Director of Business Development

About Climate Central: Climate Central invents, develops, deploys, and maintains information and data products critical to understanding, communicating, and quantifying climate change, its impacts, and its solutions. Climate Central has a global leadership position in the sectors of sea level rise and attribution of weather to climate change. Climate Central has solid mature products successfully licensed to blue chip clients producing revenue; new products in various states of rollout; and new science and data that will be revenue-producing opportunities. Climate Central also has well-developed and corporate-tested license agreements, lead capture infrastructure as well as product order fulfillment processes. We have a tremendous brand, name recognition, and strong IP including patents in process. As a science-based climate leader, the Climate Central sales process is consultative and educational and supports our nonprofit mission.

About the opportunity: We seek a proactive Director of Business Development to grow revenue, scale a high-potential new initiative, and lead Climate Central to the next level.  Ideal candidates have experience developing business strategies, identifying and bringing in new clients, independently building and managing client pipelines, listening to and learning from clients to improve product offerings, and bring a passion for climate issues. This hands-on position operates across an organization that includes science, technology, and communications. Expect to jump in, produce as well as manage, and make sure clients are well-supported so Climate Central is successful.

Job activities include but are not limited to: 

  • Grow license and product revenue

  • Acquire new clients

  • Develop new revenue with existing clients

  • Identify and develop new product opportunities and expedite new product development process:

    • define crisp value propositions

    • identify prospective clients, produce product descriptions, develop product requirements for science and technology teams

    • produce promotional materials

    • lead, produce, and close sales.

    • manage client relationships for renewals and additional products. 

  • Manage the order fulfillment and order to cash process with follow-through to invoicing and collections

  • Manage the license and contracting process, including risk management and support to the signing executive(s).

Essential qualifications for this role:

  • Business Strategy. You are innovative, creative and entrepreneurial and work to deeply understand the sale products and buyer market. You are enthusiastic about engaging with the organization’s leadership to develop and manage business strategies for existing products and to identify opportunities for expanding product offerings.

  • Revenue Generating Skills and Experience. You are driven to make sales and have a demonstrated track record of generating revenue. You know how to identify client prospects and build and manage all aspects of the client pipeline. Marketing is a nice-to-have, but sales results are required. 

  • Communication and Relationship-Building Skills. You have excellent verbal and written communication skills. You can authentically connect with clients and colleagues, build lasting relationships and work effectively across differences. You listen deeply, have a high level of emotional intelligence, are committed to collaboration and work to learn from others. 

  • Project Management and Execution. You have strong project management skills and are highly organized and reliable. You are comfortable with technology, are a sophisticated user of Customer Relations Management software, and can identify and implement steps to automate processes. You are hands on and do whatever it takes to get high quality work done. 

  • Command of the issues. You understand the threats, opportunities, and terminology of climate change, including regarding sea level rise and coastal flooding.

Preference will be given to candidates who:

  • Have risen to at least the manager level with demonstrable revenue-generating evidence in management consulting or professional services firms. But note, this position is for products, not services. 

  • Have experience selling existing data and information products, and have experience identifying and developing new product opportunities.

  • Have experience building and managing teams responsible for product and/or revenue

  • Are passionately committed to addressing climate change.

Location/Travel

This position can be mostly remote. Presence is required for key client events, and periodic key project team meetings and coordination meetings with company functional areas. Some overnight travel will be required to conferences and client meetings. Climate Central’s headquarters are in Princeton, N.J., operating under standard US Eastern time business hours. Preference will be given to candidates who are able to be present in our Princeton, NJ office at least twice per month, and ideally once per week or more. Candidates must be eligible for employment in the United States.

Compensation

  • Compensation is competitive for a mission-driven non-profit. Salary will depend on qualifications.

  • Climate Central offers generous benefits including paid vacation, medical, dental, 401K with matching, and partial college tuition for children of employees who qualify.

Diversity

Climate Central strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and as such do not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee on the basis of race, color, religious creed, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable discrimination laws.

How to Apply

Please send your resume to jobs@climatecentral.org with the exact subject line, “Director of Business Development” (no quotes). 

In the same email, in lieu of a cover letter, please include or attach answers to the following questions, no more than 200 words each (shorter is fine):

  • Why are you interested in Climate Central and this role?

  • What have you done that prepares you well for this job?

  • Please give 2 examples of creating new revenue for a business and describe the direct role you played.   

  • Is there anything else you would like to add? (optional)

Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, Climate Central is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate. The search will close when a successful candidate is recruited.