Manager, Professional Development - M&A

Job Summary & Objectives

The M&A Professional Development Manager (“PDM”) is a role central to the practice and all aspects of the group’s legal talent development efforts, with success driven by strong relationship-building and day-to-day connection with associates and partners.  The PDM is responsible for managing a range of associate activities including assigning deals, development and mentoring efforts and initiatives, and overall talent engagement, serving as a trusted advisor and “go-to” resource for the associates. 

The PDM will be responsible for supporting the M&A associates assigning process for the New York and Boston offices and facilitating broader professional development efforts as needed across the US offices. This role requires a people-first mindset, strong judgment, and the ability to build credibility quickly with stakeholders at all levels. This highly visible role is an integral part of the Legal Talent Team and will work closely with both the M&A practice group leader and staffing partners to support engagement, retention, and performance. 

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities

Staffing (New York & Boston Offices only for associates permanently in the group) ~65% of role

• Collaborate with the staffing partners to thoughtfully allocate work and structure deal teams for mid-senior associates, exercising judgement around associate experience, capacity, skills, business needs and development priorities

• Develop trusted relationships with mid to senior associates by means of weekly in-person 1:1 check-ins / meetings gaining a deep understanding of their recent engagement experience, strengths, aspirations, pressures, and development needs in order to make informed future staffing and development decisions

• Act as a central, trusted conduit between associates and partners – surfacing insights, flagging issues early, and facilitating productive dialogue around workload, performance, and development

• Monitor and actively manage associate utilization to promote fairness, sustainability, and strong performance, balancing evolving business demands with individual needs

• Works closely with M&A PDM colleague who focuses on junior-level associates to integrate staffing efforts across entire deal teams on an ongoing basis  

• Exercise sound judgment to balance client and business needs with individualized associate development, ensuring staffing decisions support both short‑term execution and long‑term talent growth

• Analyze utilization and availability data and pair it with qualitative insight from associate relationships to inform staffing decisions and leadership conversations. Share the analysis with the staffing partners on a regular basis

• Consult with the relevant staffing partners and members of the Legal Talent team regarding cross-group staffing, client secondments, etc.

• Assist with coordination and tracking of associate hours and schedules, including vacation, leaves of absence and related coverage

Professional Development Support

• Performance Reviews ~10% of role

  • Coordinate with the Legal Talent Team to support the delivery of thorough evaluations and developmental objectives for associates

  • Prepare required reports and participate in relevant meetings with group leadership to discuss associate evaluations

  • Coordinate with and assist the Legal Talent Team with ensuring robust feedback is provided to each associate in a timely fashion  

  • Assist with intake of orally communicated evaluations on an as needed basis

• Associate Training & Development ~5% of role

  • Provide the Training Team feedback and insights into the creation of relevant practice-specific training curriculum, and incorporation of practice-specific development needs into firm-wide development programs (i.e. STBReady, STBAdvance)

  • Facilitate coordination with STB coaching resources as needed in support of associate development

• Associate Mentoring, Engagement & Morale ~20% of role

  • Support associate development by ensuring all associates have a mentor pairing  and are in ongoing contact with their mentors in line with firm mentoring programs    

  • Support integration of lateral hires or group/office transfers through regular check-in meetings and coordination of social meetings with other group attorneys; intentionally build a sense of belonging and a strong internal network that accelerates engagement and performance

• Coordinate with other professional service team members (e.g. practice management, knowledge management, legal training team, etc.) to further practice group initiatives

Education

Required

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of business experience

Skills and Experience

Required

• 5+ years of relevant experience

• Highly motivated, proactive, and driven self-starter that demonstrates ownership, initiative, a strong work ethic, and commitment to the role and firm

• Strong oral and written communication skills

• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain trusted relationships across a matrixed, high-performing environment (associates, partners, and professional staff), using empathy, discretion, and consistent follow-through

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and utilize a collaborative approach to working with others of all seniority levels

• Strong interest and experience in professional development

• Ability to self-direct, manage multiple priorities, analyze needs and implement solutions

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail for both long and short-term projects and responsibilities

• Ability to track, analyze, collect data, and report metrics and findings

• Must be team oriented, contributing as needed to unexpected projects or requests

• Proficiency with MS Office Suite products and comfortable learning and working in databases and other software as needed

• Must be flexible to adjust hours to meet the practice group needs with deal assignments

Preferred

• Prior experience in a law firm preferred

• Coaching experience and certification preferred, or interest in obtaining certification

Salary Information

Simpson Thacher will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

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