Defence Growth Director – Canberra

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Open doors. Build relationships. Grow AECOM's Defence business at the heart of it all.

The Opportunity: AECOM is looking for a Defence Growth Director to lead our client engagement, market positioning and pursuit strategy across Canberra's Defence and national security landscape. This is a rare opportunity for someone who has walked the halls of Defence whether in uniform or alongside it to turn that network, credibility and market insight into real growth for a global infrastructure leader. You'll be the face of AECOM to Defence decision-makers across the Department, Defence, Intelligence Agencies and our OEM partners, opening doors that only genuine relationships and trust can open.

If you're a veteran, ex-Navy, ex-Army, ex-Air Force or someone who has spent your career embedded in Defence and built a strong network across it, this role is built for you. We're not looking for someone who can learn Defence. We're looking for someone who already is Defence, and who's ready to bring that experience into a commercial growth role with real influence and real reward.

What You'll Do:

• Lead client engagement with key Defence decision-makers, including DoD (SEG, NSSG & DDA), AUKUS (ASA, ANI & SEG) and Defence OEMs and primes based in and around Canberra.
• Maintain deep market knowledge of the Canberra Defence landscape AUKUS, capability acquisition and sustainment programs, and National Defence Strategy priorities to shape pursuit and capture strategy.
• Partner with the Account Director, Sector Directors and Strategic Pursuit Managers to secure Enterprise Critical Pursuits (ECPs) and Tier 2 pursuits tied to national Defence growth priorities.
• Represent AECOM at Defence industry forums, conferences and community events be the trusted, familiar face in the room.
• Feed client insight and delivery learnings back into pursuit strategy, sharpening how AECOM shows up for Defence clients.
• Apply best-practice capture processes tailored to Defence procurement go/no-go decisions, pre-positioning, capture planning, proposals, security/probity requirements, risk and governance.
• Collaborate globally, working with AECOM's US and UK Defence teams to bring the best of AUKUS opportunities and leverage global OEM relationships.

Qualifications: What You'll Bring

• A strong, established network across Australian Defence decision-makers, primes, OEMs, and the broader Defence community in Canberra.
• Ideally, a background in the Australian Defence Force (Navy, Army or Air Force), or significant experience working alongside Defence in a civilian capacity.
• Credibility that opens doors the ability to walk into a room as a trusted advisor, not a vendor.
• Commercial acumen and the strategic mindset to translate relationships and market knowledge into bookings, pursuits and revenue growth.
• The influence, communication skill and integrity to represent AECOM as an industry leader, someone clients call first.
• Australian citizenship and eligibility for an Australian Government security clearance preferred. AUKUS citizenship and security clearance will also be considered.

Why AECOM: AECOM is one of the world's trusted infrastructure partners to Defence, playing a central role in Australia's naval shipbuilding, capability acquisition and AUKUS programs. This role sits at the intersection of national priority and personal opportunity the chance to represent a global company, back your own network, and be rewarded for the relationships you've spent a career building.

This isn't a desk job. It's a growth and influence role for someone who already knows how Defence works, who already has the trust of the people who matter, and who's ready to turn that into commercial impact.

Additional Information: Ready to bring your network, your credibility and your Defence experience to a role built around it? At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we, our clients and our communities live and work around Australia. We pay our respects to their cultures and to their Elders — past, present, and emerging. We are committed to connecting to Country in our work through meaningful engagement with First Nations peoples and businesses.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation and benefits programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We also provide a robust global well-being program. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.