hero

Jobs at Alumni Ventures Portfolio Companies

382
companies
1,987
Jobs

Sr. Manager, Commercial Solutions

Sparkfund

Sparkfund

Washington, DC, USA · Baltimore, MD, USA
Posted on Thursday, February 1, 2024

About Sparkfund

Sparkfund is an energy technology platform company based in Washington, D.C. built to accelerate the energy transition by transforming the built environment into a productive, resilient, climate-adapted extension of the grid. We do this by partnering with utilities and building owners to provide program management, project implementation, and financing services and capabilities to our partners' customers. Together, we are creating a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable energy future.

Position Summary

Sparkfund is hiring a project development leader on our Commercial Solutions to manage and accelerate the growth for our business. A successful candidate will be capable of developing deep competency in multiple critical disciplines including: sales, project development, partnership/program development, and project modeling. You will work within one or more strategic partnerships, each of which carry revenue goals based on successful execution of energy projects across the program’s decarbonization, resiliency, and electrification offerings. You will be responsible for deal intake, close strategy, pricing, proposal development, and internal management of the deal across relevant cross functional teams. You will not be responsible for deal origination! You will be responsible for hitting margin targets, increasing our close rates, and infusing customer and product learnings throughout the organization.

This position will report directly to the Associate Vice President of Commercial Solutions, and it involves working closely with the Program Management, Engineering, Legal, and Finance teams. You will partner with our program management leads to sell under and alongside some of the largest and most recognizable brands in the energy industry. This position is perfect for someone who loves to problem solve, who is excited for a new challenge every day, who is excited to lead a project development team, and who wants to rapidly build experience in the energy services industry.

Location

Sparkfund is fully remote with employees based all across the continental US. This position, however, requires frequent, regular travel to a client's office in the Washington / Baltimore metro areas, so strong preference will be given to candidates who are based in these metro areas or to candidates who are quickly and easily able to fly to these cities.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage sales strategy, project modeling, pro formas, and proposal preparation for each project in your pipeline.
  • Lead and coach an internal team of financial and technical solution sales professionals through the development of projects, proposals, and contracts.
  • Partner closely with Sparkfund’s Program Management team to ensure partners are trained and have confidence in Sparkfund policies and best practices specific to these relationships.
  • Communicate, collaborate, and work effectively alongside external sales professionals within the program who originate, qualify, and own customer relationships on all deals.
  • Manage all commercial customer account and opportunity data in terms of accuracy, consistency, reporting, analytics, governance and intelligence.
  • Represent Sparkfund’s partners in the market with senior buyers; support complex transactions that require creativity, problem-solving, a relatively high degree of financial and technical acumen, and a complete command of the industry.
  • Contribute to sales process optimization and team enablement while simultaneously executing against immediate growth opportunities in the pipeline.
  • Bring best practices in the sales process and in project development to a rapidly growing organization.

Required Skills & Qualifications

  • 3-10 years in a relevant field, such as sales, finance, consulting, project management, etc.
  • Experience working with or within Utilities, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Resilience, or ESCO industries.
  • An ability to inspire and communicate at all levels of the organization, in written and verbal mediums.
  • A master of the sales process and at enabling sales teams to succeed in highly complex enterprise environments.
  • Experience using pricing tools to model project economics across different contracting structures.
  • Familiarity with the energy services and financing industries, including financing solutions, leases, loans, or as-a-service agreements.
  • Competency in software and cloud-based information management tools – especially with Salesforce, Google Workspace, Slack, Asana, Excel, PowerPoint, and/or project management tools.
  • Growth mindset with the self-confidence to tackle new challenges.
  • Proven ability to demonstrate good judgment and composure in difficult situations and with incomplete information.
  • Comfort tracking and documenting details associated with multiple projects.
  • Demonstrated mental agility and ability to switch between contexts quickly.
  • Knack for building long-term relationships and trust.
  • Natural ability to find a creative solution to every problem.
  • Not be afraid to roll-up your sleeves and do what it takes to deliver outcomes.
  • Dedication to what we’re building at Sparkfund and a passion for combating climate change.

Benefits

  • Competitive compensation and stock option plans - we believe in shared ownership.
  • Comprehensive benefits package including medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as disability and life insurance.
  • Flexible vacation policy that encourages ~4 weeks of paid time off. We also observe all federal holidays.
  • 8 weeks gender-neutral paid leave for caregivers when they have a new addition to their families and an additional 4 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents.
  • A one-time, work-from-home stipend to help cover any equipment, hardware, etc. you need to set up your remote office.
  • A monthly allowance of $100 to help cover phone and WiFi expenses.

We Want You To Know

You can be a great candidate even if you don't fit everything we've described above. You can also have important skills we haven't thought of. If that's you, don't hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We are dedicated to environmental stewardship, and recognize we need diverse perspectives to successfully tackle this massive challenge. To change the world, we must first change ourselves, which is why Sparkfund has created a space that sources viewpoints from people who look and think differently.
We are committed to diversity and building an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and experiences, and we're taking steps to meet that commitment.
We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, and people with disabilities.