Unit Development Manager - WNE
Location/s: UK Wide
Recruiter contact: David McFall
Closing Date - 09/10/2026
Overview of the role
Water and Environment (WNE) is a multidisciplinary business of approximately 1,400 people operating across the UK and Europe, delivering consultancy, engineering and advisory services across water, environment and adjacent markets.
The sectors in which we operate are undergoing significant change. The water industry is entering a period of unprecedented investment and transformation, creating major opportunities for growth, innovation and long-term client partnerships. At the same time, increasing focus on climate resilience, nature recovery, environmental regulation and sustainable development is driving growing demand across the environment market and creating opportunities across the wider Mott MacDonald business.
Reporting to the Unit General Manager and forming part of the Unit Leadership Team, the Unit Development Manager plays a critical role in helping WNE maximise these opportunities. Working closely with divisional development managers, regional market leads and client directors across the business, they drive growth across the Unit through business planning, market influence and presence, strategic client relationships and major pursuits. They lead the Unit's WIN capability and support divisions to strengthen client relationships, build market presence and convert opportunities into sustainable revenue and profit growth.
Development Managers deliver their role through four key areas of focus:
- Business Planning & Growth: Lead the development and delivery of the Unit business plan and sales plan. Maintain high-quality, qualified pipeline and CRM data across the Unit, using insight and forecasting to drive decision-making, identify interventions, set ambitious growth targets and create clear accountability for delivery.
- Market Influence & Presence: Foster a proactive market-facing culture across WNE, strengthening visibility, influence and senior client connectivity. Support and enable divisions to use market insight and relationships to shape future opportunities, influence client thinking and position WNE early in investment and procurement decisions.
- Strategic Client Relationships: Build and strengthen strategic client relationships across WNE, supporting and enabling divisions to prioritise key clients, deepen relationships and convert opportunities into sustainable growth. Embed a disciplined customer relationship management approach that uses client insight and relationship data to strengthen senior connectivity, create demand and position the Unit for future opportunities.
- WIN Capability & Major Pursuits: Strengthen WIN capability and leadership across the Unit, coaching and supporting leaders to pursue the right opportunities, ensuring major pursuits receive the appropriate strategic leadership, challenge and support, and promoting good business development practice. Create an ambitious and accountable winning culture, setting stretching growth and conversion targets that outperform the markets in which WNE operates. Challenge leaders to pursue opportunities with intent, improve win rates and market share, and ensure lessons from both wins and losses translate into sustained competitive advantage.
Key responsibilities and duties include:
Maintain an accurate, qualified pipeline and provide clear forecasts, updates and interventions to Unit and divisional leadership.
Lead client and opportunity prioritisation decisions, including identifying emerging clients and focusing investment on opportunities that best support the Unit's growth ambitions.
Lead and coordinate the One Water client leadership group, including chairing the One Water Client Leadership forum, fostering collaboration across divisions, business units, & MMBC. Ensure a coordinated approach to strategic client. relationships, opportunity development and market growth
Provide strategic leadership and challenge for major pursuits, including client engagement, capture planning, pursuit teams and win strategies.
Support and, where appropriate, maintain senior relationships with priority clients, helping divisions develop deeper and more strategic client relationships.
Manage business development and proposal budgets effectively, ensuring investment is targeted, proportionate and commercially sound.
Connect divisions with the right market, technical and global capabilities, helping to remove barriers, unlock opportunities and support successful project delivery.
Build capability across the Unit through coaching, constructive challenge and sharing learning from successful pursuits and client relationships.
Set clear expectations for sales, revenue and profitability, and role model best practice in the application of STEP and Group governance
Candidate specification
Essential:
Growth Strategy & Market Awareness: Ability to develop and deliver growth strategies, translating market insight, emerging opportunities and long-term trends into practical business plans and measurable results.
Developing Capability: Ability to coach, influence and support others, helping divisions build stronger client relationships, market presence and WIN capability.
Relationship Building & Influence: Strong relationship builder, able to develop trusted relationships across clients, markets and internal networks, and influence outcomes across a matrix organisation.
Major Pursuits & Delivering Results: Track record of leading complex pursuits, growth initiatives or strategic programmes and delivering successful outcomes through others.
Communication & Stakeholder Management: Confident communicator, capable of engaging senior leaders, clients and stakeholders, and clearly articulating plans, priorities and performance.
As part of your application, we ask that you supply a covering letter or statement (max 2 pages) which provides information on the following:
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for growth across WNE over the next 2–3 years, and how would you help position the Unit to take advantage of them?
How would you support divisions to build deeper client relationships, and strengthen WNE's profile across its markets?
How would you strengthen WIN capability and improve the success of major pursuits across the Unit?
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.
AI Usage
At Mott MacDonald, we see the value AI can bring, but we take a people-first approach to hiring. While AI tools can help candidates prepare and build confidence, every application and hiring decision is reviewed by our recruitment and hiring teams. We encourage the responsible use of AI while ensuring we get to know the real person behind the application.
Accessibility
We want you to feel supported and able to perform at your best throughout our recruitment process. If there is anything we can do to make applying or interviewing with us more accessible, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we'll be happy to discuss how we can help.
We offer some fantastic benefits including:
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.
Employee Ownership
- Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.
- Our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, giving them a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses.
- As your career grows, so does your stake, recognising your long-term impact and contribution.
- Your voice matters, with the opportunity to connect directly with senior leadership through formal channels to help shape our future.
- For our senior roles you will have a direct pathway towards ownership from day one.
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.
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.
- 10 days additional paid leave for Armed Forces Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.
- 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.
- We offer policies and dedicated support to help military families balance service life with career and wellbeing.
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.
- We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and Gold Award holders in the MOD Employer Recognition Scheme, supported by our dedicated internal Armed Forces Network.
- Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.
Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.