Aecom
Trusted global infrastructure consulting firm delivering engineering, design, construction management services.
Water Capture Lead / Bid Director
Lead capture and bid strategy for major water infrastructure contracts, driving growth.
Job Highlights
About the Role
The Capture Lead / Bid Director will join AECOM’s Water Business Strategy and Growth team in the UK and Ireland. This senior role is accountable for capturing, positioning and successfully bidding major water sector contracts, typically exceeding £35 million in revenue. The role guides multidisciplinary teams through all pursuit stages, shapes winning solutions, and manages risk, pricing and partner collaborations across regulated water, strategic resource options and climate‑resilience sectors. Key responsibilities include driving growth by shaping opportunities, leading holistic capture approaches, and partnering with bid, marketing, technical, operational and commercial teams to create robust capture plans. The leader will maintain an external presence, build relationships with clients, regulators and partners, and use market, technical and commercial insight to improve win rates and refine strategies. • Lead and own AECOM’s largest water sector bids (£35 m+), guiding teams through all pursuit stages. • Develop and execute capture strategies, including client listening, win strategy, solution shaping, marketing, answer planning and debriefs. • Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of opportunities using data‑led insight to focus on high‑value activities. • Identify, select and lead strategic partnerships, joint ventures and consortiums, defining roles and value contributions. • Engage senior‑level clients, regulators and public‑sector bodies, articulating AECOM’s value proposition and narrative. • Set strategic commercial direction for pursuits, covering delivery models, risk appetite, pricing and value proposition. • Provide senior challenge and assurance to ensure solutions are deliverable, differentiated and commercially sound. • Influence internal stakeholders to align resources, partners and priorities behind priority pursuits. • Guide technical writers to produce compliant, compelling and persuasive bid content.
Key Responsibilities
- ▸bid leadership
- ▸capture strategy
- ▸pipeline development
- ▸partner management
- ▸client engagement
- ▸commercial direction
What You Bring
• Proven experience leading win‑strategies for major water utility contracts (£35 m+ net service revenue). • Strong technical and delivery background with ability to translate client drivers into differentiated bids. • Excellent communication and leadership skills across multi‑disciplinary, multi‑location teams. • Experience in partner‑led delivery models such as alliances, joint ventures and complex multi‑party arrangements. • Ability to operate at executive and board level with clients, partners and senior internal leadership. • Sound commercial judgement, strategic thinking and balance of risk, value and long‑term positioning. • Knowledge of the UK water regulatory environment or national government water sector. • Experience working in matrix organisations with separate bid management and delivery functions.
Requirements
- ▸win strategy
- ▸water utility
- ▸technical delivery
- ▸leadership
- ▸partner led
- ▸executive
Benefits
AECOM celebrates diversity, including neurodiversity, and offers a hybrid work model that allows flexibility between office, remote and client sites. The company provides a broad range of compensation, benefits and well‑being programs, and supports applicants with disabilities through its Disability Confident interview scheme.
Work Environment
Hybrid