Head of Pricing - Norwich

Location: Norwich
Discipline: Finance
Contact name: Charlotte Jarman

Contact email: [email protected]
Contact phone: 01223 222272
Vacancy reference: 014752
Closing date: 11 February 2022

This role can be based in any of our six offices with occasional travel to other offices and flexibility to work from home.

 

The role

We have invested in external training for all our Partners, Principal and Senior Associates, stood up a Pricing & Productivity Board and National Service Line (NSL) Pricing and Productivity taskforces, established pricing committees in some areas as well as implemented matter planning software.  As a result, we have seen some great results and a behavioural shift across our Partners and lawyers.  There is a great deal of momentum in the business and investment in this newly created role is further evidence of how strategically important we consider pricing to be in both achieving our 2025 strategy to be a leader in client experience and achieve profitable growth.

Reporting to the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and working with the firm’s Pricing & Productivity Board and NSL Leaders, this is a highly commercial role responsible for defining and driving the Firm’s pricing strategy.  Initially, the position will have no direct reports and will work alongside the firm’s Financial Controller, and with Commercial Managers, in directly supporting individual Partners and their teams deliver innovative pricing strategies to the Firm’s clients.

 

The person

This role requires someone who is an expert in law firm pricing and has a proven track record of delivering results and being able to influence and gain respect from a cross section of Partners, Lawyers and Finance and Marketing colleagues in particular.  It is likely that your background and experience will include the following areas of expertise:

  • Strong track record of supporting and coaching client-facing professionals on pricing strategy opportunities;
  • Understanding external clients’ pricing needs and putting place innovative strategies to meet their expectations;
  • Strong commercial awareness and excellent negotiating and influencing abilities;
  • Minimum of seven years’ experience in a finance-related discipline in a law or other professional services firm;
  • Expert knowledge of legal services pricing, alternative fee arrangements and costing of services;
  • Ability to analyse large financial data sets and prepare concise reports to support decision makers;
  • Excellent communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills;
  • People focused role driving and embedding change;
  • High level of numerical and computer literacy;
  • Excellent MS excel modelling skills.

 The role additionally requires someone who:

  • is proactive and adaptable;
  • has good EQ;
  • has a passion for continuous improvement.

The activities

  • Further refine, deliver and embed the Firm’s pricing strategy;
  • Be the Firm’s pricing expert and provide support through the pricing, bid and matter lifecycle;
  • Working with our Financial Controller, Commercial Managers and Bids team to provide strategic and tactical pricing advice to Partners and their teams;
  • Preparing financial modelling and analysis;
  • Supporting on all pricing matters including panel appointments, RFPs, pitches and general pricing support on complex or large matters;
  • Reviewing existing pricing arrangements to identify opportunities for further profitable growth;
  • Working with the Digital and Data team to design and deliver a project to implement a firm wide terms/retainer database;
  • Lead on continuous improvement of the firm’s matter planning processes and supporting technologies;
  • Working with the client care team. Commercial Managers, client and matter partners and client teams on post completion reviews in relation to client and matter profitability;
  • Responsible for continuing pricing training and education for Partners, Lawyers and relevant business services teams;
  • Maintain internal and external benchmarking data on rates;
  • Understand industry and market pricing trends and provide these insights to the relevant parts of the firm;
  • Lead the annual rate review process, determining the right strategies and helping partners to implement them.

The Mills & Reeve business services career structure

We have a firm wide business services career structure and a published career progression framework.  Within the firm wide career structure there are five career levels.  For the purposes of the framework, this role is at a Senior Manager level and the role profile that details the outcomes and activities expected of across the firm will be made available as part of the interview process.  Further information on the firm’s Business Services career structure is available from the HR team.