Head of Business Development

Department: Littlewood

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Battle

Description

• The growth of existing regulated utility fencing frameworks.
• Market expansion of physical perimeter protection, fencing, gates, barriers and associated security solutions.
• Development of Littlewood' position in adjacent markets including data centres, defence, custodial facilities and other CNI/SEMD environments.
• Strategic relationships and opportunities where Littlewood are the principal route to market.

• Identifying opportunities across water and wastewater, electricity transmission and distribution, gas and wider energy infrastructure, highways and transport, data centres, defence and other infrastructure markets.
• Developing relationships which have the potential to create opportunities for the wider business.
• Bringing relevant Group capabilities into client discussions where this strengthens the overall proposition.
• Working collaboratively with existing central Business Development, sector and account leads where established ownership already exists.
• Ensuring opportunities are transferred into the appropriate business development and governance process rather than establishing duplicate pursuit activity.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop account growth plans for each priority framework, identifying addressable spend, current share, forward programmes and competitor positioning.
• Build relationships beyond operational contacts into procurement, commercial, asset management, capital delivery, security and senior client stakeholders.
• Increase share of wallet, geographical coverage and service penetration, with particular focus on opportunities identified before work packages are released.
• Monitor framework pipeline, tender activity, win rate, revenue and margin, and implement recovery plans where performance is below potential.

• Own key account plans and stakeholder maps for strategically important clients, with structured engagement and regular account reviews.
• Understand client investment priorities, security and resilience challenges, procurement strategies and unmet needs, moving engagement from transactional tendering toward earlier strategic dialogue.
• Create opportunities through early contractor involvement, solution development and relationships with consultants, designers, Tier 1 contractors and delivery partners.

• Develop targeted market-entry plans for defence estates and critical facilities, custodial/prison estates, hyperscale and colocation data centres, and wider CNI/SEMD infrastructure.
• Prioritise markets where Littlewood has a credible right to win by leveraging its fencing, security, utility and infrastructure delivery track record.
• Establish relationships with asset owners, developers, principal contractors, facilities management providers and strategic supply-chain partners.

• Build and maintain a robust South East opportunity pipeline, categorised by value, probability, timing and strategic importance, with clear weighted and unweighted visibility.
• Lead qualification and win strategy for priority opportunities, including client drivers, competitor positioning, commercial approach, pre-tender engagement and bid/no-bid recommendations.
• Work with estimating, commercial, operations, bids and HSEQ from opportunity identification through tender, negotiation and award, ensuring growth is both profitable and operationally deliverable.

• Maintain insight into customer investment programmes, framework renewals, government and regulatory investment, competitor activity, emerging security requirements and routes to market.
• Translate intelligence into clear recommendations on where Littlewood should compete, invest, partner or choose not to pursue.
• Develop annual and three-to-five-year South East growth plans aligned with the wider business strategy.
• Develop potential M&A pipeline and support the execution of acquisitions

Experience and Qualifications

• Significant business development, key account or commercial growth experience within infrastructure, utilities, security, construction or an adjacent sector.
• Demonstrable success developing senior client relationships, creating opportunities before formal procurement and converting them into sustainable revenue.
• Strong understanding of framework contracting, infrastructure procurement and commercially disciplined pipeline management.
• Exposure to regulated utilities and/or secure infrastructure is highly desirable; experience in fencing is advantageous but not essential.
• Strategic, entrepreneurial and collaborative, with strong commercial acumen, credibility and the ability to influence both customers and internal delivery teams.

• Complete a review of all South East utility frameworks, including addressable market, current performance, stakeholder mapping and top growth opportunities.
• Implement strategic account plans for priority customers and establish measurable framework growth and pipeline targets.
• Develop market-entry plans for defence, custodial/prisons, data centres and wider CNI/SEMD opportunities, creating a credible pipeline in at least two adjacent sectors.
• Demonstrate increased utility framework pipeline and secure initial contract wins that broaden Littlewood’ South East customer base.

Salary and Benefits