Slaughter and May
Senior Pitch Manager
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Role overview
We are looking for a Senior Pitch Manager to play a central role in our Pitch Team - leading strategically important pitches while helping to shape the future direction of the team. The Pitch Team is a hub of pitching specialists that sits within the wider Clients and Markets function and is recognised as the firm’s strategic winning-work function, partnering with lawyers across every practice area to deliver compelling, commercially focused responses that set Slaughter and May apart in competitive processes.
This is a hands-on senior role requiring both strategic thinking and operational excellence. We are looking for someone with the confidence and drive to challenge traditional approaches, lead change initiatives and continuously improve how we work.
The successful candidate will lead complex pitches from qualification through to post-pitch review, providing strategic advice while taking ownership of timelines, messaging, content development, stakeholder management and final deliverables. Working closely with the Head of Pitching, they will help shape the future direction of the team and the firm's broader pitch strategy, while developing and empowering while empowering and developing the talent within the team to deliver at the highest standard.
Slaughter and May is an exciting place to work in pitching. You will collaborate with some of the world’s leading legal experts on high-profile, highly competitive opportunities — from landmark transactions to complex disputes. Curiosity and a genuine interest in the work are encouraged and rewarded, and the Pitch Team is highly regarded across the business. It is a supportive, intellectually stimulating environment where good ideas are welcomed, quality is valued and the work genuinely matters.
Key responsibilities
The successful candidate will work independently but also closely with colleagues across Clients and Markets, particularly the Business and Client Development team, to support lawyers in winning new business and responding to existing clients - whether pursuing new instructions or reinforcing the firm’s position as their trusted, go-to adviser.
This role will offer the successful candidate the chance to step into the number two position in the Pitch Team, line manage a talented group of colleagues, lead on strategically complex opportunities and shape pitch strategy at a time when competitive pitching has become even more prevalent and challenging in the legal market.
The nature and demands of the role require someone with experience of working within a law firm environment. It is a busy and varied position that demands adaptability, strong organisational skills, a strategic mindset and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
Strategic pitch leadership and delivery
- Lead and oversee the firm’s most complex and strategically significant pitches taking personal ownership of the end-to-end process from initial opportunity assessment through to post-pitch debrief.
- Advise partners and Business and Client Development colleagues on pitch strategy, win themes and competitive positioning tailored to the target client and opportunity.
- Provide strategic oversight of key initiatives led by junior colleagues that contribute to the development of the firm’s pitching processes, infrastructure and wider pitch strategy.
- Lead the design and rollout of the go/no-go framework, establishing clear, consistent criteria for evaluating whether to pursue an opportunity. Own the ongoing operation of the process, chairing go/no-go assessments and ensuring the framework is embedded across practice groups so that the firm’s pitch resources are directed at the opportunities most likely to deliver a strong return.
- Ensure that client and sector research and competitor analysis are integral to every pitch strategy, working with the Research and Insights team where appropriate to provide the intelligence needed to inform the firm's approach.
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Content development and quality assurance
- Lead the strategic review and quality assurance of all pitches, capability statements, credential submissions and presentation materials produced by the team, actively shaping and strengthening messaging, narrative and content to maximise impact, while ensuring consistency, accuracy and adherence to best-practice standards.
- Provide guidance and direction to ensure that the firm’s pitch content and central libraries including credentials, case studies, team biographies and standard RFP responses are kept up to date, accurate and easily accessible.
- Ensure all pitch materials comply with the firm’s brand guidelines, tone of voice and regulatory requirements (e.g. SRA rules on marketing).
- Identify and articulate key messages for each opportunity and draft high-quality proposal responses that reflect the agreed strategy and win themes, tailoring content to the client's sector, priorities and decision-making criteria rather than relying on generic firm-wide narratives.
Stakeholder management and collaboration
- Act as a trusted adviser to partners on pitches, managing partners effectively and providing direction, guidance and challenge where necessary to ensure the strongest possible pitch outcome.
