Macfarlanes
Business Development and Alumni Manager
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
We are recruiting a Business Development and Alumni Manager to join our Marketing and Business Development department.
About Macfarlanes
Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in Private Capital, Private Wealth, M&A and Disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.
We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging and supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.
What this means for you
Joining Macfarlanes means being part of a collaborative, approachable team who want you to succeed. You’ll be encouraged to get involved and recognised for your contribution.
We take your development seriously. Our learning and development programmes are second to none and are designed to help you strengthen your skills.
Above all, you’ll be part of a firm where we all work together as part of a cohesive and supportive team, value your efforts and help you to thrive.
The team
The Marketing and Business Development team consists of specialists across business development, CRM, digital, design, events, internal communications and PR.
This role reports to the Head of Business Development and will work closely with partners and colleagues across the firm, particularly within Employment, Financial Services and Products, Pensions and Insurance.
The role
This newly created role is split broadly 50:50 between developing and managing the firm's alumni programme and providing business development support to a portfolio of smaller practice groups. The role offers the opportunity to take ownership of the alumni programme, helping to strengthen relationships with more than 700 former lawyers and business services professionals, while also providing consistent business development support to a defined group of practices.
Working closely with partners and senior stakeholders, you will help identify growth opportunities, strengthen relationships and deliver initiatives that support the firm's business development and recruitment objectives.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
What makes this role different?
- Newly created position with genuine ownership.
- Opportunity to build and shape the firm's alumni programme.
- Broad remit spanning business development, marketing and relationship management.
- Opportunity to influence strategy as well as delivery.
- Support from a well-established Marketing and Business Development team.
- Clear scope to make a measurable commercial contribution.
Key responsibilities
Alumni
- Develop and deliver the firm's alumni strategy.
- Improve alumni data, segmentation and reporting.
- Identify and build relationships with priority alumni.
- Deliver alumni communications, events and engagement activity.
- Measure and report on programme effectiveness.
Business development
- Act as the lead business development contact for a portfolio of smaller practice groups.
- Responsibilities will include:
- Coordinating key business development activity, including directories, pitches, client targeting, events and thought leadership.
- Helping ensure supported practices are connected to firmwide initiatives and campaigns.
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration and cross-selling across the firm.
- Facilitating the sharing of ideas, opportunities and successful approaches across the supported practices.
- Tracking progress against agreed objectives.
This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the practice area.
The candidate
The successful candidate will ideally have:
- A minimum of 5 years’ business development experience within a legal or professional services environment.
- Alumni experience is preferable but not essential.
- Experience working with senior stakeholders.
- Strong commercial awareness and business development planning skills.
- Excellent relationship-building and communication skills.
- Strong organisational and project management skills.
- Experience of alumni, membership, network or community programmes would be advantageous.
Personal attributes
The successful candidate will be:
- Commercially minded and relationship-focused.
- Credible and confident with senior stakeholders.
- Proactive, organised and outcomes-focused.
- Collaborative and pragmatic.
- Adaptable and resilient.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Application screening
Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These checks will be initiated with your consent, and your CV will be sent to the provider by us. The screening will include but is not limited to your employment references, professional and academic qualifications including grades and any criminal records. Your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.
Our commitment to inclusion
Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.
As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity data questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress and identify any actions needed to continue to support an inclusive culture. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.
Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).
We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at recruitment@macfarlanes.com.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location