Senior Director of Sales, DG Capacity

New Leaf Energy (NLE) is forming a new DG Capacity team. Persistent capacity shortfalls, driven by the proliferation of large load customers, creates an opportunity for aggregated DG solar and storage projects that can be operational much faster than incumbents and utility scale renewable projects. The DG Capacity team will develop distribution-connected solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects, but rather than participating in retail programs and tariffs paid for by ratepayers, the DG capacity pipeline will be aggregated to participate in wholesale energy and capacity markets, compensated directly or indirectly by large loads.

NLE seeks a Senior Director of Sales to lead commercial relationship development and power-marketing efforts for the DG Capacity team in markets across the country, starting with PJM states. This role will be key to building a deeper organizational understanding of customer needs in a market segment new to New Leaf, and to shaping the development strategy that best positions our projects to meet that demand.

The successful candidate will bring strong commercial acumen, a renewable energy development background, and a proven track record of building solid, trustworthy relationships. They will be equally comfortable working independently and collaborating across teams. As a critical decision-maker and leader, the Senior Director of Sales will have an in-depth understanding of renewable energy markets, project development, and project financing, enabling them to help drive strategy and value optimization across portfolios and projects in their region. Strong project management and negotiation skills, along with an appreciation for the details that drive project valuations, are essential.

This position reports to the Vice President of DG Capacity and is hybrid out of any NLE office, preferably Lowell or Boston, MA.

Position responsibilities will include but not be limited to: 

• Business Strategy: Develop a commercial thesis for each market and provide intelligence to inform development and acquisition strategies. Maintain high awareness of the markets and competitive environment. Be technically astute with the full life cycle of utility solar & storage project origination, development and valuation.
• Customer Relationship Development: Represent NLE to customers and partners at all levels of their organizations. Develop a deep understanding of the customer’s and business partner’s needs and provide insight as to how NLE can develop projects to meet those needs. Build trust-based relationships by representing NLE in a professional and ethical manner.
• Outreach: Research potential customers and partners and identify outreach targets. Lead the preparation of marketing and outreach materials. Assemble and lead internal cross-functional, multi-disciplined teams for support in customer engagement and partnership development. Effectively track and communicate with management the status of opportunities and client activity. 
• Development and Development Strategy: Engage directly with project developers to develop market-specific offtake origination strategies and other business partnerships. Help developers make decisions about offtake strategy and timing. Inform project level decisions by providing insights into customer needs and preferences. At times, and especially initially, perform development tasks directly (e.g., secure site control, manage IX applications and site discovery vendors, and engage with communities/AHJs).
• Bid Responses: Screen RFPs and work with developers to identify projects appropriate for customer's needs; Lead bid package preparation in response to offtake opportunities, including RFPs and RFIs for aggregated DG solar, storage, and hybrid projects throughout North America, targeting a broad range of offtakers such as Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), co-ops, municipal utilities, and commercial and industrial customers.
• Term Sheets, Bilateral Agreements & Contract Innovation: Develop and implement innovative partnerships and deal structures. Make recommendations that support project sales and, ultimately, project financing negotiations. Differentiate product offerings, manage risk and reduce collateral requirements. Proposed structures will include BYOCs, BYOGs, PPAs, VPPAs, Develop-Build-Transfer transactions, tolling agreements, and other alternative offtake arrangements.
• Multi-Party Engagement: Because NLE sells its projects to IPPs and utilities pre-construction, offtake opportunities must be considered from the perspective of the future counterparty and pursued, timed and structured accordingly. In deregulated markets, NLE may act more as a matchmaker than a power marketer, connecting asset owners with offtake opportunities and facilitating partnerships and contract terms accordingly.
• Internal Leadership and Engagement: Act with thorough autonomy, control and ownership as one of four leaders responsible for the success of the regional team and the projects it develops and sells. Collaborate effectively with multiple departments including legal, finance and accounting, engineering, real estate and policy and lead cross-functional teams to market and sell projects in accordance with forecasted milestone dates. Manage the development and optimization of a regional pipeline of projects;
• Set and execute on ambitious annual budget targets. Develop and deliver regular presentations on the health of your pipeline and relevant challenges, to NLE senior management.

Desired Qualifications:

• 10+ years of work experience, 5+ years of experience in renewable development, power finance, trading, origination, sales & marketing, or comparable experience is required;
• Experience successfully negotiating PPAs, or similar contract type;
• Expertise structuring and negotiating offtake deals, including financial hedges, VPPAs, tolling agreements, and other evolving structuring instruments;
• Experience in U.S. solar development, power markets, and customer segments;
• The ability to stay current with changing technologies, regulations, and trends influencing the continued adoption of renewable energy;
• Ability to quickly step into new tasks and adapt to new circumstances in a dynamic environment;
• Excellent interpersonal, time management, communication, and relationship building skills;
• Strong personal relationships and reputation in the power and/or renewable energy industry; and
• Travel: up to 25%, at times, to support the needs of the business.

 

Compensation

New Leaf Energy compensates all employees in three ways: market-competitive base salary, plus above-market variable compensation, plus an equity-like program such that all employees experience the benefits of ownership.  We use a data-driven and transparent methodology to calibrate compensation that is externally competitive and internally equitable, guided by the New Leaf Energy compensation manual, which is available to all employees.

Under our compensation framework, the likely base salary range for this position in the Boston or Lowell Office is $213,650 - $258,600. The on-target annual cash bonus associated with this position is an additional 30% percent of base salary. Your actual salary may be above, in, or below this range, depending on your location and experience. Our office locations in Lowell, Boston, Oakland, and Chicago all carry geography-based upward adjustments to the base pay range.

We value transparency and can share more during the interview process.