Water Market Sector Leader

Trilon Group•Remote ,

8d•Remote

About The Position

Waggoner Engineering, Inc. is seeking a Water Market Sector Leader to join their team. This senior strategic-operations leader is responsible for growing the firm in the water market sector across all business units. The role involves growing talent, building high-performing teams, expanding the client base, and increasing profitable revenue and backlog in the water market. The Water Market Sector Leader will elevate Waggoner’s brand and thought leadership, lead major client pursuits, and ensure excellent, consistent project delivery. Success in this role, which has limited to no direct reports, depends on leading through influence, aligning Business Unit Leaders, Area Managers, Discipline Leaders, and Client/Project Teams around clear market priorities, development pathways, and quality outcomes for clients. The role is responsible for the strategy, growth, and delivery excellence of Waggoner’s Water Market for public-sector water clients, including a “One Water” approach covering water, wastewater, stormwater, reuse, and integrated planning. The leader serves as the primary market-facing champion for water services for local governments, state agencies, and federal departments responsible for water utilities and programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering or related field (Master’s preferred).
Registered Professional Engineer (PE) required.
Typically 15+ years of progressive water experience, including 7+ years of client leadership and demonstrated pursuit leadership.
Deep knowledge of funding programs, regulatory frameworks, and public procurement for water utilities.
Experience leading One Water or integrated watershed/coastal resilience initiatives and driving standardization/quality systems.
Strategic thinking and market insight
Client relationship leadership and executive presence
Pursuit leadership and persuasive communication
Technical leadership and commitment to quality
Ability to influence without direct authority; collaborative leadership
Financial acumen and performance accountability
People development, mentoring, and team building

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a multi-year market strategy and annual plan (targets, priority clients, services, staffing, investments).
Serve as a visible thought leader: publish, present, and represent Waggoner in industry forums to increase sector brand and market credibility.
Lead or oversee major pursuits, capture plans, teaming strategies, and client messaging; partner with marketing and business development on campaigns and collateral.
Develop and maintain trusted advisor relationships with priority clients; lead account planning in coordination with Business Unit Leaders and Area Managers.
Lead capture planning and pursuit strategy for major programs, including go/no-go, teaming, pricing strategy inputs, and interview preparation.
Identify emerging client needs, regulatory/funding drivers, and competitive positioning; evolve service offerings accordingly.
Ensure project delivery aligns with market strategy, client expectations, technical standards, and risk posture.
Partner with Business Unit Leaders and Area Managers to forecast workload and coordinate resources to meet commitments.
Promote consistent delivery methodologies, lessons learned, and knowledge-sharing across offices and disciplines.
Champion consistent project delivery standards and quality systems across the sector, including use of standard agreements and templates where client requirements allow (e.g., EJCDC-based agreements and front-end documents).
Support the development and use of firmwide templates and standards (e.g., supplemental conditions, spec/plan covers, standard details, report templates).
Lead or participate in QA/QC and risk reviews on key pursuits and high-risk projects; promote ‘do it right the first time’ delivery.
Advance safety in design practices, risk management, and a consistent project closeout process.
Contribute to proposal reviews and continuous improvement of win themes, deliverables, and client communications (including letter proposals where appropriate).
Lead through influence in a matrix environment; align Business Unit Leaders, Area Managers, Discipline Leaders, and project teams to sector priorities.
Establish clear target markets, clients, and services; translate strategy into actionable plans, account plans, and pursuit roadmaps.
Coach, mentor, and develop staff across business units through project engagement, QA/QC reviews, and pursuit leadership—regardless of reporting lines.
Build and sustain high-performing teams by mentoring, recruiting, and aligning talent to the best and highest use in service of clients.
Develop communities of practice and technical development opportunities; encourage cross-office collaboration and staff visibility to sector work.
Support succession planning and development of future leaders.
Own sector performance and accountability (revenue, backlog, win rate, profitability, utilization, client satisfaction) in partnership with Business Unit Leaders and finance/operations.
Maintain a pipeline and forecast; communicate risks and opportunities to Strategic Operations leadership.
Coordinate with other Market Sector Leaders when markets, clients, or services overlap; define clear lead/support roles for pursuits and client management.
Develop integrated solutions and cross-sector teams to deliver greater client value and expand relationships.
Use regular cross-sector planning, shared CRM/account plans, and joint pursuit reviews to prevent duplication and ensure a One Firm client experience.
Escalate and resolve priority or resourcing conflicts through the EVP of Strategic Operations as needed.