Africa Business Development Specialist

Are you ready to make your mark as part of a global team, by supporting our Africa Country Practice through strategic growth, client development, and brand recognition? Then you’ve come to the right place. At White & Case, we’ll support you, give you responsibility and welcome you as an integral member of our diverse, international team from day one.

We are seeking a proactive Business Development Specialist who will sit within our Africa Practice, which is part of the Firm’s Country Practice Teams. You will be dividing your focus evenly between Africa-wide projects and supporting the Johannesburg office in Business Development and marketing.

Firm Summary

White & Case is an elite global law firm serving leading companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide. Our long history as an international firm means we are perfectly placed to help our clients resolve their most complex legal challenges wherever they may be.
With lawyers and staff operating from more than 47 locations, working in virtually every country of the world, we have invested heavily in building a high-quality full-service practice competing at the top of the market. We are distinguished by our on-the-ground presence in the world’s key financial markets and our strengths in handling complex cross-border work.
It’s not just about our global network of offices and shared services centers; it’s the global interconnectedness of the Firm that our people, and our clients, value most. We work well together across geographic and practice boundaries. It’s one of the reasons we attract and retain cross-border work. And why we attract a diverse group of people.
Our lawyers are globally minded, enterprising, collaborative and committed to excellence. Diversity is a core value of our Firm and it has been recognized with numerous awards and top rankings around the world. Our people represent 90 nationalities and speak 80 languages.

Key Responsibilities

Africa Country Practice:

• Assisting Africa BD Lead and other Senior Africa Practice management in developing and executing Africa Country Practice strategy aligned with global Firm objectives, collaborating with leadership and cross-functional teams
• Implementing Africa Country Practice action plan with support from relevant stakeholders across practice areas, and conduct analysis exploring competitor, client, and wider market trends
• Revitalising bi-weekly Africa Newsletter/News Alerts to enhance communication and engagement, and collaborate with Client Relationship Teams to integrate Africa strategy into their plans and activities
• Providing support on Africa-wide Legal Directories, as well as other strategic award submissions

Johannesburg Office Support:

• Compiling and updating South Africa-focused credentials across core practice groups and sectors
• Developing/distributing pitch templates for key practices and sectors, offering training to associates on template utilisation
• Assisting Johannesburg partners in strategic transactional and panel pitches as needed
• Managing databases for tracking new and closed transactions, ensuring accurate profiling and CRM entry, and provide education and training on InterAction Opportunities system for PAs/secretaries

Qualifications and skills

• Relevant Business Development experience in a professional services firm
• Relevant marketing (CIM) or a post graduate qualification would be a distinct advantage
• Proactive and results-driven with the ability to work independently and maintain high organisation
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral, adaptable to all levels of interaction, and a client-focussed approach
• Proficiency in marketing/BD is advantageous, along with attention to detail and exposure to client relationship management
• Skilled in influencing, negotiating, and working collaboratively in a team-focused environment, with proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and CRM applications

What We Offer

When you join us, you’ll be working directly with partners, business leaders and many other inspiring colleagues across our global network of offices. We live by our values—to be pioneering, united and human—and we believe that you’ll experience them from your first day. We will give you the support and development opportunities that will help you achieve your potential.

We believe that consistent high performance merits reward and support. Our compensation package reflects your calibre as a finance professional, and our benefits are designed to support your changing needs and priorities across different life stages.

About White & Case

We are a global law firm with longstanding offices in the markets that matter today. Our on-the-ground experience, our cross-border integration, and our depth of local, US and English-qualified lawyers help our clients work with confidence in any one market or across many.

Location & Reporting

Based in London, and reporting to the Africa Business Development Lead.
Our standard office hours in London are 09:30-18:00, with a current requirement for
3 days in the office per week.

Firm Benefits

We offer a flexible range of benefits, services and programmes designed to help support your lifestyle requirements. Some of the benefits currently available include:

• Private medical insurance
• Pension plan with matched employer contribution up to 7.5%
• Yearly wellbeing fund
• Income protection
• Holiday purchase
• Life insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Private GP services
• Travel insurance
• Dental coverage
• Cycle to work
• Holiday purchase (available during annual enrolment)

Equal Opportunity Statement

White & Case is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. It is our Firm’s policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you require assistance and/or accommodation to participate in our application and/or interview process, please email the recruiting contact listed for the relevant position. We are a Disability Confident (Committed) Employer. We will be happy to work with you.

Note to recruitment agencies: Our internal Recruitment team are responsible for all end-to-end lateral recruitment processes. All agencies must sign White & Case terms of business, which are office specific. Candidates submitted by an agency without terms of business agreed with the appropriate office, and/or outside of our online application tracking system, will not be considered a formal introduction.

Any applications and CVs sent directly to White & Case Partners and employees will not be accepted as formal introductions. If you have any questions, please contact the London Recruitment team.

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