Emma W.
About me
| Emma W. | |
| Sociology | |
| Sociology | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2003 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | |
| CIVITAS LAW | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Legal services | |
| 2010 |
Like this profile?
Add this profile to your favourites so you can return to it later from your account.
A day in the life of a BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER in the United Kingdom
My career history
Brighton & Hove Evening Argus (2003-2004), Sussex (reporter for This is Brighton magazine and Entertainment pages).
Local Government News (monthly magazine), B&M Publishing, Croydon. Assistant Editor, June 2005 (after completing post-graudate course) - January 2006. Deputy Editor, Jan 2006 -August 2008.
Legal & Medical, Claims Management, Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer magazines, Barker Brooks Media, Harrogate. Editor and brand manager (August 2008 - July 2009).
TTA Group (part of Chime PLC), Hereford Street, London. (August 2009 - May 2010)
Civitas Law (civil & public law barristers), Business Development Manager (May 2010 - present), Cardiff Bay, Cardiff.
Also currently Editor of The Legal magazine, a Sheffield-based independent legal and commercial magazine that incorporates the Law Society and Chambers of Commerce. (May 2010 - Present)
Finally, Media / Marketing Consultant (freelance), for law firms, independent financial advisors, service providers to the legal sector and charities (May 2010 - present)
Courses taken since graduation
NCTJ DIPLOMA IN JOURNALISM (DISTINCTION) ACIM (ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA, CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MARKETING), WORKING TOWARDS CHARTERED MARKETER STATUS, CIM.
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I will be made Business Development Director this year and would like to eventually achieve Chambers Director. As I have my consultancy and the magazine on the side, the next step is to create an Editor-in-Chief role (next year) so I can take a step back and direct.
I set up my consultancy with the intention of working for a few days on each project per week.
My advice to students considering work
NEVER shut any doors, or give up. Always be prepared to be flexible and bring in new ideas. This could be from time spent on the JCR or SU, or other committees, or even Nouse! As the public and private sectors are having to innovate on the spot, be prepared to keep an eye on the sectors you are interested in, speak to people already in the industry and be nice to people - you never know when you might meet / work with them again!!
What I do
As the Business Development Manager of Civitas Law barristers' chambers, Cardiff - a nationally operating public and civil law set - I have an incredibly unique role. Qualified marketing specialists are few and far between in the legal sector, especially at the Bar, so the role has been developed by me and the management board from the outset.
There are an overwhelming number of responsibilities with this job, however, the most significant are: offering strategic business development (e.g. growth) direction to the Management Board; to create and control the annual marketing budget;
To identify, seek and maintain collaborative partnerships with clients, relevant organisations, industry bodies, charities and regulators
To prepare and manage entering chambers and barristers into standard awards (e.g.from the Bar Council) or industry awards (e.g. from the media)
To create an annual, rolling marketing for each practice group area, including PR, events and client relationship management; to create a rolling annual marketing strategy for the Civitas Law brand, and to be resposible for brand development; to be a spokesperson on behalf of Civitas Law and to act as an ambassador at networking events and with clients; to direct and spearhead the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives of Chambers; o ensure staff and barristers have access to all the skills and training they need in terms of client relationship management and marketing.
In my position as Editor of The Legal magazine, my job role includes:
Creating the agenda for each bi-monthly issue of The Legal magazine
Commissioning, writing and editing news stories and features; profiling the magazine to it's key audience, and helpig the sales team to develop the brand and sponsors; to work with the Law Society and Chambers of Commerce to understand their key agendas and ensure the magazine covers topics important to the readers and these organisations; to brief and manage the design team; to liaise with the sales team; to manage the flat plan (layout) and content of the magazine; to help create the copy for marketing the magazine; to develop satellite (spin-off) products from the magazine, under The Legal brand; to sign off all copy and the final document; to attend events and conferences.
As a freelance media and marketing consultant I have helped medium-large national businesses address their digital media strategies, including social media and websites. I also consult on set-up and management, as well as manage the practicalities of social media platforms if needed. I have a specilaist interest in assisting the legal and financial sectors with my consultancy work.
Skills I use and how I developed them
ACIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) Diploma (Distinction)
NCTJ Magazine Journalism Diploma (Distinction)
Degree skills:
Being nosey! I truly believe that my course (Sociology) married well with my inquisitive and questioning nature. The essays, questions and dissertations helped with my career in journalism - as did the formatting and grammar checks!
Having to manage my own time and set my own agendas also helped significantly.
My understanding people, businesses and communication have all stemmed from my degree.
Extracurricular skills:
I have been an active member of the Liberal Democrat party since graduating in 2003. As well as taking part in strategic planning at a local level brand (West Sussex), I have also assisted the campaigns manager and political party candidate (PPC) for the constituency. In 2007 I stood for local government, running my own campaign, as well as assisting others. I lost by 40 vites - so while I didn't win, I was incredibly proud of the achievement as a first time candidate.
When I moved to Yorkshire in 2008, I assisted the current MP and the next in line for the PPC role with their PR and campaign communications.
As a result of this (and my career to that date) I was awarded 'Business and Political Leader of the Future' ambassador status by the British Council, and as a result, joined a contingency of 100 other UK ambassadors to China in July 2009.
The strategic, people management and political (small 'p'!) helps me in my current role as I have to balance the needs of 22 self-employed barristers who come under the brand of Civitas Law. Also as a journalist, as the idea of getting people's attention on the doorstep means you can talk to anyone.
I have also used my political connections in order to gather support and knowledge for projects and articles I may be working on.
What I like most
The ability to directly steer the business towards new and growth areas. I will never fail to tire of meeting new people too!
What I like least
The protected and secure legal server in chambers - it's a complete dated nightmare (but top of the range in the sector) and requires a qualification to use the system!
What would I change? I would have taken my NCTJ qualification straight after university, rather than bumbling around for 6 months doing work experience - although that did probably help in some way!
Next steps...
If you like the look of Emma’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Emma a message to find out more about their career journey.