Client Engagement Lead Business Development- Utility Programs and Services Division

Client Engagement Lead - Business Development Utility Growth Team EEI Business Development Team

We are looking for a Client Engagement Lead to join our Business Development Utility Growth Team and help drive coordinated client-centered growth across ICFs utility markets. ICFs utility practice is poised for significant growth over the next five years as utility clients navigate decarbonization grid modernization energy efficiency electrification and evolving regulatory and market dynamics.

Under ICFs market-focused growth model the Utility Growth Team works across divisions and service lines to pursue opportunities that reflect the full breadth of ICFs utility capabilities. This role requires an energetic strategic and disciplined sales leader who can lead teams own complex pursuits and build trusted relationships with utility decision-makers across North America.

The Client Engagement Lead plays a pivotal role in leading sales execution managing and mentoring Business Development Managers and ensuring a robust high-quality pipeline of opportunities from early identification through contract close. This role partners closely with Delivery Market Development Proposal Marketing and centralized services to drive consistent accountable growth outcomes.

This position is a U.S.-based remote role.

Learn more about our Energy sector industry here. Energy Management Solutions and Strategy Consulting ICF

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead manage and mentor Business Development Managers through regular meetings coaching performance management and feedback to drive individual and team effectiveness.
• Reinforce consistent application of ICFs preferred sales capture and pursuit methodologies including disciplined qualification pipeline governance and pursuit execution.
• Drive accountability for sales goals pipeline quality conversion and pursuit outcomes.
• Foster a collaborative results-oriented culture that supports cross-functional engagement across Delivery Market Development Sales Enablement Proposal Marketing and other enterprise teams.
• Support overall BD team effectiveness and organizational health including onboarding enablement and continuous improvement.

Pipeline Development and Management

• Oversee a pipeline of opportunities across geographies buyer groups and service offerings ensuring focus on strategic fit quality and conversion.
• Drive early-stage proactive opportunity identification and shaping in partnership with Market Development and research resources.
• Provide strategic guidance on opportunity qualification prioritization and capture strategy.
• Ensure disciplined pipeline governance including forecasting reviews and compliance with sales processes.
• Monitor pipeline performance against sales targets and adjust strategy to improve pursuit quality and win rates.

Client and Partner Relationship Management

• Develop strategic solutions for growing relationships with key utility accounts buyers and decision-makers positioning ICF as a trusted advisor for emerging needs.
• Build and sustain strong internal partnerships across Delivery Market Development and operating groups to align client strategy and solutioning.
• Engage with external partners and stakeholders to support coordinated pursuits and long-term account growth strategies.
• Lead account-based and subregional sales strategy execution ensuring consistent targeting follow-up and relationship development.

Strategy Development

• Support and contribute to client engagement capture and pursuit strategy including value proposition development and bid strategy.
• Ensure proposal strategy and execution consistency in partnership with Proposal Marketing and Delivery teams.
• Collaborate on regulatory policy and market intelligence initiatives to anticipate opportunities and inform pursuit prioritization.

Support sales enablement initiatives including:

• Sales campaigns.
• Sales training methodology enablement and best-practice sharing.
• Effective use of AI and emerging technologies across BD capture and proposal development.

Focus on Execution:

• Orchestrate multiple complex pursuits simultaneously applying disciplined qualification pursuit governance and close plans to hit growth targets.
• Build and run lightweight operating rhythms (cadence dashboards decision logs) that keep cross functional teams focused on the critical path.
• Inspect the details that matterdeal economics compliance requirements proposal artifactswhile maintaining momentum on strategy and client engagement.
• Convert market signals into prioritized action lists with owners due dates and measurable outcomes; escalate or reprioritize work as conditions change.
• Ensure CRM forecast and pipeline data are accurate current and decision-ready; drive accountability for follow through across the team.

Core Competencies

• Proven leadership experience with leading coaching and holding sales teams accountable for performance and outcomes.
• Deep expertise in managing complex multi-stakeholder sales and capture processes.
• Strong client relationship and account leadership skills within the utility sector.
• Strong understanding of energy management markets particularly within the utility sector.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate market policy and client intelligence into actionable pursuit and growth strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across functions and operating groups in a matrixed organization.
• Executive functioning & prioritization. Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguity triage competing deadlines and keep several highvalue initiatives moving in parallel without sacrificing quality.
• Attention to detail altitude shifting. Moves fluidly between strategy and detailsspotting risks/omissions in pipeline data proposals and client comms while keeping focus on the growth objective.
• Planning & followthrough. Translates goals into clear plans milestones and owners; monitors progress rigorously and coursecorrects to meet commitments.
• Task initiation & completion discipline. Proactively starts the hard things closes loops quickly and upholds governance (CRM hygiene forecast accuracy qualification rigor).
• Cognitive flexibility. Reprioritizes in real time as markets clients and internal demands shift; makes sound tradeoffs and communicates them transparently.
• Working memory & information management. Synthesizes inputs across policy regulatory and technical domains to keep teams aligned on the next best action.

This role requires a proactive leader who can effectively balance strategic vision with operational execution to drive measurable results and elevate ICFs impact in the energy management industry.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• 7 years of experience in the utility or energy sector and ability to demonstrate market and domain knowledge.
• 5 years of experience managing teams often with a background in solving complex multi-faceted issues.
• Demonstrated track record of leading pursuits and winning new business of $20 million annually with a structured and disciplined process and mature pursuit methodologies processes and artifacts.
• Experience working in the Utility or Energy sectors (Clean Energy Energy Efficiency DER Electrification Wind and/or Oil and Gas.
• Proven ability to manage 610 concurrent pursuits or initiatives from shaping through close with clear plans owners and checkpoints.
• Track record of errorfree deliverables (e.g. submissions pricing files client correspondence) and ontime milestone delivery across distributed teams.
• Demonstrated operational discipline (forecast accuracy stage hygiene qualification rigor) that improves win rate and cycle time.
• Evidence of prioritization under pressurerebalancing resources and scope to protect outcomes without degrading client experience.

Preferred skills/experience:

• Bachelors degree.
• Willingness to travel to client sites ICF offices and conferences as required.

Working at ICF

Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position including but not limited to relevant work experience skills certifications and competencies that align to the specified role geographic location education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is: