Unit Development Manager - WNE

Closing Date - 09/10/2026

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 Mac Donald 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.

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.organisation 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…