Manager, Professional Development – M&A

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

M&A Professional Development Manager responsible for engaging and developing mid to senior associates. Collaborating with staffing partners in New York and Boston to enhance legal talent management.

Posted 5/28/2026full-timeNew York City • New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $165,000 - $215,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

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
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
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
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

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of business experience
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
Prior experience in a law firm preferred
Coaching experience and certification preferred, or interest in obtaining certification

Benefits

Comp & perks

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Hard Skills & Tools

data analysisutilization trackingreporting metricsstaffing decisionsproject managementrelationship managementconfidentiality maintenanceprofessional developmentcoachingmentoring

Soft Skills

communicationempathyinitiativeorganizational skillsattention to detailcollaborationproactivityjudgmenttrust-buildingflexibility

Certifications

Bachelor's degreecoaching certification