Senior Specialist, Business Development

We are BLG: Canada’s Law Firm. Our culture is one of vigilance and curiosity, Firm-wide collaboration, unfailing mutual respect and dedication. We pride ourselves on having standout talent and delivering an exceptional client experience.

We are a future-minded Firm delivering high-value advice and known for our unwavering commitment to innovation, diversity and inclusion, community involvement and talent development. Learn more about us at www.blg.com.

Purpose of the Role

The Senior Specialist, Business Development provides strategic business development recommendations and practical support to the Sector Leaders and the Director, Business Development. An emerging leader, relationship builder and executor, the Senior Specialist is an ambassador of the Clients and Markets (C&M) Core Team Values and integrates with C&M colleagues to identify and deliver impactful initiatives that support measurable revenue growth and profitability targets; client relationship retention and acquisition; and amplification of BLG’s brand profile within the industry and sector.

Success in this role is measured through the Senior Specialist’s contribution to lead generation (converting opportunities into new work); client relationship development (new and institutional); and brand awareness (BLG as trusted business partner within the sector). This role is replacing a current vacancy and is open to be filled in any of our five regions: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver.

Primary Responsibilities

• Business Acquisition, Pitches and Pursuit Strategy
  • Develop, execute and implement the initiatives set out in the annual Corporate and Capital Markets (CCM) and Specialized Business Law (SBL) practice plans, in consultation with key stakeholders.
  • Work closely with the Pursuits team to assist with RFP’s, proposals and tailored pitches across CCM and SBL, providing strategic input on differentiation, value propositions and key messaging.
  • Monitor market opportunities, M&A trends, capital markets activity and regulatory developments, providing competitive intelligence and insights that support business development initiatives and strengthen BLG’s market positioning.
  • Prepare partners for prospect and client meetings by providing commercial briefs, target profiles and structured dialogue frameworks to support effective needs assessment conversations.
  • Support the development, maintenance, and continuous enhancement of business development and marketing assets, including proposal templates, client-facing collateral, brochures, presentation slip sheets, deal reporting tools, and other resources that drive consistency, efficiency, and market impact.
  • Assist with the management and reporting of CCM and SBL budgets, providing recommendations and guidance on strategic expense priorities and assessing ROI on client engagement and business development activities.
• Client Account & Relationship Management
  • Support Focus Group Leaders in leading assigned client teams through account planning, meeting governance, and action item reporting and follow-through.
  • Translate insights from the Firm’s Client Listening Program into specific account expansion strategies and service improvement recommendations.
  • Develop deep knowledge of priority client stakeholders, business strategies and current issues; update client profile and track key touchpoints in CRM.
  • Identify cross-selling opportunities between CCM deal flow and SBL advisory sub-practices to deepen client relationships and expand mandates.
  • Leverage relationship programs to engage with priority client stakeholders and develop consistent, value-added client experiences.
  • Organize and facilitate regular CCM and SBL focus group meetings; manage action items and drive measurable follow-through on revenue-generating priorities.
• Marketing & Brand Awareness
  • Partner with the Marketing and Communications team to support CCM and SBL go-to-market campaigns, thought leadership content and digital initiatives that build BLG's profile in the corporate transactional and specialist legal markets.
  • Collaborate with Marketing and Communications and legal professionals to identify timely market opportunities for content, including trends pieces, transaction updates and client-facing insights, providing practice-specific input and subject matter direction.
  • Work alongside the Rankings and Communications teams to contribute CCM and SBL deal experience, expertise and key messages to leading legal directory and awards submissions.
  • Support legal professionals in participating in relevant industry sponsorships, speaking engagements and conferences, coordinating with the Events and Communications teams on execution.
• Reporting and Business Intelligence
  • Provide streamlined reporting on assigned CCM and SBL client account performance and the impact of profile-building activities including recommendations to improve outcomes.
  • Ensure representative transactions and experience are captured in Foundation to support pitch credentials, league table accuracy and competitive positioning.
  • Actively maintain target client profiles and CCM and SBL marketing lists in CRM.
  • Use market analytics and pipeline data to track wins, losses, ROI and business development best practices, reporting regularly to Focus Group Leaders and the Director, Business Development.

General Responsibilities

• Ensure that CCM and SBL stakeholders are kept informed of business activities, risks, opportunities and recommended actions.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing of business development best practices to build capabilities across the C&M team.
• Collaborate with other C&M functions to deliver seamless and consistent service to legal professionals.
• Act as a bridge across C&M sub-teams, pulling in the right resources for practice initiatives without creating bottlenecks.
• Be an ambassador of continuous improvement and change, playing an active role in elevating the performance of the C&M team.

Key Competencies

• Undergraduate degree in Business, Law, Marketing, Finance or Communications.
• 5 to 7 years progressive business development experience in a legal or professional services environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of corporate transactions, capital markets activity and the competitive landscape for transactional legal services.
• Proven track record structuring and executing high-value pitches and navigating complex RFP processes from strategy through to completion.
• Executive presence with the ability to build relationships and earn trust with senior partners and key client stakeholders.
• Comfortable operating in a matrixed, national organization with multiple competing priorities and stakeholder demands.
• Innovative, results-driven and action-oriented, able to identify challenges and opportunities and execute to completion in a deadline-driven environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize market intelligence, financial data and client insights into practical recommendations.
• Familiarity with RFPs, alternative fee structures and pricing strategies for professional services.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; strong time management and the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects.
• Proficiency in CRM platforms and deal capture tools; established knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
• Bilingual (English/French) capability is an asset.

The expected salary range for this position is $80,000 - $90,000, depending on level of experience, region/location, and other factors.