At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead growth strategies and business development for AECOM's Water sector in the UK and Ireland.
- Company: Join AECOM, a global leader in infrastructure consulting, making a positive impact worldwide.
- Benefits: Flexible hybrid work options, competitive salary, and diverse benefits to support your well-being.
- Other info: Diverse and inclusive workplace that values unique contributions and perspectives.
- Why this job: Shape the future of water services while collaborating with a passionate global team.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in business development and strong knowledge of the water market required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Company Description
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 nearly 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.
The Water Business prides itself on developing innovative techniques to improve the delivery, efficiency, and sustainable outcomes of our projects. We provide a broad range of clients with a full range of Water services across all sectors. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a Water team of over 700 professionals spread across the UK & Ireland.
We’re one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.
Job Description
Start here. Grow here. The Director of Growth & Business Development will play a pivotal role in supporting the growth of AECOM’s Water business across the UK and Ireland. This includes identifying new market opportunities, nurturing strategic partnerships, guiding market entry initiatives, and helping steer the business towards sustainable and profitable expansion. The role requires industry knowledge, commercial insight, and collaborative leadership to shape the organisation’s long-term success within the evolving water landscape.
This externally focused, high-impact role is essential in shaping market strategy, building strong partnerships, and positioning AECOM as the trusted partner of choice across the water sector. You will collaborate across business lines and geographies, embracing our One AECOM approach to unlock new opportunities and deliver sustainable, long-term value for clients.
You will be responsible for coordinating end-market work-winning activities and supporting strategic initiatives across the Water Business Line. A key part of your role will be ensuring effective positioning through branding, marketing, and bidding efforts.
With a strong external focus, you will work across AECOM’s global network to connect emerging market opportunities with our technical capabilities. Partnering with regional growth and strategy teams, subject matter experts, and client account leads, you will contribute to shaping successful strategies for priority pursuits. Your work will draw on client insight, market trends, and investment planning to expand our market presence and impact. You will also help refine our go-to-market approach to ensure AECOM remains a forward-thinking and reliable partner to clients.
Strategic Growth Leadership
- Lead the UK&I Water Business and collaborate with other business lines and sector leads on key pursuits and growth initiatives.
- Direct our Client Account Managers and Framework Managers in meeting our clients needs.
- Define and execute a growth strategy aligned with corporate goals, while monitoring market trends, policy shifts, and emerging opportunities to guide investment and innovation.
Business Development & Sales
- Drive new business opportunities and expand the client base through engagement with public and private sectors, partnerships, and networking.
- Lead major bids, proposals, and commercial negotiations, ensuring strong win rates and profitability.
- Represent AECOM at industry forums and manage joint ventures and framework agreements.
Market Intelligence & Positioning
- Conduct market and competitive analysis to refine propositions and identify new revenue streams.
- Position AECOM as a thought leader in water resilience, digital water, ESG, and infrastructure innovation.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Bid Development
- Work closely with marketing, and sector leads to align client solutions with capabilities and market directions.
- Foster internal relationships that promote a culture of success.
- Coordinate pipeline analysis and bid management to meet business plan targets.
Qualifications
Ready to push the limits of what’s possible? Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Extensive experience in business development, growth strategy, or commercial leadership, with a proven record in revenue generation, deal structuring, and leading complex bids in the water sector.
- Strong knowledge of the water market, including regulatory frameworks, infrastructure cycles (AMP), and digital transformation.
- Well-established network in water utilities, infrastructure, or technology sectors.
- Experience with public sector procurement and framework agreements.
- Excellent communication, and collaboration skills.
- Proven ability to drive strategic plans and work across multidisciplinary teams.
- Solid understanding of ESG principles in a water context.
- Aware of industry trends in Europe and India.
Additional Information
We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our team. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities. If you are an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us.
If you meet some of the requirements above or have transferable skills you believe would benefit us, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more!
For further information about the role, reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn.
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.
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.
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We think you need these skills to ace Remote Director of Growth & Business Development, Water - UK&I in Manchester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Analytical Skills:In the business intelligence field, showcasing your analytical skills is a must. Make sure your CV includes relevant experience with data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, and any projects where you've interpreted complex data sets to drive business decisions.
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Tailor Your Documents for Us:When applying for a full-time role at AECOM, tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect our organisational goals and strategies. Mention specific tools and methodologies that align with what we do—this shows you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in our mission!
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