Technical/Operations Director (Infrastructure and Environment)

Be part of a sustainable future with Sweco

At Sweco, we plan and design the sustainable communities and cities of the future. As Europe’s leading architecture and engineering consultancy, we work with private and public sector clients to deliver smarter, cleaner and more resilient solutions from transport networks and urban regeneration to energy, water and environmental management.

Our Infrastructure & Environment division brings together experts in transport planning and modelling, development infrastructure, highways and streets, active travel, and public realm. We help clients across the country to unlock growth, improve connectivity and enable low carbon, people focused places.

To support our continued expansion in London and the Southeast, we’re looking for a Senior Leader to drive regional growth and market presence.

This role is based in our Ipsiwch office, with office attendance expected 3 days per week, and some travel to client sites and other Sweco offices as required.

What does the role involve?

In this role, you will work closely with Department Managers to shape and deliver the growth plan for London and the Southeast. You’ll define the direction of change and growth needed to meet current and future market expectations in the region and turn that vision into action.

Key responsibilities include:

Regional growth leadership

• • Develop and implement the regional growth plan for London and the Southeast.
  • Be instrumental in identifying and securing opportunities that enable growth of the London business.
  • Seek opportunities that support all Departments and services within the Division – and the wider UK business where they arise.

Work winning and business development

• • Take an active role in Work Winning Campaign Team meetings, helping to, identify key strategic pursuits and agree actions for successful pursuit. Identify growth areas (geographic and sector) in existing markets and shape plans to secure market share. Identify future market opportunities and how we diversify into these areas.
  • Lead the development of win strategies and storyboard key bid pursuits.
  • Act as Bid Manager, Bid Director or Reviewer where appropriate.
  • Lead or support development of the commercial strategy for bids, ensuring robust, competitive and sustainable propositions.

Project delivery and technical leadership

• • Deliver projects in our existing pipeline, acting as Project Manager/Project Engineer or Technical Authority as needed.
  • Spend a proportion of your time working directly on projects in a project management and/or technical lead capacity – this is an integral part of the role.

Collaboration and visibility

• • Work across multi‑discipline teams within the UK business to create joined‑up solutions for clients.
  • Build strong internal and external networks, representing Sweco and our Infrastructure & Environment services in the London market.

What we’re looking for

You will bring a strong blend of commercial, technical and leadership skills, together with deep understanding of the infrastructure and environment market.

You will have:

• Strong leadership skills and the ability to play a proactive role in Division and Business Unit management teams.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to influence strategic decision‑making.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑management skills, with the ability to adapt your style to different audiences.
• Extensive experience of relevant tender processes, with the ability to understand client briefs and clearly demonstrate our professional capability.
• Proven ability to engage with key stakeholders and influence outcomes.
• Experience working across multi‑discipline teams, ideally within a UK consultancy setting.
• Chartered membership of a relevant professional institution.
• Solid technical knowledge and expertise in a relevant discipline (e.g. transport, highways, development infrastructure, or related fields).

How we’ll measure success

In this role, success will be reflected in:

• Business development indicators such as Tell‑Us registrations and NPS score.
• Improved win‑rate ratios on bids you lead.
• Strong project profitability and sustainable long‑term client relationships.

Why join Sweco?

At Sweco you’ll join a company that puts people and society at the heart of everything we do. You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Influence the growth of a key region for our UK Infrastructure & Environment division.
• Work on projects that genuinely shape how people move, live and work across London and the Southeast.
• Collaborate with leading technical experts across a wide range of disciplines.
• Develop your career through professional support, mentoring and access to a broad portfolio of projects.

This is an exciting time to join Sweco, and if you want to be part of a company who is small in all the best ways but large enough to provide a diverse and exciting workload, this may be the job for you.

If you believe you have the skill set required, are keen to join a business with genuine opportunities for career progression, then we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s transform society together!

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

It’s important to us that that all our colleagues thrive at work - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects the contribution individuals can bring to Sweco. We aim to promote equality, inclusivity and diversity for everyone.

Here at Sweco we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity.

We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. To find out more The Armed Forces Covenant - Our Commitments | Sweco UK.

We are an accredited Real Living Wage Employer which reflects our commitment to fair pay and support for all colleagues.

We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer, and will interview applicants covered by the Equality Act 2010 that opt into the guaranteed interview scheme on the application form and meet the minimum criteria for the role.

If I have a disability, can I get help (e.g. “reasonable adjustments”) with the application process?

If you’re an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, please contact GB_Function-HR-Resourcing@sweco.co.uk for assistance.

In order to address your request the following information is needed:

• Name

• The best method for contacting you (Phone or email)

• The position title

• Requisition/vacancy number

Upon receipt of this information, we’ll respond to you promptly to obtain more information about your request.

Please note: we reserve the right to close vacancies before the advertised closing date.

Sweco UK&I have an internal resourcing team who are responsible for all recruiting activity. We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted agencies who we work with on those “hard to fill” roles.

We have defined processes for recruitment applications and it is company policy not to accept speculative CVs. Any speculative CVs received into the business (whether to a manager or member of the resourcing team) will become the property of Sweco and the agency will not be eligible for an introductory fee.

Our Preferred Supplier List was reviewed in November 2025 and we are not looking to add any additional agencies. We’ll be reviewing the PSL again at the end of 2026 and non-compliance with the above statements could be detrimental to you having the opportunity to be included.

Our Talent Community for experienced professionals is a great way to keep up to date with our latest news, insights, future vacancies, as well as gaining access to exclusive events hosted by our experts.

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