Specialist, Strategic Intelligence (Experience & Research)

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms. Advising many of Canada’s corporate leaders, as well as U.S. and international parties with extensive interest in Canada, our more than 1,000 firm members are based in offices in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and New York.

Osler prides itself on attracting and maintaining some of the brightest talent in the legal arena. Our lawyers, students, management and staff have created a unique firm culture which nurtures mentoring and the exchange of ideas. Osler is a dynamic and exciting place to further your career or carve out a new path.

The Specialist, Strategic Intelligence (Experience & Research) is the subject-matter expert for CD&M’s (Client Development & Marketing) market research, competitive intelligence, and experience management practices, translating internal and external data into actionable insights that inform business development, client engagement, and firm growth initiatives.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Strategic Intelligence, the Specialist partners with practice groups and CD&M colleagues to interpret market and experience signals, identify trends and gaps, and recommend actions. The role also owns day-to-day stewardship of experience data quality, setting practical governance approaches and enabling stakeholders to use reliable data in pitches, directories, and planning.

This role supports CD&M’s market research and intelligence initiatives by synthesizing internal and external sources, identifying themes and gaps, and producing partner-ready insights that inform business development priorities. It also leads CD&M’s experience data quality and governance practices by defining and maintaining standards (in collaboration with stakeholders), auditing and improving data integrity, and advising on the effective use of experience management technology.

This job posting is for an existing vacancy. 

Major Responsibilities:

Market Intelligence & Research Support

• Conduct market and industry research using credible internal and external sources to support practice-area positioning, client targeting, and firm growth priorities


• Maintain an informed view of competitor activity, deal flow, and market developments relevant to firm practices; synthesize implications rather than simply recording activity


• Integrate multi-source data (CRM, deal databases, public filings, news, and external market platforms) into partner-ready insights and briefings that inform business development decisions


• Provide consolidated internal and external views to support new practice-area launches, defense pages, and service-line initiatives


• Identify emerging market trends, white space, and client opportunity signals; surface findings to inform strategic planning conversations

Experience Management & Data Governance

• Serve as CD&M’s primary operator and contact for the firm’s experience management platform, including workflow optimization, user support, configuration recommendations, and identification of enhancements that improve data reliability and usability


• Define and maintain practical data standards for matter and deal profiles, including required fields, evidence thresholds, naming conventions, and refresh cycles; ensure consistent adoption across CD&M


• Own ongoing CD&M data quality monitoring, periodic audits, and clean-up initiatives; investigate root causes, prioritize fixes by business impact, and coordinate remediation with data contributors and system owners


• Apply the firm’s experience taxonomy (industry, service line, jurisdiction, etc.) consistently across experience records; provide guidance to contributors and flag inconsistencies to the relevant decision-makers for resolution


• Coordinate the migration and integration of CD&M experience data sources into the experience management platform; collaborate with project owners on data model decisions for CD&M-owned fields

Market Intelligence & Research Support

• Conduct market and industry research using credible internal and external sources to support practice-area positioning, client targeting, and firm growth priorities


• Maintain an informed view of competitor activity, deal flow, and market developments relevant to firm practices; synthesize implications rather than simply recording activity


• Integrate multi-source data (CRM, deal databases, public filings, news, and external market platforms) into partner-ready insights and briefings that inform business development decisions


• Provide consolidated internal and external views to support new practice-area launches, defense pages, and service-line initiatives


• Identify emerging market trends, white space, and client opportunity signals; surface findings to inform strategic planning conversations


• Conduct ad-hoc research on clients, prospects, and industry sectors in support of pitch preparation and senior stakeholder queries

Expertise Insight & Submissions Support

• Produce concise, partner-ready summaries of firm experience for use in pitches, RFP responses, directory submissions, and partner-facing communications, ensuring underlying data is current and defensible


• Identify patterns in firm experience data, including practice-area concentrations, white space, and under-tagged matters; present findings to the Senior Manager, Strategic Intelligence


• Provide the experience-data inputs that the CD&M team and practice groups need for directory and award submissions, including accurate matter selection, consistent tagging, and validated evidence


• Build and run reports from the experience management platform to support pitches, partner-facing summaries, and ad-hoc business development requests


• Establish and apply criteria for notable matters used in marketing and website content, validating supporting details and coordinating approvals to ensure accuracy and consistency

Position Requirements 

Education and Experience 

This position requires a university or college degree in Business Management, Library and Information Science, Statistics, or a related discipline, plus a minimum of three to five years of experience in a professional services or B2B environment with significant exposure to business development data, experience management, knowledge management, or research workflows.

An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be considered. Legal industry or professional services experience is strongly preferred, particularly familiarity with the business of professional services firms, matter/mandate concepts, and practice group structures.

Previous experience with experience management or knowledge management platforms (e.g., Foundation, ikaun, or comparable systems) and market research databases (e.g., Pitchbook, Capital IQ) is highly preferred. The successful candidate will demonstrate proficiency in data governance and the ability to synthesize internal and external data into clear, partner-ready outputs using CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365) and BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Looker Studio). Comfort with and knowledge of AI tools is considered a strong asset.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving abilities; ability to take ambiguous, multi-stakeholder data problems through to closure


• Advanced Excel skills, including Power Query, pivot tables, and structured data manipulation; comfort with structured taxonomies and classification logic


• Self-starter and independent thinker; comfort with ambiguity and competing stakeholder inputs


• Detail-oriented, organized, and able to prioritize across multiple concurrent workstreams


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate technical and operational data into clear, accessible outputs for non-technical stakeholders


• Strong project management, time management, and cross-functional coordination skills


• Dedicated work ethic and commitment to a team and goal-oriented environment


• Proficiency in MS Office Suite skills, in particular MS Project, PowerPoint, and Excel


• Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Salesforce, Microsoft Power BI


• Pitchbook, Capital IQ, Mergermarket

We are currently working in a hybrid work arrangement, which includes a requirement to work primarily in the office and flexibility to work remotely up to 2 days per week.

Compensation:

The range of expected compensation for this position is $85,000 - $95,000 annually. Compensation offered will be based on a variety of factors including job-related knowledge, education, skills and experience. 

Accessibility and Accommodation 

We thank all applicants for their interest in Osler; however, only chosen applicants will be contacted.  Osler is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, and we welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and people with diverse backgrounds, identities, and cultures. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates in all phases of the selection process. 

Background and Reference Checks 

Please note that any offer of employment will be conditional upon background and reference checks, including a criminal record check, credit check, and employment and educational verifications. 

If you have the required background with the ability to provide exceptional customer service and wish to work in one of Canada's leading law firms, please reply in confidence with a cover letter and résumé by the closing date. 

Please note that we use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for the position. 

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