Kilburn & Strode
Senior Business Development Manager
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About Kilburn & Strode
Kilburn & Strode is one of Europe’s pre-eminent intellectual property firms. We act for UK, US and European clients at the forefront of their sectors on their most challenging, business-critical IP matters – from EPO and Unified Patent Court proceedings to M&A due diligence, strategic portfolio management and high-value prosecution. We have offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the US.
We are a certified B Corporation™ that looks forward, not back. We have a clear five-year strategy and an ambition to be the market leader in premium IP work by 2030. Our values – be curious, think commercially, act collaboratively, take ownership, make a positive impact – are not a poster on a wall. They shape how we work and who we hire.
The Clients and Markets function
Our ambition for Clients and Markets is straightforward: to become the commercial engine of this firm’s growth. Not a support function. Not a planning exercise. A function that generates momentum, creates opportunities and helps the firm win the premium clients and work it deserves. We are not there yet – but that is precisely what makes this moment interesting.
To build towards that, we have made a board-level appointment: a Director of Clients and Markets with a seat on the Governance Board and a direct reporting line to the Managing Partner. That appointment signals the seriousness of the firm’s intent. The Clients and Markets function now has the standing, the access and the mandate to operate as a genuine strategic partner to the practice groups – not as a service team responding to requests.
We are professionalising and integrating the function from the ground up. The infrastructure, frameworks and ways of working are being designed now. For the right person, this is an opportunity to shape how BD operates at a firm with real potential – rather than inherit a structure that was built for a different era.
The function covers both BD and marketing, and the two sides work closely together to deliver a coherent experience for partners, clients and contacts. This role sits firmly on the BD side, but collaboration across the function is part of how we work.
The role
This is a senior BD role with two core dimensions.
The first is practice group partnership. You will be the primary BD relationship for our Life Sciences & Chemistry (LSC) and Trade Marks (TM) practice groups. Your job is not to administer BD plans on behalf of partners – it is to understand what each practice group needs commercially, cut through the complexity of planning, and provide the focused support that allows partners to concentrate on what they do best: IP work and client relationships. You will work in the room with partners, not behind the scenes.
The second is firmwide programme leadership. You will co-lead a set of strategic BD initiatives that will define how the firm develops and retains its most important clients. These are not projects you will contribute to – they are programmes you will help design, build and run. They include the key account management framework, the client listening programme, a market intelligence capability, BD enablement for fee earners, and a quality programme that embeds commercial rigour across the firm’s BD activity.
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.
This role suits someone who has operated at a strategic level in professional services BD, has led programmes rather than simply supported them, and brings the personal credibility to work alongside very senior partners as a genuine peer.
We are at the point where the blueprint is being drawn and the foundations are being laid. The person who takes this role will have a direct hand in building something that matters – and will be able to point to it in years to come.
Responsibilities
Practice group BD – LSC and TM
Become the embedded BD partner for LSC and TM – present in partner meetings, close to the BD partners, and trusted by the group heads. Simplify BD planning for partners. Cut through the process and focus energy on the activities with the highest commercial return. Partners should find working with you easier than working without you. Drive key account plans for the firm’s most significant LSC and TM clients – ensuring growth conversations are happening, actions are owned, cross-selling opportunities are identified and followed through. The scope of key accounts includes priority target clients and key referrer relationships, not just existing clients. Develop and maintain a US BD support service for LSC and TM partners: preparation ahead of trips and conferences, contact and target research, and systematic follow-up tracking. Identify and develop new on-strategy client opportunities with partners, supporting targeting, outreach and the early stages of relationship development. Contribute to the directories programme for LSC and TM: referee selection, submission strategy and coaching attorneys on what strong submissions look like. Help shape pitch and bid responses for significant opportunities Track BD plan progress and report quarterly to the Director and practice group heads. Make commercial progress visible and make it matter.
Firmwide BD programmes
These programmes will be phased and sequenced over time rather than launched simultaneously. Part of this role is helping to determine what gets built first and how – bringing the judgement and experience to prioritise effectively and set realistic expectations with partners and the Director.
Co-design and lead the firm’s key account management framework: structure, tooling, partner engagement, execution and reporting. Build and run the client listening programme – structured relationship conversations with key accounts, the ‘why did you hire us’ programme for new clients, and a systematic approach to lost pitch learning. Build a market intelligence capability – providing partners and the Director with structured insight on target clients, competitor positioning, sector trends and referrer relationships to sharpen BD targeting and decision-making. Lead BD enablement for fee earners: practical tools, coaching and peer learning that build commercial confidence and capability across the firm, from associates to partners. Drive the commercial quality programme – embedding the language, habits and discipline of on-strategy client selection, rate positioning and client value across the firm’s BD activity. Contribute a BD perspective to CRM implementation: data standards, pipeline tracking, contact taxonomy and adoption by fee earners. Work with the Director to build and maintain the BD reporting framework – setting KPIs, tracking performance and presenting progress to the board and practice group heads.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What we need
Essential
A deep track record in BD within a professional services environment – law, accountancy or management consulting. You have spent your career helping senior professionals win, grow and retain client relationships, and it shows. Strategic seniority. You have led BD programmes, not just contributed to them. You have designed frameworks, built the case for them internally, and seen them through to adoption. Confident and credible at the most senior levels. You can sit across from a senior partner, challenge their thinking on a client or a plan, and be listened to. You earn authority through expertise and track record, not through hierarchy. Proven experience running key account or client development programmes in a complex professional services environment. You understand what makes these succeed and fail in practice. Strong commercial acumen. You understand client profitability, rate positioning and what it means to shift a firm’s client mix. You can have a fluent conversation with a Finance Director about what the numbers mean. Comfortable setting, working to and reporting against KPIs – both your own and those of the programmes you lead. You are at ease with measurement and use data to improve, not just to report. Excellent judgement in complex organisational environments. Partnership structures require political awareness, patience and the ability to build consensus without losing momentum. Exceptional written and verbal communication. You distil complexity clearly and adapt your register for different audiences – from a partner briefing to a session with paralegals and junior team members. Collaborative by instinct. You work across a team, share information freely and bring people with you.
Desirable
Experience of a BD programme with a significant US client dimension. Familiarity with CRM implementation or data-driven BD infrastructure. Experience in a firm that has undergone a repositioning, transformation or significant change in client strategy.
Personal attributes
Intellectually curious – you want to understand clients’ businesses deeply, not just support BD activity at a surface level. High EQ. You read complex organisational environments well and adapt your approach accordingly. Results-driven with a bias for action. You move things forward and hold yourself and others to account. Resilient. BD in professional services is a long game. You stay focused and positive when progress is slow. Comfortable with ambiguity and building in real time. This function is being shaped now. You will contribute to that shaping, not just inherit a finished structure.
Kilburn & Strode is committed to diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates regardless of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age.
“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