Head of Commercial – Water & Environment
Location: Madrid, Spain
Company: MAI Group
Working hours: Full-time
About the role
MAI Group is looking for a Head of Commercial to lead business development and commercial activities across its Water & Environment Area, in Spain and internationally.
You will take ownership of the Area’s commercial strategy, lead the commercial team and develop opportunities from early client engagement through to contract award. Working closely with business unit directors and technical specialists, you will connect our expertise in water, environmental and social consulting with client needs and market opportunities.
This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on involvement in client relationships, competitive tenders and commercial negotiations.
Your responsibilities
- Define and deliver the commercial strategy: establish annual targets, budgets and performance indicators, prioritising markets, clients and opportunities.
- Develop client relationships: build and maintain relationships with international financial institutions, public authorities, utilities, engineering companies, developers and development partners.
- Manage the commercial pipeline: identify opportunities, lead bid/no-bid decisions and allocate resources according to strategic fit, likelihood of success and expected profitability.
- Lead bids and proposals: oversee expressions of interest, prequalifications, and technical and financial proposals, coordinating internal teams, partners and external experts.
- Support negotiations and contract awards: take an active role in client meetings, presentations, clarifications and commercial discussions.
- Lead and develop the commercial team: set clear responsibilities, strengthen capabilities and promote accountability, initiative and autonomy.
- Develop markets and services: work with technical leaders to translate the Area’s expertise into competitive proposals and identify opportunities for new services and market entry.
- Improve commercial performance: strengthen processes, CRM and reporting tools, monitor results and forecasts, and apply lessons learned from previous bids.
- Promote collaboration across the Group: develop joint opportunities and facilitate the sharing of clients, partners, expertise and project references.
What you bring
- At least eight years of relevant experience in commercial management, business development, bid management or proposal preparation.
- Experience within engineering, environmental, water, infrastructure or international consulting companies.
- A strong understanding of international business development and competitive tendering.
- Proven experience preparing expressions of interest, prequalifications, and technical and financial proposals.
- Experience with procurement processes funded by international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, AFD, EBRD, ADB, EIB or AfDB.
- Experience coordinating multidisciplinary and international proposal teams, partners, subcontractors and individual experts.
- The ability to define commercial priorities, manage pipelines and translate strategy into measurable results.
- Strong leadership, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
- Excellent written and spoken Spanish and English.
Additional experience we value
- Previous responsibility for managing or coordinating a commercial team.
- Knowledge of environmental and social services, including impact assessments, management plans, resettlement action plans, due diligence, occupational health and safety, and management systems.
- Familiarity with water-sector services, infrastructure planning, engineering studies and institutional advisory.
- Experience with CRM, business intelligence and pipeline management tools.
- Training in procurement procedures for international financial institutions.
- Professional proficiency in French.
The opportunity
You will shape the commercial direction of the Water & Environment Area, develop its team and contribute directly to its growth. The position offers cross-disciplinary collaboration and exposure to clients, partners and consulting opportunities in Spain and international markets.
Interested? Apply through LinkedIn with your CV.