Water Business Development Lead

Water At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

As a Business Development Lead, you’ll have the opportunity to impact strategic business relationships with key clients to ensure that Jacobs has sustained relationship to help them achieve their goals while fully leveraging that relationship for the firm. Working with members of our team, your focus is to make sure that Jacobs is the client’s firm of choice and is seen as their best advocate for accomplishing their goals. You’ll also ensure that Jacobs thoroughly understands the client’s needs from their perspective—the client's challenges and aspirations.

In this role, you’ll lead select accounts for municipal and state governments as well as private clients in the Carolinas by collaborating and leading our delivery teams to sustain existing workload. This position will be based out of any of Jacobs’ Carolinas offices.

Additional responsibilities include the following:

• Serve as the point of contact for client service activities and develop strategies to grow Jacobs’ business across all water subs for various clients in the Carolinas
• Work with the Growth Director for Water to align the Carolinas Water strategy within the broader Southeast portfolio
• Identify, charter, and lead client service teams comprised of client service leaders (CSLs) multi-disciplinary project managers and regional practice leaders around common vision of success
• Facilitate creation of deep, personal, valuable client relationships between Jacob’s personnel and client personnel (management, technical, functional, delivery) to weave a fabric of broad-based relationships between our firm and the clients
• Advocate on client's behalf by actively engaging the firm to address client needs and recommending strategic actions to optimize our business development investment and share growth
• Identify higher levels of client engagement for executive sponsors
• Secure management commitment and influence/attract key staff for pursuits
• Work with office/corporate leaders to develop strategies for key hiring on strategic pursuits, identifying key project pursuits, team growth, office growth, profitability, employee development, and employee satisfaction
• Actively engage with project and Sales teams to influence pursuit team on sales process discipline, win strategy and proposal development, interviews, and presentations
• Coordinate and facilitate the Sales process, including Go/No Go decisions, and help develop required sales costs aligned with opportunity potential and return on investment objectives
• Demonstrated reputation as a leader in the Carolinas municipal area

Here's what you'll need

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, Policy, Planning, or related field
• 15 years of experience in the water industry. Proven client development skills, including previous experience managing large capital improvement projects
• Proven track record of creating and winning water program/project work in the Carolinas area
• Must be a strong team leader, consensus builder, and team player skilled in technical writing communicating and presenting to clients
• Extensive public participation, agency coordination, planning, and programming experience

Ideally, you’ll also have

• Proven record of developing zippered relationships with key clients at all levels (from executives to key management levels)
• Multiple professional contacts and connections across Carolinas, in particular throughout its counties, cities, and other municipalities
• Ability to open doors for initiating relationships at client organization
• Ability to lead an account team, set a vision and strategy, coach/mentor and motivate the team, reach within Jacobs to offer best-in-class solutions, manage commercial and legal negotiations, and close deals
• Technical background/experience in delivering or managing large water projects/programs is considered a positive and adds credibility in consulting, engineering, construction industry service offerings and delivery
• Successful track record of being innovative and bringing a differentiated solution to a client
• Ability to lead through influence
• Successful track record with managing budgets and meeting sales goals
• High level of emotional intelligence/team builder, coach, and mentor
• Innovative and solutions-oriented thinker
• Client political savviness

#LI-TG1

Posted Salary Range: Minimum

190,000.00

Posted Salary Range: Upper

280,000.00

Our health and welfare benefits are designed to invest in you, and in the things you care about. Your health. Your well-being. Your security. Your future. Employees have access to medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance, a 401(k) plan, and the ability to purchase company stock at a discount. Eligible employees may also enroll in a deferred compensation plan or the Executive Deferral Plan. Jacobs has an unlimited U.S. Personalized Paid Time Off (PPTO) policy for full-time salaried/exempt employees, seven paid holidays, and caregiver leave. And certain roles may be eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, performance discretionary bonus, and stock.

The base salary range for this position is $190,000.00 to $280,000.00. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. Job posted on December 17, 2025. This position will be open for at least 3 days.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support .

Locations

City State Country
Cary	North Carolina	United States
Greenville	South Carolina	United States
Charlotte	North Carolina	United States
Charlotte	North Carolina	United States