policies and regulations in key international markets.  CMI is based in Washington, DC with an Asia regional office in Singapore. 

When issues demand it, we also bring to bear the resources and expertise of our attorney colleagues within our parent organization, Crowell & Moring LLP (C&M), an international law firm with approximately 625 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. C&M has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Chicago, Indianapolis, London, Doha, Shanghai and Brussels.

Job Description

Job Summary

The Assistant Director, Client Development leads CMI business development initiatives and marketing efforts. Leadership will be brought to bear in each of the three key pillars of CMI work.  These include CMI engagements on Global Health, Global Trade and Investment and Global Digital.  The Assistant Director will serve as a key collaborator with CMI group leaders and directors in generating new and expanding client engagements.   The Assistant Director will report to President & CEO of CMI.

This position will also work closely with members of the C&M Client Development team to ensure their initiatives build upon C&M resources and knowledge, support CMI priorities and help drive overall firm strategy for CMI with C&M.  The CMI Director will work closely with a dotted line to the Senior Director, Practice Group Business Development & Management within C&M.  

Primary Areas of Responsibility

Business Development and Marketing
•    Partners with CMI leaders to develop and implement strategic plans.
•    Proactively engages with practice groups within CMI and its professionals to understand the public policy, public affairs, government affairs and business needs of clients and the corresponding solutions the firm provides to them. Through CMI “fluency,” contributes high-level business development advice and guidance that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the work done by the group and its professionals. 
•    Creates and drives business development goals of CMI; includes support in generating business leads and opportunities, expanding existing client matters, and identifying and pursuing cross-selling opportunities with C&M.  Manages and monitors business development pipeline.
•    Embeds with client services teams for high priority client relationships to develop and execute organic growth opportunities and generally support relationship management.

•    Leads the development of written materials for client development discussions and educate clients and potential partners about CMI’s capabilities. 
•    Develops pitches and proposals, including firm responses to formal RFPs. Understands the objectives and requirements of a proposal or RFP and formulates a view about what it will take for CMI to win the engagement. Coordinates drafting high-quality proposals on time, including writing select elements. Reviews proposals at different stages of the drafting process and advises the drafting team make course corrections where necessary. Conducts final compliance and quality review before proposals are submitted.  After CMI wins or loses proposals, conducts debrief sessions to identify opportunities to improve.
•    Works with individual CMI professionals and advises on business development best practices and strategies to assist in developing their practices. 
•    Attends conferences and industry events where opportunities might be discussed. Gathers intelligence about upcoming opportunities for which CMI might be well suited to compete and help provide market research input into opportunities. Develops opportunity-specific competitive intelligence analysis along with relative strengths and weaknesses of competitors.  In collaboration with C&M Research Services, digests and delivers meaningful research on existing and prospective clients, competitor activity, and industry or market trends to inform and support business development opportunities, strategies, and decisions. 
•    Identifies and liaises with partners with whom CMI could team for emerging opportunities and finalize teaming agreements. 
•    Identifies trends, timelines and priorities related to CMI’s core areas of activity or potential activity; develops compelling and timely content to incorporate into marketing collateral, website descriptions, and other client facing materials. 
•    Supports firm-wide efforts related to the knowledge management of pitches, proposals, and opportunities for CMI.
•    Supports opportunities to increase brand awareness and profile for CMI, including outward facing activities such as client alerts, articles and other publications, sponsored events, in-house presentations, professional speaking opportunities.  
•    Works with C&M Media PR and Communications teams, internal CMI resources and occasional external resources to support raising the profile of CMI and its professionals, and with the C&M events team to plan and support group events that showcase CMI and its professionals.
•    Depending on group needs and approach to client service and business development, takes on other business and program responsibilities as needed.

Qualifications

Requirements:

Education
The position requires a Bachelor’s Degree.  An MBA or other related advanced degree is strongly preferred and may substitute for required experience. 

Experience

The position requires a minimum of 8 – 10 years of increasingly responsible, directly related experience during which knowledge, skills and abilities applicable to the position were demonstrated.

Direct experience in a public affairs firm or professional services environment in a professional capacity preferred. 

Experience working in an international environment, interest in international issues and/or experience working with or in government is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

•   Strong business and marketing acumen, including the ability to leverage research and competitive intelligence to identify business opportunities and support go-to-market strategies.
•    Demonstrated ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of the organization and work both independently and with others in a cooperative, enthusiastic and friendly manner to accomplish position functions and participate in team efforts.
•    Ability to adapt to changing priorities and maintain a productive and committed work effort, meeting deadlines and managing workload.
•    Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing with internal and external clients/personnel at all levels
•    Proven strong writing skills required; experience with content creation and messaging development is a value-add
•    Strong knowledge of and familiarity with business, policy and public affairs environments.

Additional Information

Crowell & Moring LLP and Crowell & Moring International LLC take great pride in our positive, friendly culture that rewards hard work and success, at the same time recognizing the importance of family and community service.

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