Client Development Manager

About Roberts Civil Engineering

Your success is our mission at Roberts Civil Engineering and that starts with our employees. We are made up of talented, responsive people that work with the utmost precision.

Our core values include integrity, efficiency, kindness, and excellence. We take pride in doing our very best at every task regardless of the size and exhibit a “can do” mentality during a challenge. The team treats others with the highest respect. We build others with positive conversation, frequent affirmation, and encouragement.

Our work atmosphere promotes a work/life balance and our employees frequently say this is the best environment in which they have worked. 

About the role

Roberts Civil Engineering is seeking a Client Development Manager for the Consulting Division. This externally facing role is responsible for developing relationships and generating qualified federal, public-sector, and other assigned opportunities for RCE; advancing those opportunities through the company’s established product lifecycle; and connecting prospective clients and opportunities with the appropriate technical leaders. The Client Development Manager will also support selected client relationships and accounts receivable efforts in partnership with Finance. The ideal candidate is relationship-oriented, market aware, organized, and able to convert external engagement into documented opportunities and clear next steps without assuming project-management or technical authority. 

The person awarded this position will… 

Tactical Work

• Build and maintain relationships with state, local, and other public-sector agencies, community and industry stakeholders, developers, prospective clients, and strategic contacts within assigned markets. 

• Maintain an intentional schedule of external outreach, client and prospect meetings, agency engagement, networking, industry events, and community activities aligned with Consulting Division priorities. 

• Identify and develop qualified opportunities by monitoring agency initiatives, procurement activity, capital programs, funding activity, RFPs, RFQs, and other relevant market signals. 

• Generate new public-sector opportunities and route qualified opportunities to the appropriate Consulting Division and technical leaders for evaluation and pursuit decisions. 

• Serve as the business relationship manager for assigned clients and opportunities within RCE’s established product lifecycle, maintaining momentum, documented next steps, and external follow-up through pre-pursuit and pursuit stages. 

• Maintain accurate client, contact, activity, lead, and opportunity information in the company CRM and other designated product-lifecycle tools. 

• Prepare concise relationship and opportunity updates that identify activity, qualified opportunities, barriers, commitments, owners, and next steps. 

• Coordinate with technical leaders, the Project Services Coordinator, and the Marketing & Communications Specialist on approved pursuit activity, client meetings, outreach materials, presentations, event participation, and follow-up. 

• Support early client conversations by gathering relationship context, needs, timing, procurement information, and decision-making considerations and transferring technical questions or commitments to the appropriate technical leader. 

• Represent RCE professionally at approved client meetings, agency forums, industry events, community meetings, conferences, and networking opportunities. 

• Partner with Finance on selected aging accounts where relationship-based outreach may help clarify payment barriers, obtain status information, reinforce commitments, or facilitate resolution. 

• Document collections-related outreach and return disputes, payment-plan decisions, contractual questions, or financial exceptions to Finance or authorized leadership. 

• Performs other related duties as assigned. 

Strategic Work

• Partner with Consulting Division and senior leadership to translate approved growth priorities into targeted relationship-development and opportunity-generation activity. 

• Build sustained relationships with priority public-sector and federal prospects before formal procurement or solicitation opportunities are released. 

• Provide market and relationship intelligence to Consulting Division and technical leaders, including emerging needs, planned procurements, stakeholder priorities, competitive activity, and relationship opportunities observed through external engagement. 

• Develop and maintain focused engagement plans for assigned prospective and existing clients, identifying relationship objectives, next steps, internal owners, and potential opportunities. 

• Advance qualified opportunities through the established product lifecycle while ensuring technical scope, pricing, contracts, go/no-go decisions, and project-delivery commitments remain with authorized leaders. 

• Use CRM and product-lifecycle information to identify stalled opportunities, relationship gaps, and follow-up needs and coordinate appropriate action with designated owners. 

• Partner with Finance and operational leaders to strengthen client relationships where service, communication, or payment concerns may affect retention, collections, or future work. 

• Maintain clear authority boundaries: this position does not manage engineering projects and does not independently commit RCE to technical scope, pricing, schedules, contracts, contractual terms, payment arrangements, or project-delivery decisions. 

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, communications, political science, urban planning, marketing, construction, engineering-related studies, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered. 

• Seven to ten years of experience in business development, client development, public-sector relations, government affairs, community relations, professional services, or a related externally facing role preferred. 

• Experience developing relationships with federal, state, local, municipal, infrastructure, development, or other public-sector stakeholders strongly preferred. 

• Experience in civil engineering, infrastructure, architecture, construction, environmental services, utilities, planning, or another professional-services environment preferred. 

• Demonstrated ability to build professional relationships, identify opportunities, maintain consistent follow-up, and communicate effectively with senior and external stakeholders. 

• Working knowledge of public procurement, RFP/RFQ processes, or federal/public-sector opportunity development preferred. 

• Experience using CRM or opportunity-management systems to maintain contacts, activities, leads, and opportunities. 

• Strong written communication, public speaking, organization, discretion, and professional judgment. 

• Ability and willingness to travel within assigned markets and attend occasional evening meetings, community events, conferences, or networking activities. 

• United States Work Authorization required. 

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer 

• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times 

• Must be able to travel to RCE offices, client and agency meetings, industry events, conferences, and other assigned locations 

• Must be able to access and navigate client, community, event, and project locations as required for assigned responsibilities