[Hiring] Project Manager & Business Development Lead @Pershing Consultants

Role Description

This is a remote position.

Location: Fully remote, anywhere in the UK

Working Pattern: Approximately 70% Project Delivery | 30% Business Development

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

We are a specialist project management consultancy supporting the development of nationally significant energy and infrastructure projects across England, Wales and Scotland. As our business continues to grow, we are looking for an experienced Project Manager & Business Development Lead to take on a unique role combining client-facing project delivery with responsibility for coordinating and driving our business development activities.

Approximately 70% of your time will be focused on project management, working directly with clients to support complex infrastructure projects through the development lifecycle, from early concept and feasibility through planning, consenting and towards Final Investment Decision (FID). The remaining 30% will be focused on business development.

Business development is a shared responsibility across our consultancy, and you will provide the structure, coordination and momentum that ensures these collective activities translate into tangible opportunities and sustainable growth. This is not a traditional sales role. We are looking for someone who understands how professional services are bought and sold, can build trusted client relationships and can help turn the knowledge, networks and expertise of our wider team into commercial opportunities.

Project Management | c.70%

You will manage and support complex infrastructure projects on behalf of our clients, bringing together multidisciplinary teams and ensuring projects continue to progress against their objectives. Responsibilities will include:

• Leading client-side project management assignments across major energy and infrastructure programmes
• Supporting projects from concept and feasibility through planning, consenting, development and towards FID
• Establishing and managing project programmes, deliverables, budgets, risks and governance
• Coordinating multidisciplinary work-streams including planning, environmental, engineering, land, commercial and stakeholder activities
• Managing external consultants, contractors and technical specialists
• Identifying project risks, dependencies and critical interfaces, and driving appropriate actions
• Providing clear reporting, recommendations and decision support to clients
• Building trusted relationships with client teams and project stakeholders
• Maintaining an understanding of client priorities beyond the immediate scope of your assignment
• Identifying opportunities where our wider team can provide additional value

Business Development | c.30%

You will lead the coordination of business development across the consultancy, working with colleagues to turn relationships, market intelligence and emerging client needs into a structured pipeline of opportunities. Responsibilities will include:

• Coordinating business development activities across the wider team
• Establishing clear BD priorities, actions, ownership and follow-up
• Maintaining oversight of the opportunity pipeline and ensuring opportunities continue to progress
• Facilitating regular BD discussions and holding agreed actions to account
• Identifying target clients, projects, markets and emerging opportunities
• Coordinating account development activities for existing and prospective clients
• Supporting colleagues to develop relationships and convert conversations into opportunities
• Developing and coordinating capture strategies for priority opportunities
• Leading or supporting proposals, bids, presentations and client meetings
• Tracking pipeline activity, conversion and other relevant BD metrics
• Identifying cross-selling opportunities across existing client relationships
• Helping develop the consultancy's market positioning and routes to market
• Providing insight on market trends, client requirements and competitor activity
• Creating greater structure and consistency around how the business approaches BD
• Driving momentum from initial opportunity identification through to secured work

You will not be solely responsible for originating new business. Everyone across the consultancy contributes to business development. Your role is to make sure that collective effort is coordinated, focused and consistently progressed.

Qualifications

• Experienced project manager who understands the commercial realities of working within a consultancy
• Comfortable delivering work directly for clients while also looking beyond immediate assignments
• Previous business development experience within a consultancy environment is essential
• Experience within environmental, planning or project management consultancy would be particularly relevant
• Not necessarily need to have held a formal "Business Development" job title

Requirements

• Project management experience within infrastructure, energy, the built environment or another relevant sector
• Experience operating within a professional services or consultancy environment
• Demonstrable experience contributing to and winning new consultancy work
• Experience developing client relationships and identifying commercial opportunities
• Understanding of the consultancy sales cycle, from relationship development and opportunity identification through to proposal and contract award
• Experience coordinating or contributing to bids, proposals and client presentations
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain momentum across both project delivery and BD activities
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of the relationship between project delivery, utilisation, client development and consultancy profitability
• Confidence engaging with senior clients and stakeholders
• Ability to influence and coordinate colleagues without relying on formal authority
• Ability to operate independently within a remote and highly autonomous working environment

Particularly Relevant Experience

• Consultancy experience in Environmental and EIA consultancy
• Planning and consenting consultancy
• Project management consultancy
• Energy and infrastructure development
• Engineering and technical consultancy
• Experience supporting nationally significant or major infrastructure projects, particularly within energy, electricity networks, renewables, nuclear, transport, water or other critical infrastructure

Benefits

• A fully remote role that can be based anywhere in the UK
• An autonomous, mature and completely flexible working environment
• An entrepreneurial and supportive environment to help you develop your career in the direction that works for you
• A very competitive remuneration package that includes profit-related bonus payments
• Direct involvement in nationally important infrastructure projects
• The opportunity to influence the growth and development of a specialist consultancy
• A role offering a genuine combination of project delivery, commercial responsibility and business development leadership