Water Capture Lead / Bid Director in Manchester

Work with Us. Change the World. At AECOM, we are 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.

Start here. Grow here. With unprecedented opportunity across the UK and Ireland water industry, AECOM's Water business is seeking a Capture Lead / Bid Director to join the Strategy and Growth team. In this role, you will be accountable for the capture, positioning, and successful bidding of major contracts within AECOM's Water business. You will shape winning solutions through strategic positioning, early client and partner collaboration, and strong leadership across complex pursuits.

Here's what you'll do:

• Growth Strategy & Opportunity Shaping: Drive growth by positioning for and capturing key opportunities, including new business and renewals or extensions within priority accounts. Lead a holistic capture approach, incorporating client listening, win strategy development, solution shaping, marketing and communications planning, answer planning, reviews, debriefs, and lessons learned.
• Partnering & Consortium Leadership: Identify, select, and lead strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and consortiums to strengthen competitive position. Build trusted relationships with delivery partners, designers, contractors, technology providers, and supply chain organisations.
• Client Engagement & Positioning: Build and sustain senior-level client relationships across water companies, regulators, and public-sector bodies. Lead executive-level engagement during pre-procurement and procurement phases, positioning AECOM as a partner of choice.
• Commercial & Strategic Oversight: Set the strategic commercial direction for major pursuits, including delivery models, risk appetite, pricing, and value proposition. Provide senior challenge and assurance that proposed solutions are deliverable, differentiated, and commercially sound.
• Leadership & Influence: Provide clear strategic direction to bid team members, commercial and technical leaders. Influence senior internal stakeholders to align resources, partners, and priorities behind priority pursuits.

Ready to push the limits of what's possible? Here's what we're looking for:

• Demonstrated experience shaping and leading teams to win major contracts within water utilities or the public water sector.
• Proven track record of leading strategic and complex pursuit strategies for large-scale opportunities (typically £35m+ net service revenue), across multi-disciplinary and multi-location teams.
• Strong technical and delivery background, with the ability to understand client drivers and requirements and translate them into compelling, differentiated bid solutions.
• Excellent communication skills, with demonstrated leadership across all stages of the bid and sales process.
• Strong experience in partner-led delivery models, including alliances, joint ventures, and complex multi-party arrangements.
• Credibility and confidence operating at executive and board level with clients, partners, and internal senior leadership teams.
• Sound commercial judgement and strategic thinking, with the ability to balance risk, value, and long-term business positioning.
• Strong understanding of the UK water regulatory environment or national government water sector.

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.