Pricing & Commercial Senior Analyst
A&O Shearman

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world's most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world's leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

DEPARTMENT PURPOSE
Achieving the firm's vision requires a world class Finance department and our teams add value when the information we produce enables great decisions. That means producing information that is relevant, accurate and understandable and doing so as quickly as possible. It also means building relationships with the Partners and other decision-makers in the firm so that they trust us to advise them on what the information means and what the best course of action is.

ROLE PURPOSE
The Pricing & Commercial Senior Analyst helps to drive U.S. business performance through the provision of timely and accurate analysis, owning a portfolio of key client relationships, reviewing commercial terms, and assisting the Pricing and Commercial Senior Manager in advising the business on effective pricing structures.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• U.S. CFO
• U.S. Head of Pricing & Commercial Management
• U.S. Finance Practice Managers
• U.S. Working Capital Controllers
• U.S. Pricing Committee, U.S. partners, matter managers, fee earners and business development teams
• Group Finance teams including Pricing, Financial Systems Group and Taxation
• Pricing teams and CFOs across the A&O network

• Assist U.S. relationship partners with rate negotiations for the firm's U.S. managed clients which may include:
  • providing timely, accurate and relevant financial information for decision-making,
  • profitability forecasting based on multiple levers/potential outcomes,
  • negotiation strategy; and
  • influencing or offering advice as appropriate to optimize the outcome of the negotiations.
• Own the pricing and financial support for a portfolio of U.S.-led client relationships acting as the primary point of contact for the relationship team and broader finance community across the A&O network, including providing frequent commercial updates on client financial performance to the relationship partners.
• Ensure all relationships are accurately documented and maintained on the firm's commercial database and manage the creation and ongoing maintenance of rate exception groups in 3E to ensure client arrangements are accurately captured and kept up to date.
• Provide commercial advice to partners contemplating new client agreements.
• Prepare financial analysis to support the pitching process taking a macro-economic view of pricing proposals by considering peer group data trends, external market data, and economic indicators within a client's regional footprint.
• Prepare detailed financial analysis for the U.S. pricing committee on matter performance and contribute to the presentation of this at pricing committee meetings.

• Assist with the periodic preparation and submission of market benchmarking data.
• Assist the Pricing & Commercial Senior Manager with analysis to support the annual rate setting process.

• Develop an in-depth understanding of typical client engagement terms, their commercial impact and how these interact with internal A&O policy.
• Support the client onboarding process by undertaking preliminary reviews of engagement terms and identifying material factors to escalate to senior management.

• Analyze current billing and profitability information and other items of a complex nature for reporting and problem-solving including calculating PPP analysis of individual matters.
• Prepare draft budgets, including scoping and estimating a matter for partner's review prior to accepting new engagements.
• Project manage a selection of matters to monitor effective utilization of staff, and control margins through the assessment of time and cost write-offs and support proactive measures to increase margins where possible.

• Develop close relationships with central pricing team in London and U.S. marketing team.
• Provide financial support for internal and external client meetings-determine nature of meeting and provide succinct financial advice and help drive client listening on price.
• Establish good working relationships with external clients to facilitate the resolution of issues that may arise.
• Pre-empt client queries by applying knowledge from prior engagements to identify and mitigate potential risks.
• Assist with design and delivery of training for working capital controllers, matter managers and others.

• At least five years' experience in a financial analysis role in a leading company/firm. Experience of a partnership environment and working in a matrix organization is an advantage.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
• A very credible individual with gravitas, resilience and a high level of intellectual ability who can develop effective working relationships and to influence at all levels.
• Must be a proactive self-starter with drive, enthusiasm and tenacity, possessing excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Must be comfortable working directly with senior leaders and have confidence to encourage and challenge partners.
• Commercial outlook essential with a strong understanding of the global finance markets.
• Excellent analytical and numeracy skills are a prerequisite for the role, plus the individual will need to adopt a 'broad brush,' big-picture approach and appreciate the commercial realities of a dynamic, fast-moving practice.
• Excellent attention to detail, prioritization and organizational skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and cope with the high and varied workloads.
• Upbeat, robust and a sense of humor is welcomed.
• MBA and/or those with a recognized Legal Pricing Professional certificate preferred, but not essential.
• Occasional travel required domestically and internationally.