SNC Lavalin's Atkins’ Transportation division is a business of 4,000 talented professionals covering highways, rail and local transport sectors in the UK and Europe.
The UK transport sector is experiencing unprecedented levels of investment and SNC Lavalin’s Atkins business is playing a lead role in helping our clients develop, plan and deliver projects as part of long-term infrastructure programmes. Significant investment is targeted at the North of England as part of government’s drive to rebalance the UK economy and is supported by new institutional and funding arrangements that are seeing the emergence of more powerful and influential sub-national and sub-regional bodies.
Atkins Transportation is organised around: Practices responsible for winning and delivering work in technical capability areas; and Markets focusing on developing strategic client relationships and winning work across the local transport, strategic rail and strategic highways markets. This Director level role will sit in the 250 strong UK Transport Planning practice that sits within a wider UK Consultancy Practice of over 800 staff.
Atkins has a strong existing presence in the North of England across many sectors. This role will provide strategic and technical leadership to a team of c100 transport professionals based in the North of England, primarily focused on the transport planning sector and will work with clients in each of the major city regions, as well as national bodies such as Highways England, Network Rail, HS2 Limited and Department for Transport. The role reports to the Director responsible for the UK Transport Planning practice, and the successful candidate will be part of the Transport Planning Practice senior management team responsible for strategy and business performance, The role will also provide support and strategic direction to staff within other disciplines that have a presence in the North, such as rail consultancy, asset management and intelligent mobility.
The successful candidate will be expected to quickly grow our existing project portfolio, local footprint and reputation across the region – strengthening and rebalancing our business to better help our clients deliver the outcomes the Northern Powerhouse agenda seeks to achieve. This will require ensuring that Atkins is at the heart of shaping our clients’ long-term infrastructure programmes and will entail working closely with other parts of Atkins to position for, win and deliver multi-disciplinary projects.
The role requires a blend of excellent client-facing transport consultancy work winning, project delivery skills and experience, coupled with strong technical and people leadership skills. It requires a highly collaborative individual, capable of maximising the value of networks within and outside Atkins – including working in tandem with the Atkins’ Client Director for Transport for the North.
The focus of the role is to:
•Provide technical and strategic leadership to the transport planning business based in the North of England
•To support the regional management team to grow both staff capacity and new capability, to face the range of opportunities that are emerging across our North of England client portfolio
•To work with the Market teams and the Transport for the North Client Director to significantly increase Consultancy Practice revenue from North of England strategic clients by 200% within 2 years.
•To take responsibility for work winning – leading on strategic pursuits and taking the role of Bid Director on tenders.
•To take responsibility for project delivery for major commissions for strategic clients acting as Project Director.
•To work as part of the Consultancy Practice management team to ensure that collectively we deliver the practice’s overall performance in line with Transportation’s overall strategy.
•Work with the Market teams and the Transport for the North client director to establish Atkins’ with a bold and relevant voice across transport in the North of England and raise our profile and increase our influence with key decision-makers and stakeholders.
•Work with Atkins’ Transportation market directors in the local transport, strategic highways and strategic rail markets and with the Client Director for Transport for the North to position us for and secure significant design and delivery opportunities that are expected to emerge.
The role is likely to suit someone: looking to build on a strong client-facing technical delivery track record in the transport consultancy sector and progress to a senior business leadership role; who wants to work in a business with a strong team culture where establishing influential networks is more important than organisational hierarchy; and who is passionate about solving the transport challenges facing the North of England.
The role can be based in either of our Manchester, Sheffield, Warrington, Leeds or York offices, though travel across the North of England on business development and project delivery will be essential.
Responsibilities
•Provide technical and people leadership to the transport planning business based in the North of England.
•To grow both staff capacity and new capability to face the range of opportunities that are emerging across our North of England client portfolio.
•To work with the Market teams and the Transport for the North Client Director to significantly increase Consultancy Practice revenue from North of England strategic clients by 200% within 2 years. This will include working with the Framework Directors for our frameworks with Local and Combined Authorities within the North of England, Highways England, HS2 and Network Rail to maximise opportunities through these procurement routes.
•To take responsibility for work winning – leading on strategic pursuits and taking the role of Bid Director on tenders.
•To take responsibility for project delivery for major commissions for strategic clients acting as Project Director or Technical Advisor.
•To work with the wider Consultancy Practice to build capacity in the north, upskilling and developing the current team, providing an accessible leader developing a sense of identity within the business and our clients within the 2 years.
•To work as part of the Transport Planning management team to ensure that collectively we deliver the practice’s overall performance in line with Transportation’s overall strategy.
•Work with the Market teams and the Transport for the North Client Director to establish Atkins’ with a bold and relevant voice across transport in the North of England and raise our profile and increase our influence with key decision-makers and stakeholders.
Requirements
•Proven experience and understanding of local and strategic transport planning and the development of transport infrastructure programmes;
•Excellent client engagement and influencing skills;
•Experience of work winning and delivery in a consultancy environment, with a track record of: successfully securing work through public sector competitive tendering; and successful delivery of transport projects as project director and/or project manager;
•Market, client and sales experience in the transport sector;
•Ability to demonstrate experience of building effective networks, both internally and external to the organisation;
•Experience of developing long-term strategic relationships with clients;
•Excellent communication skills and stakeholder engagement;
•Strong presenting, negotiating and influencing skills;
•A disciplined thinker and analytical, numerate, problem solver, who has strategic judgement and the capacity to think complex issues through and develop effective solutions in a timely fashion;
•Experience of successfully operating within a target driven environment.
The Individual
•Existing profile within the transportation sector with key clients in the North of England .
•Experience of working with clients forming strategic infrastructure plans and programmes;
•Experience of delivering front end transport planning consultancy and advisory services, including providing overall management and direction to frameworks used by clients to procure services;
•Proven excellence in client relationship management, able to access and influence at senior levels
•Builds lasting and durable strategic partnerships with the client, adding significant Atkins value to their agenda.
•Highly motivated and ambitious for the success of the team
•Strong business acumen with a demonstrated knowledge of identifying potential value creation.
•Proactive, goal oriented individual with superior verbal and written communication skills.
•Strong organisational skills
•Excellent team player, able to influence technical and delivery staff and collaborate effectively with other divisional colleagues.
•Naturally strategic, always looking for the next opportunity and testing the market for new ideas and propositions.
•Role model for high performance sales behaviours demonstrating a ‘personal hunger’ for developing sales opportunities and developing a client first attitude in every member of the virtual team
