Head of Design & Build, Water UK&I

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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.

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Job Description

Start here. Grow here.

We are seeking a Head of Design & Build Director  to drive the growth of our work with Design and Build contractors in the Water sector. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Water UK&I leadership team and take overall accountability for expanding this key market.

As the Head of Design & Build Director, you will hold full accountability for driving growth and market strategy in the contractor-led space. Your leadership, commercial insight, and deep sector knowledge will directly support our commitment to delivering a better world.

The water sector is entering a period of multi-billion-pound investment, and this role will place you at the centre of delivering solutions to contractors shaping that future.

Our water business (circa 600 people) partners with clients to deliver sustainable solutions across water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure, designing assets that protect public health and enhance the environment. Working collaboratively, our multidisciplinary teams apply technical expertise to engineer innovative solutions that deliver resilient potable and industrial water supplies, effective wastewater treatment, and sustainable stormwater and flood management.

About You:

You are a highly motivated, organised, and proactive leader with a proven track record in leading and growing water businesses, business development, bidding and delivering major projects and strategy implementation. Your in-depth understanding of the UK Water market and contractors operating within it, coupled with your grasp of the social, political, and economic drivers that influence it, will be integral to our success.

With extensive experience in leading diverse teams in a fast-paced environment, you have excelled in planning, designing, and delivering projects while implementing data-led performance improvements. As a champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion, you believe in creating a workplace that embraces and celebrates the unique talents and backgrounds of every individual.

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Report directly to the Managing Director of Water and collaborating closely with Business Directors, including the Water UK Director of Strategy and Growth, Commercial Director, AECOM Europe & India leadership, and Global Water and Contractor Market teams.
• Lead the development and implementation of a contractor-led market growth plan aligned with the Water UK&I Strategic Plan.
• Work with Client Account Managers to identify, monitor, and track new opportunities, ensuring proactive positioning and timely entry into business planning systems.
• Increase visibility of AECOM Water’s contractor-led capability and communicate market strategy through clear and effective internal and external messaging.
• Build strong partnerships with contractors and designers to enable targeted pursuit of high-value opportunities.
• Drive exceptional client satisfaction through active engagement, performance monitoring, and improvement actions informed by Net Promoter Score feedback.
• Foster a culture where AECOM is recognised as a great place to work by exemplifying AECOM’s values, championing EDI, and promoting employee engagement and continuous development.
• Work with Business Unit Directors to determine medium and long-term resource needs, leading recruitment for strategic and senior roles.
• Collaborate with teams across Europe and globally to deliver multidisciplinary projects and programmes, showcasing AECOM’s strengths in work winning.
• Hold accountability for major contractor-led projects and programmes through bid governance and the Go/No-Go process, while supporting governance for smaller pursuits.
• Lead by example in driving SH&E culture, ensuring effective implementation of AECOM SH&E policies and procedures and achieving core SH&E metrics for the Water business.

Enjoy the Perks.

At AECOM, you'll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customised to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Senior leadership experience within a matrixed multinational consultancy, contractor, or key water-sector supplier.
• Proven success in building and leading leadership teams and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Strong knowledge of the UK & Ireland water markets, key contractors, and wider European socio-political and economic drivers.
• Demonstrated ability to provide growth-focused leadership, including talent development and coaching.
• Extensive commercial and contract management expertise.
• Track record of securing major frameworks, winning new opportunities, and growing existing contracts.
• Strong client relationship management capabilities.
• Solid attention to detail with experience delivering effective health & safety initiatives.
• Experienced in motivating and managing diverse, multidisciplinary teams.

As an inclusive leader, you will:

• Demonstrate dedication to driving our inclusion strategy by fostering a culture of respect within your team.
• Build a diverse and inclusive workforce, recruiting and retaining the best talent while nurturing the next generation of leaders.
• Lead with empathy, respect, and understanding, actively seeking diverse perspectives.
• Encourage a work environment where employees can grow, innovate, collaborate and be their authentic selves.
• Uphold AECOM's values and promote engagement and continuous development among staff within the region.

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 at [email protected]. At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives.

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!

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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 $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

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. Please let us know using this email address [email protected] if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.