Business Development Manager

Location: Washington, DC or Bay Area, CA preferred; Remote option available

Rhizome is seeking a Business Development Manager who can scale our commercial and go-to-market efforts in the utility sector. The ideal candidates will have a strong background in B2B SaaS and the energy sector, ability to work and empathize with Fortune 500 customers, and have a history of go-to-market and strategic execution, particularly in a startup environment. Critical to the success of this role is comfort being scrappy and adaptable with changing priorities. If you’re hungry to build from scratch, grow a business from its earliest stages, and have a passion for applying your skills to solving tough challenges related to climate change, this is for you. This role will report directly to the CEO. 

Rhizome is at the forefront of developing decision intelligence technology at the intersection of climate science and infrastructure systems. Our team pursues this endeavor with the wisdom and steadiness of industry veterans, and the curiosity, grit, and energy of startup and technology enthusiasts.

Our climate resilience SaaS platform helps utilities, governments, and industries plan for greater resilience to climate change and extreme weather by applying AI to a vast amount of information that characterizes infrastructure assets and their vulnerability to extreme weather. Focused on the $500B resilience investment gap in the grid today, our mandate is simple: Help electric utilities proactively adapt to climate change by integrating cutting-edge climate-asset intelligence into their existing planning workflows. As the world experiences record-breaking climate-related impacts, especially related to grid failures, our platform identifies future extreme weather vulnerabilities on utility assets at high resolutions and empowers planners to optimize investment deployments that keep society safe during natural hazard events.

• Customer Prospecting and Sales Enablement
  • Identify and build relationships with key personnel at new and existing utility accounts and industry organizations; attend events, conferences, workshops, and perform direct outreach as necessary.
  • Identify business opportunities with target accounts and provide strategic input on moving key deals forward; manage pipeline flow, action items, and account information in CRM.
  • Create and maintain sales enablement materials to assist with the communication of Rhizome product features and value proposition.
  • Gather intelligence on high-priority accounts, including through market research, reading regulatory filings, and other web sources e.g. LinkedIn.
  • Map customer/partner needs into business outcomes that Rhizome can deliver on.
• Partnership Management
  • Design and implement a strategy for working with industry partners including consultants, grid tech companies, and trade associations to accelerate market penetration
  • Manage all partnership pipeline, MOU development, teaming agreements, and execution of partnership agreements. 
• Proposal Development
  • Attend prospective customer meetings and assist with solution engineering, proposal design, and scope of work development. 
  • Engage with Product and Technology teams to manage internal symbiosis of product marketing and proposal development.
• Strategy
  • Provide strategic insight and guidance related to overall go-to-market efforts, marketing and communications, and pricing. 
  • Search for and assemble proposals for well-aligned state, federal, and other grant opportunities.
  • Identify, evaluate, and qualify new market and product opportunities. 

• Proven experience in developing and executing on go-to-market strategies in early-stage and growth startup environments.
• Enterprise deal experience with 7-figure opportunities and executive level buying stakeholders is essential
• Background in energy and utilities, or otherwise heavily-regulated, technical industries.
• Knowledge of AI/ML approaches or ability to learn quickly. 
• Ability to execute under pressure and under tight timelines.
• Comfort operating in fast-paced environments, adapting and pivoting when necessary, and prioritizing efforts with minimal guidance. 
• Ability to creatively solve problems and independently move initiatives forward.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and colleagues. 
• Strategic partnership development and contract negotiation experience
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; enthusiastic about leading meetings virtually and in person.
• Background in early-stage technology companies, consulting, or big-tech. 
• Enthusiasm, energy, and optimism for building from scratch and growing through impact.
• 5+ years of full-time sales or business development experience. 
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required.

We’ll pay extra close attention if you have:

• B2B SaaS experience specifically in the utility sector
• Previously worked in climate data and climate adaptation
• Been a previous founder or led commercialization for an early-stage startup

At Rhizome, we lead with compassion and empathy, aiming to understand before we help. Our thesis as technologists is that, in order to fulfill our mission to protect society from the impacts of climate change through intentional, intelligent infrastructure planning, we need to embark on a journey of respectfully listening, learning, and then problem-solving. This sentiment is represented through our core values: 

Empathy: Understanding and relating to problems, customers, and each other, with humility.

Creativity: Exploring with curiosity and building with intention.

Aspiration: Striving for societal impact, personal fulfillment, and simply doing good work.

Tenacity: Pushing past barriers and the status quo with a sense of optimism and determination.

Service Excellence: Delivering high-quality outcomes for our customers, colleagues, and communities.

Rhizome offers salaries and an excellent package of benefits and stock options. Compensation is based on a variety of factors including experience, role, and location. 

Benefits: Unlimited time off, stock options, excellent health, dental, and vision, and 401k.