Director, Client Development – Design‑Build - Capital Projects - CPG

BW Design Group; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

BW Design Group in Columbus, Ohio is looking for a Director of Client Development specializing in Food & Beverage Manufacturing, where you will lead significant capital programs. This role requires 15+ years of experience in managing large-scale projects within regulated environments such as food manufacturing. Successful candidates will possess deep technical expertise and the ability to form strong client relationships. The position offers opportunities for growth and influence in a rapidly expanding firm, with a strong emphasis on commercial strategy and leadership.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in capital program leadership, particularly in food and beverage manufacturing.
• Experience in design-build and integrated A/E/C environments.
• Deep understanding of food manufacturing, including FSMA and HACCP compliance.
• Executive-level communication skills with the ability to influence and align stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own bookings targets and pricing strategy for large-scale capital programs.
• Engage with client executives across various functions for alignment.
• Lead the pursuit strategy and negotiate commercial terms.
• Deliver integrated DB/EPC solutions with internal subject matter experts.
• Serve as executive sponsor through project execution and closeout.

Skills

Client engagement and relationship management

Leadership in program delivery

Deep understanding of food manufacturing operations

Executive-level communication

Commercial strategy development

Education

BS or MS in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management or related field

Job description

Who You’ll Work With

You will join one of our 45 offices in the US, be part of a committed team of over 1500 professionals, and work in teams and directly with our clients doing work that is shaping the world around us. You will be welcomed into a rapidly growing business and team and empowered to make an impact. You will be valued, cared for, and challenged on your path to becoming a world‑class professional consultant.

When you join BW Design Group as a Director, you are joining a team that will challenge you and position you for growth. In this role, you will work with a team of industry experts to help the world’s leading companies solve their most difficult problems. You will join our Architecture + Engineering + Construction (AEC) Business and partner with seasoned leaders, technical specialists, and subject matter experts to deliver the highest quality solutions to our clients with consistency and accuracy.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Director, Client Development (Food & Beverage Manufacturing – Design Build/EPC) to build, secure, and execute large‑scale capital programs ($100M+), with direct accountability for bookings, commercial strategy, and delivery outcomes. This client‑facing growth leadership role blends strategic client alignment with deep technical expertise to expand multi‑project initiatives across processing, packaging, utilities, and facility modernization—including hygienic design, cold chain, and regulated food manufacturing environments—in both brownfield and greenfield settings.

Operating outside traditional utilization expectations (e.g., billable hours), the role is measured by bookings, margin‑aware account growth, delivery performance, and long‑term client value—empowering you to focus on high‑impact client strategy, pursuit leadership, and capital alignment in an entrepreneurial environment. Dedicated preconstruction, engineering, and construction teams support the role, ensuring technical depth and delivery leadership partnership complement your accountability in client development. Success in this role is defined by secured bookings, profitable delivery of multi‑project capital programs, and sustained executive‑level client relationships.

What You’ll Do

• Own bookings targets, pricing strategy, and commercial positioning, developing opportunities into secured design‑build (DB) and engineer‑procure‑construct (EPC) initiatives supporting food and beverage processing, packaging, utilities, and distribution facilities—leveraging your technical insights to achieve outcomes.
• Engage client executive stakeholders across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) to align capital investment with growth, reliability, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) compliance, and speed‑to‑market objectives.
• Lead pursuit strategy and executive presentations; negotiate commercial terms, delivery approach, pricing, and risk allocation with direct accountability for contractual outcomes, drawing on technical expertise to build client trust.
• Lead internal subject matter experts (SMEs) across process, architecture/engineering (A/E), preconstruction, construction, and controls to deliver integrated DB/EPC solutions.
• Participate in go/no‑go reviews, pipeline governance, forecasting, and customer relationship management (CRM) discipline to support predictable growth and backlog health.
• Serve as executive sponsor through execution and closeout, remaining accountable for client satisfaction, commercial performance, and long‑term account profitability.

What You’ll Bring

• 15+ years leading and delivering capital programs for manufacturing clients in a design‑build, EPC, or integrated A/E/C environment—particularly within food, beverage, CPG, or other regulated production environments—with personal responsibility for securing work, pricing, and delivery execution.
• Deep understanding of food manufacturing operations, including people and material flows, hygienic zoning, adjacency planning, reliability constraints, and operational readiness across processing and utility systems, applied to inform client alignments and de‑risking strategies.
• Experience leading large, multidisciplinary delivery teams with authority over scope, cost, schedule, and margin.
• This role requires ownership of commercial outcomes and delivery risk within a DB/EPC model, using technical expertise to secure and execute high‑value contracts.
• Use industry experience and technical knowledge in delivery strategy development and cost/schedule de‑risking, including preconstruction, constructability, phasing, shutdown/tie‑in planning, and risk management—all to support client pursuits and margin‑aware growth.
• Food & Beverage manufacturing experience strongly preferred; Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) or life sciences/pharma experience transferable where candidates have delivered regulated, capital‑intensive manufacturing facilities.
• Experience working in quality‑driven and regulated environments; Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)/current GMP (cGMP) and HACCP exposure a plus.
• Executive‑level communication skills with the ability to influence and align technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel for client engagement, site walkdowns, and industry events.
• BS or MS in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or related field.
• Professional Engineer (PE) preferred but not required; Master of Business Administration (MBA) and/or Project Management Professional (PMP) a plus.