- Build a strong personal profile and presence across the business, becoming a recognised and trusted point of contact for partners and key stakeholders on all pitching matters.
- Build strong relationships and open lines of communication with colleagues across Brand and Creative, Marketing, Research and Insights, and Client Development to ensure the Pitch Team utilises the best available resources in support of every opportunity.
Process and infrastructure
- Actively review and challenge existing pitch processes, identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and improve the areas that add most value. Share and execute ideas for enhancing the firm’s pitch workflow, templates, toolkits and tracking systems.
- Oversee the management of the pitch pipeline and ensure accurate records of opportunities, outcomes and conversion metrics are maintained in the firm’s CRM management system.
- Leverage technology including AI-assisted drafting, data analytics and automation tools to improve efficiency, quality and win rates. Empower the wider team to adopt and embed these tools into day-to-day practice.
- Work with the Head of Pitching to execute the team’s priorities over the next 12 months, owning and managing the initiatives allocated to the role which may include areas such as opportunity qualification, data reporting and AI.
Coaching, training and knowledge sharing
- Coach partners and associates on presentation skills, messaging and Q&A handling in advance of client-facing meetings.
- Deliver training sessions and workshops on pitching best practice for lawyers at all levels.
- Lead post-pitch debriefs, capture lessons learned and feed insights back into the team’s processes and the firm’s broader strategy.
Team leadership
- Act as the Head of Pitching’s second in command, deputising in their absence and playing a central role in the leadership and strategic direction of the team.
- Line-manage the Pitch Managers, setting objectives, providing regular feedback and supporting career progression as well as providing strategic oversight on their pitches to ensure a consistently high standard of output.
- Allocate work across the team to balance capacity, development opportunities and client priorities.
- Foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture focused on quality and continuous improvement.
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Reporting and measurement
- Develop a thorough understanding of the firm’s pitching data and, alongside the Head of Pitching, present insights on themes, win/loss rates and pitch outcomes to the wider partnership and Clients and Markets leadership.
- Take ownership of tracking the pitch pipeline and opportunity flow, using this knowledge to understand resource demands and, with the support of the Head of Pitching, make informed decisions on resource allocation across the team.
Candidate profile
Candidates for this position must be/have:
- Experience working in the legal industry, particularly in pitching within a law firm environment.
- Strong BD and pitching experience, most recently at Senior Manager level within a legal or professional services environment. Candidates should enjoy being hands on with live opportunities while having the confidence and maturity to support and develop junior colleagues, challenge senior stakeholders and act as a genuine deputy to the Head of Pitching.
- Demonstrable leadership potential and a desire to play a broader role in shaping the future direction of the Pitch Team, acting as a trusted deputy to the Head of Pitching while supporting team development and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the legal market and clients’ key issues — ability to shape pitch strategy, not just execute.
- Ability to write persuasively in clear, succinct English with excellent attention to detail.
- Experience with, or strong appetite for, leveraging AI tools, data analytics and technology to drive efficiency and improve outcomes.
- Demonstrable experience and confidence in developing strong working relationships with partners, associates, Knowledge Lawyers and members of the Clients and Markets team.
- Able to demonstrate sound judgement in respect of managing information and understanding the commercially sensitive nature of our work.
- Proven ability to manage multiple deliverables within a tight timeframe and deliver high-quality outputs.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written, spoken and presentational) and excellent attention to detail.
- Willingness to foster an inclusive team culture and a high level of professionalism and integrity, displaying the highest standard of professional ethics at all times.
We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and will offer an interview to applicants with a disability or long-term condition who best meet the minimum or essential criteria for our Business Services roles. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident 'Offer An Interview' commitment, please apply via our online application form and not via LinkedIn. You are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. For more information about the Disability Confident scheme, please see the government website here.
We welcome applications irrespective of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, belief or marital status.
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