Senior Director of Sales, DG Capacity

New Leaf Energy is an experienced clean energy developer that partners with landowners, policymakers, and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a world powered by renewable energy. We identify high-value sites, work with landowners and local communities to develop them, and partner with long-term asset owners to bring the most impactful clean energy projects to life. 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., secu