General Manager - Strategy & Business Development

Catalpa Group; Perth; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Catalpa, based in Perth, WA, is seeking a General Manager - Strategy & Business Development to lead the growth agenda for its civil and electrical delivery arm within Symphony Infrastructure Partners. You will shape which markets we compete in, build lasting client partnerships and steer the commercial strategy to win work in renewables, transmission and data centre power projects.

This is a senior leadership role reporting to the Executive General Manager, offering a pathway to shape

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in strategy, business development or commercial roles within civil infrastructure.
• Track record of shaping growth pipelines and winning work in competitive markets.
• Strategic thinker with commercial acumen, able to set direction and execute details.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of Catalpa's growth strategy aligned with Symphony's direction.
• Own tender and sales pipeline across renewables, transmission, and civils.
• Strengthen market position and value proposition presented to clients and partners.
• Develop and manage senior client and industry relationships for long-term work.
• Lead market and competitor analysis to inform pricing and positioning.
• Collaborate with leadership to evaluate new markets and partnerships.
• Work with operations to ensure strategies are deliverable.

Job description

General Manager - Strategy & Business Development

Symphony Infrastructure Partners is building Australia's only independent, end-to-end connection infrastructure business - and Catalpa is the specialist civil and electrical arm within the Symphony group of companies that makes it possible. Having stabilised its operating foundations, Catalpa is now moving into its next growth phase, and we're creating a General Manager - Strategy & Business Development role to lead it: shaping which markets we compete in, which clients we build long-term partnerships with, and how we keep winning work in one of the country's most competitive infrastructure sectors.

About Catalpa

Catalpa is a specialist civil and electrical construction business within Symphony Infrastructure Partners, an independent, end-to-end connection infrastructure partner working across renewables, battery storage, transmission and data centre power projects nationally. Symphony designs, builds, owns and operates the high-voltage assets - substations, switchyards, transmission lines and balance of plant - that connect major projects to the grid, working with all of Australia's transmission network service providers. Catalpa delivers the critical-path civil and electrical works behind that mission: earthworks, foundations, structural and precision works, and tower and line construction for wind, solar, battery storage and transmission projects.

Based in Perth, WA, and backed by significant institutional investment, Catalpa is a growing business entering its next phase.

The opportunity

This is a newly created role, reporting into Catalpa's Executive General Manager, at a genuine inflection point for the business. Catalpa is now building the pipeline and partnerships that will drive its next stage of growth - expanding its core work in renewables, transmission and battery storage civils, and exploring adjacent markets where its specialist self-perform capability adds real value.

The General Manager - Strategy & Business Development will own that growth agenda: sharpening how Catalpa positions itself in the market, building the client and industry relationships that convert into work, and shaping the commercial strategy that wins the right work - not just more of it.

Key responsibilities

Lead the development and execution of Catalpa's growth and business development strategy, in close alignment with Symphony Infrastructure Partners' broader direction

Build and own the tender and sales pipeline across Catalpa's core market sin transmission and civils supporting Generation, Loads, Firming and Battery Storage Assets while identify genuine adjacent market opportunities

Strengthen Catalpa's market position and value proposition, sharpening how the business is presented to clients, partners and industry

Develop and manage senior client, contractor and industry relationships that translate into long-term work, not one-off wins

Lead market and competitor analysis to inform pricing, positioning and where Catalpa chooses to compete

Partner with the leadership team on evaluating new markets, partnerships and growth opportunities

Work closely with the operation delivery teams so the growth strategy is genuinely deliverable, not just sold

Represent Catalpa at industry events, with key clients, and in strategic conversations with Symphony's broader leadership

About you

Substantial senior leadership experience in strategy, business development or commercial leadership within civil construction, energy, transmission or broader infrastructure sectors

A genuine track record of winning and growing work in a competitive market - shaping the pipeline before it lands, not just responding to tenders

A strategic thinker with strong commercial acumen, equally comfortable setting the big-picture direction and working the detail of an individual pursuit

Experience operating in, or selling into, regulated utility or transmission network environments highly regarded

Creative innovation to support our contestable connection solutions

Genuine relationship-building skills - the ability to build trust with clients and industry, and to influence internally through rapport rather than authority

The confidence to operate as part of an evolving leadership team during a period of change, and the resilience to build the function as you go

Our culture

Catalpa is part of Symphony Infrastructure Partners, and we hold ourselves to the same values across the group:

Win with Integrity - we think long term and build trust by doing the right thing

Make the Complex Simple - we anticipate what our clients need and keep improving how we work

Extreme Ownership - we operate as one team with one mission

Safety Always - everyone goes home safely, every day, to family, friends and pets

If that sounds like how you already work, we'd like to hear from you.