Global Container Sector Lead

Location/s: Croydon, Newcastle, Liverpool, Southampton, Bristol, UK
Recruiter contact: Ainsley Anstess

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business unit
Mott MacDonald has a strong and impressive track record in the delivery of global container terminal projects for a host of international terminal operators. We have, for example, been supporting DP World with masterplanning, preliminary design and tender documentation for the multi-phase greenfield port development at Ndayane in Senegal which recently broken ground seven years after we were first appointed. As a key member of the Ports, Coastal and Offshore (PCO) practice (within the Aviation, Maritime and Offshore division), you will help deliver continued success in this sector by contributing to outcomes which exceed our clients’ expectations. The ideal candidate will play a key role in defining Mott MacDonald’s strategic approach to the container sector in addition to leading business development and bidding activities and providing technical and project leadership.

Mott MacDonald's service offering within the container terminal sector includes everything from asset inspection, masterplanning (from berth to gate and intermodal hinterland links), infrastructure design (marine and landside, including utilities and pavements, new or capacity enhancement of existing assets), to dredging and navigation studies. We work across all stages in the project cycle, from project framing assessments, capacity studies, expansion optioneering to preliminary and detailed design onto procurement support and construction supervision. We undertake due diligence services for lenders and terminal operators. We work across the world including Europe, the Caribbean, North America, Middle East, Asia, Australia and Africa, and our strategy is to follow our key clients wherever they go. We strive to ensure we provide our clients with the most sustainable solutions through our Green Ports initiative, with the UN Sustainable Development Goals forming the heart of what we do. We are embracing digital initiatives and supporting the drive towards terminal automation.

Overview of the role
We are creating a new role to support our focus and growth aspirations. As Global Container Sector Lead you will develop and deliver our market strategy and assist in the positioning and capture of opportunities. You will be supported by a team of professionals in helping to develop winning value propositions and securing new contracts for Mott MacDonald. Your role will then extend to oversight of project delivery. The ideal candidate will have strong existing connections with the Sector, a strong technical understanding of container terminal operations, technologies, challenges and infrastructure and will provide support to project delivery teams. You may also have an understanding of sustainable development challenges and the solutions that modern terminals are adopting in their relationship with their customers, stakeholders and communities. Your support will continue our drive for excellence in all that we do.

You will play a key role in the senior leadership of our Ports business and help delivery of the strategic intent of the business. The Global Container Sector Lead will report to our head of Ports and will work closely with Technical and Delivery Leads and the Divisional Senior Leadership Team.

Key duties and responsibilities will include:

• Leveraging a wide internal and external network of relationships for collaboration, partnership and information sharing to contribute to and enhance, defined strategies and growth pathways 
• Identifying and resolving skills gaps with a view to expanding capability and client offering through the addition of niche skills
• Championing the raising of our profile in the Ports sector through enhanced internal and external communications and where practicable, industry presence
• Taking a “One Mott MacDonald” approach to delivery of our clients’ needs and continually striving for commercial success and customer satisfaction
• Reviewing, developing and delivering client engagement plans
• Ensuring effective management and reporting of the revenue opportunities pipeline
• Supporting the development of a rolling three-year Market Plan for the Container Sector

Delivering:

• Technical and project execution excellence across Container Sector projects
• The key actions and outcomes of the agreed Market Plan including:
  • A stronger pipeline, containing bigger opportunities that are focused on fewer clients
  • Increased market penetration and visibility 
  • Sustainable revenue growth
  • Enhanced client relationships
• Projects to help develop our talent & attract new talent

Key Performance Metrics: The primary objective of the role is to support the delivery of sustainable ambitious growth across the Container Sector

Sales targets: To be agreed with our Head of Ports

Profit: Responsible for the development of a blended portfolio of higher profit advisory/consulting and design services to deliver an overall project profit agreed with our Head of Ports

Outcomes: Responsible for the identification of valuable outcomes through regular client engagement. Defining how we measure value and how our clients measure the outcomes to their businesses that our project outputs deliver. Record the value we deliver across the focus market and Division and identify key actions for improvement

Growth: The delivery of sustainable annual revenue growth and the development of a strong and capable team supplemented by niche partnerships

Candidate specification
The ideal candidate will bring the following experience and competencies. If you meet the core requirements of what we’re looking for, or add different or additional global Container Sector skills please apply. We understand not everyone will meet all the requirements. We are looking for candidates:

• Who will bring energy and are passionate about working in the maritime world
• Who can spot and inspire seasoned professionals to join our team 
• Who will bring a strategic mindset to medium and long term trends in the Container Sector and an ability to effectively integrate long-term opportunities and challenges with day-to-day activities
• Able to manage complexity by making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
• With a proven track record of operating at senior levels in the Container Sector
• Able to work collaboratively with others inside and outside of Mott MacDonald to build partnerships to meet shared objectives
• With an ability to build a strong sense of urgency to exceed goals and beat deadlines
• Able to use knowledge and skills to help guide and support teams and individuals to help drive the sales/client relationships and project delivery forward
• Capable of clearly communicating plans, strategies, desired outcomes, progress and results to leadership teams

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working  

We are happy to talk openly about flexible working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace. 

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

 Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.