Water Capture Lead / Bid Director

About the Role

The Water business in the UK and Ireland is seeking a Capture Lead / Bid Director for the Strategy and Growth team. The role is accountable for capturing, positioning and winning major water contracts, typically exceeding £35 million in revenue. The incumbent will shape solutions through early client collaboration, strategic positioning and strong leadership of complex pursuits. Key responsibilities include driving growth by identifying and shaping high‑value opportunities, leading a holistic capture approach from early listening to post‑bid debriefs, and developing robust capture plans with bid, marketing, technical and commercial teams. The leader will build a diversified pipeline, use data‑led insights to focus on high‑return activities, and influence scope, delivery models and commercial structures early in the sales lifecycle. The role also requires identifying, selecting and managing strategic partnerships, joint ventures and consortiums to strengthen competitive position. The Capture Lead will define partner roles, negotiate alliances, and maintain trusted relationships with designers, contractors, technology providers and supply‑chain organisations. Senior‑level client engagement is essential; the person will lead executive interactions with water companies, regulators and public‑sector bodies, own the client narrative and position AECOM as the partner of choice. Commercially, they will set strategic direction for pricing, risk appetite and value propositions, and retain accountability for overall commercial outcomes rather than merely bid mechanics. Leadership and influence span the bid team, technical writers and internal stakeholders. The Capture Lead will provide clear strategic direction, challenge proposed solutions for deliverability and differentiation, and ensure resources, partners and priorities are aligned behind priority pursuits. • Shape and pursue high‑value water sector opportunities, from early capture to post‑bid analysis • Lead end‑to‑end capture process, including client listening, win‑strategy development, answer planning and debriefs • Create and own detailed Capture Plans with cross‑functional bid, marketing, technical and commercial teams • Maintain a data‑driven pipeline of qualified opportunities aligned to business goals • Influence early scope, delivery models and commercial structures through proactive market engagement • Identify, negotiate and manage strategic partnerships, joint ventures and consortiums, defining partner contributions • Build and sustain senior relationships with water utilities, regulators and public‑sector bodies • Set strategic commercial direction for major pursuits, including pricing, risk appetite and value proposition • Provide senior challenge and assurance on solution deliverability, differentiation and commercial soundness • Guide bid team members, technical writers and internal stakeholders to align resources and priorities

Key Responsibilities

• ▸capture planning
• ▸opportunity pipeline
• ▸market engagement
• ▸partnership management
• ▸client engagement
• ▸commercial strategy

What You Bring

The ideal candidate has a proven record of winning large‑scale water utility contracts, strong technical and delivery experience, and extensive experience in partner‑led delivery models such as alliances and joint ventures. They must communicate confidently at executive and board level, possess sound commercial judgement and understand the UK water regulatory environment, and be comfortable operating in a matrix organisation. • Demonstrate a track record of winning £35 m+ water utility contracts • Possess strong technical and delivery expertise to translate client drivers into differentiated bid solutions • Experience leading multi‑disciplinary, multi‑location pursuit teams in complex, partner‑led delivery models • Excellent communication and facilitation skills for workshops with diverse stakeholder groups • Deep knowledge of the UK water regulatory environment and allied government sector • Ability to operate confidently at executive and board level with clients and internal senior leaders • Sound commercial judgement, strategic thinking and risk‑value balancing

Requirements

• ▸water contracts
• ▸technical expertise
• ▸team leadership
• ▸stakeholder communication
• ▸regulatory knowledge
• ▸executive level

Benefits

AECOM values diversity and inclusion, welcomes applications from all backgrounds, and offers reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. Employees enjoy hybrid work options, a comprehensive benefits and well‑being programme, and the opportunity to work on transformational projects for a global, publicly‑traded firm. • Flexible hybrid work model and access to comprehensive compensation, benefits and well‑being programmes

Work Environment

Hybrid