Business Development Analyst

Overview of the company:

Hakluyt advises decision-makers on the opportunities and risks facing their businesses. Our clients build deep relationships with us and trust us with their most important commercial issues. They value our discretion, our independence of thought, and our highly differentiated approach.

Our advice is delivered by an in-house team of professionals, spread across a dozen global offices. It is informed by insights generated through a global network of well-connected individuals – a network that is unique in its scale, reach and seniority. For nearly 30 years, we have worked on some of the most complex and high-profile problems facing business leaders, and the range of what we cover is extraordinary: M&A, strategy, shareholder activism, regulatory and policy issues, disputes, senior hires, cyber, sustainability, and more – across every industry sector, and all over the world.

As a partner-owned firm, we are discerning about whom we work for and with. We hold ourselves to exacting ethical standards, and we take on work only once we are confident that we can provide value. We love what we do, and we take enormous pride in our work and the culture and values of our firm.

This approach to doing business has helped us build a blue-chip client base that includes many of the world’s largest companies (including at least one of the world’s top five corporations in every major sector globally); more than three quarters of the top 20 private equity firms in the world by AUM; and some of the most respected sovereign wealth and pension funds.

Purpose of the role and broader context:

Our firm is growing, and we are looking for someone to join us as a business development analyst in our New York office. This is a two-year analyst placement within our support function and is not client-facing. At the two-year mark, analysts will be skilled in advanced research and business development skills and will have built a strong understanding of both the corporate and financial sectors. We are aiming for a start date in early summer 2024.

Successful candidates will be clever, hungry, comfortable with ambiguity. They will also be collegial and decent human beings who buy in to our values. To succeed in the role, they will be entrepreneurial, collaborative, and determined to work to help our clients.

Our business is built on bringing varied perspectives together to solve problems, and diversity is imperative for us. We are interested in hearing from applicants from a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds.  

Key responsibilities:

Business development

• Facilitate a more strategic approach to business development by systematically mapping target clients in key markets, identifying potential hire triggers and assessing routes to key individuals.
• Provide ad hoc support, especially on meeting preparation and follow-up, to executives undertaking prospecting activities – including by drawing on internal and external insights to compile target-specific pitch materials.

Client coverage

• Prepare and analyse recurring market-level updates/digests highlighting leads (M&A, leadership changes, activist investor stakes, cyber incidents etc.) pertinent to client teams*.*

• Provide ongoing support with financial sponsor portfolio mapping.

Internal support

• Build out and maintain sector/geographic/service line pitch materials and case study templates.

• Keep abreast of proposals and projects, flagging thematic issues that could be of interest to a broad group of clients.

• Advance the firm’s understanding and use of AI technology to bolster our business development efforts.

• Carry out other support tasks, as required.

Key experience, skills and knowledge:

• University degree

• At least 2-3 years of professional experience preferred, although exceptional candidates with less will be considered

• Proficient in Microsoft Office particularly in PowerPoint and Excel

• Advanced research skills including open source, databases, and generative AI

• Experience building and maintaining data systems

What we offer:

Total compensation for this role will comprise a base salary and an annual performance-related bonus. The base salary for this role ranges from $70,000 - $80,000. We also offer 401(k), fully paid health insurance and 25 days’ holiday per annum (plus the days between Christmas and New Year). Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.