Senior Sustainability Advisor & Business Development Manager

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Sales & Business Development team works hand in hand with our clients to help them identify the right products and solutions to address their sustainability challenges. Whether they are corporate clients or public institutions, whether they are looking to offset their carbon emissions or to engage in a comprehensive sustainability journey, we have a solution that will generate a lasting impact and take them a step further in their social ambitions. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic sustainability professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

Work with the sustainability unicorn, South Pole, in a team of fun, seriously bright, hard-working and committed Penguins (trust me, you will be fully brought up to speed on all things penguin-related within 2 weeks) in London. Bring new clients on board, help them design and implement climate strategies with the support of our expert consultants. Wake up every morning knowing that your job has a sense of purpose; we have only 8 years to save the world from the climate crisis. Your success is our impact. It's the decade of action, let's go!!

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Understand client needs and develop tailored solutions; strong empathy and high EQ required
• Build a go-to-market strategy and a portfolio of clients, from scratch, based on thorough understanding of market trends and razor-sharp commercial instinct
• Lead negotiations and conclude commercial agreements with clients over long sales cycles
• Concise and precise communication is essential
• Develop compelling offers and proposals together with our product experts and consultants
• Build long term relationships with new and existing clients
• To have high standards for yourself, your work and your colleagues’ work
• Lead negotiations and conclude commercial agreements with clients over long sales cycles
• Represent South Pole in client meetings, at conferences and virtual events
• Build trust with clients and inspire clients to take climate action
• Develop specialised skills and knowledge linked to topics and services offered by South Pole
• Support the development of South Pole’s thought leadership, services, products, marketing materials and offerings; adapt them to the regional needs in coordination with the marketing team
• Lead and directly manage a small number of junior sales professionals

Requirements:

Essential 

• University degree in Sustainability and/or Business related discipline
• Several years of proven work experience in the field of sustainability (renewable energy or carbon markets), and/or climate change in client-facing roles
• A highly organised self-starter, with a strong sense of camaraderie, a team player who works hard but is also fun to work with, and quick to build rapport with clients and colleagues
• Tenacity, patience and a sense of humour
• Excellent business development experience with a track record in exceeding sales targets
• If you’ve played on a sports team, this shows us you have discipline, commitment and thrive in a team environment, and understand the importance of relationships and empathy
• Strong drive for results, action-oriented, and sense of urgency, you are someone who gets ‘stuff’ done without a fuss
• Ability to challenge the status quo
• Industry-relevant connections, with a network of potential clients, collaborators and other relevant stakeholders
• Demonstrable commercial skills and good business sense so as to be able to identify and seize opportunities in a challenging and competitive market environment
• Critical thinking and decision-making skills with strong business and commercial acumen
• Ability to successfully navigate complexity and effectively deal with ambiguity
• Excellent English skills, any other language is a plus

Desirable 

• Entrepreneurial mindset, sense of responsibility and willingness to take initiative
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced international environment
• Entrepreneurial mindset, sense of responsibility and willingness to take initiative 

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.