Client Strategy Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

About Us:

BW Design Group is a fully integrated architecture, engineering, construction, system integration, and consulting firm committed to helping our clients realize their most critical goals from Strategy to Commercialization. As the only firm born from a manufacturing technology company to become an independent and fully integrated firm, we combine deep domain expertise in the manufacturing environment with an approach that is built to serve the dynamic needs of our clients. Rooted in our distinct culture of Truly Human Leadership, we cultivate the leaders who will define tomorrow and partner with our clients in the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries to build the future of manufacturing and technology.

 

Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world.

 

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 and surrounded by leaders who are committed to creating an environment that enables you to realize your own success and fulfillment.

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.

Our culture and commitment to our people is what sets us apart. We foster an environment of mutual respect, integrity, and unconditional interest in the individual and collective success of our professionals. Our model and entrepreneurial mindset offer a rewarding, challenging, and highly flexible path. As a Director, you will build a meaningful and fulfilling career with the support of professional development resources and mentorships including our First Year Experience program, Individual Development Plans, and Career Path resources and tools. You will be surrounded by exceptional talent who will support your development as both a world-class engineer and a highly effective leader.

Feel like you're on the path to becoming a Director but you're not quite there yet? We'd love to connect with you to see if we can take you from where you are today and grow you into a BW Design Group Consultant. #LI-BH1

 

At Barry-Wehmiller we recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please still consider applying. We know that our differences often can bring about innovation, excellence and meaningful work-therefore, people from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply to our positions. Please let us know if you require reasonable accommodations during the interview process.

Barry-Wehmiller is an equal opportunity employer. M/F/D/V This organization uses E-Verify.

 

Applicants may be subject to pre-employment screening which may include drug screening, reference checks, employment verifications, background screening and/or skills assessments.

Company:

Design Group