Principal, Business Development

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued. People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals. We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey. About American Water American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $30 to $34 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities. American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Indexfor the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions. For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Primary Role

• Responsible for the development of new business opportunities specifically focused on water and wastewater system acquisitions. This includes working with municipal and privately owned water and wastewater owners to discuss and educate on the acquisition benefits and process and working with and directing consultants that have targeted opportunities.Key Accountabilities
• Assist in building the business development pipeline and identifying opportunities to maintain a steady flow of projects and plans for securing those in line with the business plan. Identify, qualify and prioritize leads through the use of appropriate tools, local market data and active targeted prospecting.
• Prepare informational material and communication drafts and support the external affairs manager in development of marketing materials which support business development opportunities. Updates the business development plan and assesses risks to commitments for securing sustainable business growth.
• Manage the end-to-end business development cycle for less complex service offerings, coordinates and at times manages multifunction deal team in preparation of acquisition proposals and presentations. Assist with asset valuation studies and financial analysis and operational viability studies of targeted opportunities with appropriate departments.
• Create market awareness and interest in American Water, develop and maintain American Water brand image with the key industry stakeholders within the designated territory, attend municipal and public meetings as required, plans and staffs trade shows and industry events.
• Evaluate new and emerging technologies, regulatory changes, and other relevant factors in order to assist in the identification of new business opportunities.Knowledge/Skills
• Infrastructure experience preferably within the water/waste-water utility sector
• Financial and commercial acumen.
• Legal aspects of the regulatory environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills (presentation skills: fluency, report writing).
• Interpersonal skills, (e.g., persuasion negotiation, cooperation, diplomacy).
• Strong financial and legal acumen, or the ability to learn
• Critical thinking, adaptability, have a strong work ethic, possess leadership skills yet are a collaborative team player
• Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Salesforce knowledge benefitial
• Ability to quickly adapt to professional collaborative environments, deal with ambiguity, take initiative, and achieve resultsTravel Requirements
• Up to 25%, as requiredExperience/Education
• Bachelor Degree required (Engineering, Science, Business, Finance or Marketing preferred). Advanced Degree preferred but not required.
• 12+ years of work experience of which 6 to 8 years in the business development function, including significant experience working with municipal officials.
• Sound knowledge of the water industry is strongly preferred.Key Relationships
• State President and leadership team
• Regional Business Development Director
• Bid support team
• Functional experts: Operations, HR, Legal, Finance, Business Developers within & across the Company
• VP, Business Development
• Various external community and business leadersCompetenciesChampions safetyCustomer obsessedCultivates innovationCollaboratesDrives ResultsNimble learning