Business Development Manager (BDM)

Location: Montréal, QC

Type: Full-time, Permanent

Department: Business Development

About CRWS

Canadian Railway Services (CRWS) is a fast-growing engineering and project delivery firm specializing in rolling stock, rail systems, and industrial transportation projects across North America. We operate in a fast-paced, high-urgency rail environment where timing, credibility, and execution discipline are critical to winning and delivering work.

What You’ll Do

As a Business Development Manager, you will be responsible for driving revenue growth by proactively identifying, pursuing, and securing new business opportunities in the rail and transportation sector. This is a hands-on, execution-oriented role with direct ownership of business development activities, from early opportunity identification to contract award.

You will operate in an environment where speed, accuracy, and follow-through matter. Long sales cycles, private and public-sector procurement, and complex technical scopes are the norm. The successful candidate understands the pace of the rail industry and is comfortable leading opportunities with urgency, without compromising professionalism, accuracy, or brand integrity.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Sales Execution

• Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities across passenger and freight rail markets.
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospects, opportunities, and strategic accounts.
• Lead client outreach, meetings, presentations, and follow-ups to convert opportunities into contracts.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date opportunity tracking and activity data in the CRM.

Tender & Proposal Leadership

• Proactively identify and track upcoming bids, RFQs, and RFPs in public and private rail markets.
• Lead the bid qualification and no-bid / bid decision process, including opportunity assessment, risk analysis, and recommendations to leadership.
• Own the proposal process end-to-end, including drafting proposal content, coordinating inputs, and structuring submissions.
• Act as the bid lead, coordinating engineering, project management, operations, and external partners to deliver compliant and competitive proposals.
• Develop and articulate win strategies, value propositions, and differentiators aligned with client needs and CRWS capabilities.
• Manage proposal schedules, internal reviews, compliance checks, and submission deadlines.
• Lead post-submission clarifications, negotiations, and client debriefs to support continuous improvement.

Client & Account Development

• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and prospective clients, partners, and stakeholders.
• Act as the primary commercial contact prior to project award.
• Support long-term account development, repeat business, and strategic partnerships.

Market Intelligence & Strategy

• Monitor market trends, upcoming programs, and competitor activity in the rail and transportation sector.
• Identify partnership, consortium, and framework agreement opportunities.
• Provide regular input to leadership on pipeline health, market positioning, and growth strategy.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with engineering, PMO, operations, and leadership to align sales commitments with delivery capabilities.
• Ensure clean and effective handover of awarded projects to delivery teams.
• Represent CRWS professionally at industry events, conferences, and client meetings.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, or a related field.
• 5–10 years of experience in business development or sales roles, with a strong preference for rail, transportation, or infrastructure experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading bids and proposals, not just contributing to them.
• Strong understanding of public and private procurement processes (RFQ, RFP, tenders).
• Ability to understand and communicate technical service offerings credibly.
• Proficiency with CRM tools and pipeline management.
• Strong commercial judgment, negotiation skills, and written communication abilities.
• Bilingualism (English/French) is an asset.

How You Work

• You are proactive, structured, and opportunity-driven.
• You are comfortable making go/no-go decisions and owning outcomes.
• You communicate clearly with clients and internal teams.
• You operate effectively under time pressure and shifting priorities.
• You take ownership from first contact to contract award.

Working Conditions

• Full-time (40 hours/week), Monday to Friday.
• On-site presence at the CRWS Montréal office.
• Regular travel for client meetings, industry events, and site visits.
• Flexibility required to meet client availability and bid deadlines typical of the rail industry.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary + performance-based commission, commensurate with experience and results.
• Group insurance and health benefits.
• RRSP or retirement savings plan.
• Paid vacation and 10 personal days per year.
• Professional development and training opportunities.
• Opportunity to work on complex rolling stock projects across North America.

Why Join CRWS

• Own and lead business development in a technically respected rail organization.
• Work directly with engineering and leadership teams.
• Influence strategic growth, partnerships, and market positioning.
• Build long-term value in a sector where credibility and execution matter.

How To Apply

Submit your resume and a brief overview of your experience in mechanical design or drafting for industrial, transportation, or rolling stock projects.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Discounted or free food
• On-site parking
• RRSP match
• Vision care

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Saint-Laurent, QC H4T 1S3: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree (required)

Experience:

• Business development: 5 years (required)
• Sales: 5 years (required)

Language:

• French (required)
• English (required)

Work Location: In person