Principal Client Director (National Governments) - Transport and Mobility Solutions (TMS)

Location/s: Any UK Mott MacDonald Office

Relocation supported: Not supported

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

Role Purpose

This is a leadership role in the Division, critical for building and maintaining our relationships with our clients, providing a strong pipeline of work, and building a client centric experience.  

The Principal Client Manager for National Governments will particularly be responsible for our relationship with the following national clients: 

• Department for Transport 
• Welsh Government  
• Transport for Wales 
• Transport Scotland 
• Transport Infrastructure Ireland 
• National Transport Authority (Ireland) 

The Principal Client Manager will be supported by Regional Client Managers, and with the Regional Client Managers may choose to appoint Client Directors for specific clients.   

The Principal Client Manager will be expected to build collaborative relationships, win great work, grow the portfolio of work with their client grouping to maximise opportunity for Mott MacDonald.  The Principal Client Director will ensure that our success is based on delivering a great client experience. 

The Principal Client Manager will be accountable for client satisfaction and sales for their client grouping. 

In addition to being responsible for the client strategy for the relevant client grouping for Transport and Mobility Solution, the Principal Client Director will help in the coordination of client engagement and bidding activities across Mott MacDonald to bring the best outcomes for our clients and ourselves, developing strong regional collaborative relationships with other Units and Divisions, whether leading or supporting on client relationships and work winning.   

Key Headline Responsibilities of Transport and Mobility Solutions’ Principal Client Manager: 

Accountable to the Divisional Development Manager, the responsibilities of the Principal Client Manager will be:

• Responsible for developing and delivering the client strategy for their client grouping to deliver the mandated sales target (where to play / how to win). 
• Responsible for achieving annual sales targets for their client grouping. 
• Responsible for client engagement, business development and executing winning bids including business development and proposal budget expenditure in line with their client strategy and the business plan. 
• Responsible for win rate, capture rate, touchpoints, client satisfaction scores and delivering net revenue for their client groupings. 
• Responsible for developing a client centric experience with the Market Portfolio Managers, ensuring a great client experience to maximise repeat work. 
• Expected to apportion time between winning work and delivering work to an appropriate proportion for the assigned business development budget and relevant client strategy. 
• Responsible for identifying and responding quickly to changes in their market. 
• Responsible for developing relationships with potential partners and select the right partner for appropriate opportunities. 
• Responsible for working with Portfolio Delivery Managers to ensure skills and capabilities are available for the current pipeline and plans are in place to develop skills to reflect future market requirements. 
• Responsible for working with the Portfolio Market Leaders to identify and recommend Bid Principals (BPs) and Project Principals (PPs) for the approval of the Divisional General Manager. 
• From time to time and as appropriate act as a Project Principal, Bid Principal, Bid Manager, Technical Expert or Project Manager as required by client / business needs. 
• Provide support to the Divisional Development Manager to develop and deliver the annual Business Plan for the Division. 

Repeat work is key to our success, and this relies on great client relationships and delivering excellence for our clients on every project.  Whilst Principal Client Managers are primarily focused on winning work and Market Portfolio Managers are accountable for project delivery including projects’ commercial success, Principal Client Managers will provide support to ensuring that their clients’ projects are delivered to their expectations including time, cost and quality and that our clients are satisfied with our performance.  The Principal Client Managers will play a lead role in gaining trust with our clients and key stakeholders.   

Internal Stakeholder Collaboration 

Principal Client Managers have a wide network of internal stakeholders to support great client engagement, work winning and delivering a great client experience.  Where appropriate Principal Client Managers will work closely with and support Client Directors where a Client is complex and requires the attention of more than one Mott MacDonald Division or Unit.

Principal Client Managers will be expected to own one or more client accounts personally, to direct, manage and mentor Regional Client Managers and are expected to be a role model for developing and maintaining great client relationships.

The role reports directly to the Divisional Development Manager.   

Key Responsibilities   

Principal Client Managers will contribute and support our strategy as part of the Division’s leadership team and as key strategic enablers, leading on Mott MacDonald’s key client relationships for TMS.

As the primary point of contact for TMS, role holders are responsible for the relationships with a Client or group of Clients.

This is a complex role, combining both operational and strategic challenges, balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders across a Divisional and Group matrix. The ability to prioritise, influence without authority and collaborate is fundamental, substantiated by subject matter expertise and a drive for excellence and results.

Critical responsibilities include:   

• Developing and executing the strategy for the client grouping to achieve the mandated sales targets including identifying “where to play”, “how to win” choices. 
• Continually reviewing our choices against sales performance and market changes. 
• Developing and maintaining strong and robust client relationships. 
• Appointing, directing, managing and mentoring Regional Client Managers and Client Managers. 
• Requesting, justifying and managing the Business Development and Proposal budgets allocated to the client grouping. 
• Developing, growing and maintaining selected client relationships for the Division and wider Mott MacDonald in response to the Divisional and Unit Business Plan and strategy. 
• Identifying Opportunities and turning them into Prospects. 
• Driving the bidding process, converting Prospects into Projects, ensuring bids are technically and commercially sound. 
• Meeting sales targets in line with the Business Plan. 
• Running appropriate client meetings with client and senior level management involvement. 
• Managing the handover from bid to delivery teams (WIN to DO). 
• Supporting delivery of commercially robust projects and quality outcomes for Clients to budget and schedule to drive a great client experience and high client satisfaction scores. 
• Working effectively with the Portfolio Delivery Managers to bring the right resources to win and deliver the projects to Clients’ satisfaction and meeting Mott MacDonald’s targets. 

Candidate Specification
The successful candidate will be proactive, enthusiastic and passionate about client engagement, customer experience, work winning and delivering great transport solutions that drive robust social outcomes.  
 

Essential academic, professional qualifications and experience:

• Demonstrable experience in work winning across a broad client group, such as private sector clients, contractors, local authorities and national transport agencies;
• Demonstrable experience in client account management;
• An established network of industry relationships in the region;
• Demonstrable understanding of wider planning and technical requirements, with a deep knowledge and skill in transport planning, transport modelling or engineering design; 
• Demonstrable experience leading teams in your discipline and engaging with clients; and
• Transport Planning or Civil Engineering degree or equivalent.

Essential competencies / skills:

• High standard of verbal and written communications and willingness to engage and communicate with clients and colleagues - a collaborative approach is essential;
• Ability to see the bigger picture and strategies and to see delivery through to successful project completion;
• Strong interpersonal / people skills; and
• Ability to travel throughout UK

Desirable academic, qualifications, experience, competencies and skills:

• Broader competencies that could add value to your role, such as a commercial understanding of pricing in the market;
• Good understanding of Net Zero, sustainability and carbon; and
• Chartered Professional status or equivalent.

We are actively recruiting a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve. We recognise that differences in ability, skills and experience are a strength and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. 

Focus 

This is a part time role that is likely to require 2 to 3 days per week to deliver.  This is likely to flex depending on workload.  The role will be mixed with other roles such as Project Director for key projects, being a Regional Client Manager, being a Regional People Leader or other Divisional roles depending on the individual’s background.

Please note that this role will close at midnight on Monday 14th July 2025.

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working  

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

 Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.