Head of Major Pursuits in Leeds

Company Description

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board. Work with Us. Change the World. At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world's most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations. There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world. We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Reports to Managing Director, Strategy & Growth, Europe & India

The role As Head of Major Pursuits EURI, this leadership role sets the standard for excellence-driving best practice, elevating strategic thinking, and zeroing in on the opportunities that will deliver the greatest impact on NSR and EBITA growth. You'll work selectively on high-value, high-influence pursuits drawn from the qualified pipeline, focusing on those that truly move the needle. The role carries an ambitious target: a 50%-win rate by project value. Priority goes to pursuits that materially contribute to the UK+I and CE NSR and GSR sales targets, while increasing backlog in line with regional growth goals. You will lead major pursuit work winners across all EURI End Markets-shaping bid strategy, steering execution, and instilling a winning culture. This is a front-of-house role: client-facing, relationship-driven, and influential in shifting internal mindsets around what exceptional pursuit strategy looks like. It is not a backstage, bid-production position. Success depends on connecting major pursuit strategy with real delivery models-ensuring we bid as we will deliver. The impact you create will transform how Major Pursuits are approached across the entire EURI region.

Responsibilities

• Partners closely with the business (EUR&I Executive, Country Managers, XBL Market Sector Leaders and CAM's) to drive a highly effective, coordinated approach to winning work.
• Leads high performing team of Bid Managers focused on winning Enterprise Critical Pursuits (+$35m).
• Collaborates with the business line work winning teams to win Tier 2 major pursuits ($20-35m).
• Directs strategy and execution for key major pursuits - working with Regional Business Line Leaders, Business Line Strategy and Growth Leads, CAM's, Capture Managers and Marketing to map decision-makers, uncover client drivers, create compelling value proposition and client centric winning solutions to out-deliver competitors, and position well with our clients before the RFP is released.
• Directs high-quality bid execution including responses to RFIs/RFQs/RFPs, applying rigorous pursuit processes to ensure speed, efficiency, and full compliance.
• Personally, leads pink, red and gold reviews for some of our most important opportunities bringing the best of AECOM and your experience to bear on our submitted bids.
• Builds strong, trusted relationships across the organisation-acting as a strategic partner to business line, sector and country leadership providing challenge and support in equal measure.
• Drive digital innovation and AI in leading and executing major pursuits.
• Challenges business at early stage to make sure we make the correct Go/No-Go decisions.
• Allocates resources and leads the Major Pursuits team on priority opportunities.
• Designs and delivers impactful training, coaching, and programmes that elevate work winning capability across the Region.
• Uses internal networks, CAMs, and other relationships to develop strong external stakeholder connections that strengthen the pipeline for upcoming major pursuits.
• Fosters cross-company collaboration by building strong bonds with work winning teams across AECOM, both regionally and globally.
• Develops emerging talent and coaches other managers on training and career progression for their teams.
• Supports the attraction and retention of key talent.
• Understands industry, market sector and functional trends, key business drivers and challenges, and the impact on AECOM's business plan.
• Thinks and acts globally. Collaborates with other stakeholders to drive key business outcomes and implement transformational change.
• Monitors internal and external trends and identifies new approaches and improvements to support business success.
• Builds and models a climate that fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration and calculated risk-taking.
• Embeds a process of capturing client and team bid feedback, celebrating success and sharing best practice and lessons learned to drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in leading and winning major project and framework pursuits (+$35m), complex bids, or strategic work-winning initiatives within a large, matrixed organisation.
• Proven track record in influencing company culture to support embedding client centricity and winning bigger.
• This is a leadership position that requires clear thinking, strong strategic skills, the ability to create empathy and rapport with internal colleagues and external clients, and a cooperative ability to constructively engage and assist the business to pursue the EUR&I growth plans.
• Deep understanding of pursuit strategy, client positioning, bid governance, and the end-to-end RFI/RFQ/RFP process, with the ability to drive compliant, compelling, and competitive submissions.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to interpret client needs, assess competitive landscapes, and shape winning value propositions.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships at senior levels across multiple business lines, sector and countries.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams, allocating resources effectively, and coaching others to improve win strategies and outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority, positively challenge thinking, hold capture teams accountable and inspire teams to pursue higher performance standards.
• Skilled communicator-clear, concise, persuasive-with the ability to articulate strategy and complex ideas to clients and internal teams.
• Experience developing and delivering capability-building programmes, training, or coaching related to work winning or business development.
• Ability to operate "front-of-house" with confidence-client-facing, relationship-driven, and credible in senior external engagements.
• Comfortable navigating a fast-paced environment, managing competing priorities, and maintaining quality under pressure.
• Demonstrate alignment with AECOM's values and leadership behaviours: Safety, Ethics & Quality first, Collaborate to win, Innovate with impact, Deliver excellence, Sustain our world, Thrive together.
• Commitment to supporting the growth and development of junior and mid-career colleagues, as well as a strong dedication to personal continuous development.

Additional Information

Key Competencies

• Resilient, results-oriented, and customer-focused.
• Robust approach to dealing with a multitude of stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker with strong commercial acumen.
• Excellent leadership and team development skills.
• Strong negotiation and influencing abilities.
• Analytical mindset with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Collaborate to win: able to connect global expertise to solve client challenges and achieve shared success.
• Innovate with impact: embrace new ideas, digital innovation and AI to create forward-thinking solutions for clients.
• Deliver excellence: focus on clients' needs, technical and operational excellence, and exceptional project execution to grow their business.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle - from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you're working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed. You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients. AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We're the world's trusted global infrastructure firm, and we're in this together - your growth and success are ours too. Join us, and you'll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm - access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.