Associate Director of Business Development (National) - Life Sciences

Associate Director of Business Development (National) - Life Sciences

Cooley is seeking an Associate Director of Business Development to join the Marketing and Client Development team.

Position summary: This role is part of the Business Development Team, which leads the firm's business development efforts in the market, in close partnership with Marketing, to build relationships, generate opportunities, and support growth across priority clients, prospects, and sectors. Responsible for cultivating strategic relationships with clients, prospects, and industry influencers while identifying cross-selling, account expansion, and high-value pursuit opportunities that connect client needs to the firm's national capabilities.

Position responsibilities:

• Strategic Growth Partnership: Partner with business leaders to advance growth priorities for assigned industries, business area or market segments, providing tailored support to shape growth plans and define market-facing priorities.
• Targeted Network & Ecosystem Development: Build and maintain high-value relationships with selected clients, prospects, and referral sources, actively participating in industry-specific ecosystems and communities to strengthen the firm's national footprint.
• National & Geographic Synergy: Team with geographic BD professionals and partners to activate opportunities where national priorities intersect with local markets, ensuring seamless introductions and coordinated handoffs.
• Vertical-Specific Opportunity Identification: Surface whitespace, cross-selling, and account expansion opportunities specifically within the assigned focus area, identifying client needs that align with the firm's national capabilities.
• National Platform Activation: Identify and leverage anchor events, strategic partnerships, and national campaigns to raise firm visibility and translate high-level priorities into actionable, market-facing activities.
• Collaborative Pursuit Management: Help advance selected high-value opportunities by connecting focus-area needs with the right partners and practices across all geographies, ensuring internal coordination is streamlined.
• Marketing & Campaign Integration: Coordinate with the Marketing team on specialized outreach and campaigns tied to the focus area, ensuring a unified brand voice across all national and segment-specific initiatives.
• Market Intelligence & Feedback: Act as a strategic conduit, bringing market insights, competitive themes, and opportunity trends back to BD leadership to inform future investments and firm-wide decision-making.
• Pipeline Focus & Discipline: Maintain rigorous visibility into relationship activity and opportunity movement, tracking outreach and meetings to ensure a proactive and consistent BD rhythm within the assigned focus area.
• All other duties as assigned or required

Skills and experience:

Required:

• After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
• Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required
• Ability to travel, as required
• 8+ years of applicable experience in the field (e.g., marketing or business development), with 4+ years management experience (some at the senior level preferred)
• Market-facing presence including a leverageable network
• Commercial instinct and proven relationship building skills, including strong working knowledge of enterprise CRM ecosystems (e.g., Salesforce)
• Demonstrated industry experience in life sciences
• Bachelor's Degree

Preferred:

• Prior legal industry or professional services experience

Competencies:

• Entrepreneurial by nature
• Excellent attention to detail
• Approaches tasks through a lens of quality and consistency
• Approaches tasks through a digital first lens
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with ability to facilitate and solve problems
• Ability to organize, prioritize and coordinate multiple activities often under tight timelines
• Takes a consultative approach to set goals, drive projects, and achieve outcomes
• Strong judgment
• Team-player with collaborative spirit
• Unwavering ability to handle and maintain confidentiality regarding firm information, projects, client data
• High level of professionalism at all times
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and develop talent
• Proactive, analytical mindset
• Effective presentation skills

Cooley offers a competitive compensation and excellent benefits package and is committed to fair and equitable employment practices. EOE.

The expected annual pay range for this position with a full-time schedule is $260,000 - $320,000. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience and skillset of the candidate.

We offer a full range of elective benefits including medical, health savings account (with applicable medical plan), dental, vision, health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, life insurance, AD&D, long-term care coverage, backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits. In addition to elective benefit options, benefited employees receive firm-paid life insurance, AD&D, LTD, short term medical benefits as well as 25 days of Paid Time Off ("PTO") and 10 paid holidays each year. We provide generous parental leave and fertility benefits. New employees will attend a detailed benefit orientation to learn more about our many benefits and resources.