Senior Business Development Manager: new business

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Business Development Manager: New Business based in Italy. Join an innovative climate tech environment dedicated to accelerating the transition to a carbon-free electricity grid. In this role, you will identify, validate, and develop new commercial opportunities beyond an established energy management platform. You will take ownership of the entire zero-to-one journey, from market research and opportunity assessment to prototyping, testing, and securing the first paying customers. Working closely with commercial, product, engineering, and executive teams, you will turn market insights into viable new business ventures. This position offers significant autonomy, an entrepreneurial environment, and the opportunity to shape products addressing emerging challenges in the energy transition. As part of a remote-first, international team, you will make a tangible contribution to building a more sustainable energy future. Accountabilities: - Identify, assess, and validate new business opportunities adjacent to the existing energy management platform, including battery flexibility marketplaces, virtual tolling solutions, energy trading and risk management extensions, and other emerging opportunities. - Conduct primary market research through expert interviews, customer discussions, and industry analysis to understand market needs, commercial potential, and competitive dynamics. - Develop and test new business hypotheses, translating market signals into clear opportunity assessments and actionable commercial strategies. - Collaborate with technical teams to build minimum viable prototypes and product demonstrations using modern AI-powered development tools.

- Design and execute small-scale market tests to validate demand, gather customer feedback, and assess product-market fit. - Lead early-stage sales activities independently, engaging prospective customers and securing the first paying clients for validated test products. - Build robust business cases for promising opportunities, including market potential, commercial viability, and growth prospects, and present recommendations to the executive team. - Support sales of the existing platform while exploring complementary products and services that expand the business. - Ensure a smooth handover of validated opportunities to the broader commercial and product teams for further development and scaling. Requirements: - At least 5 years of relevant experience in the power and energy markets, ideally in energy consulting, electricity trading at a utility, independent power producer (IPP) or investment fund, or strategy and corporate development within an energy company. - A proven track record of identifying, evaluating, and pursuing new commercial opportunities, with an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to thrive in ambiguous, early-stage environments. - A strong professional network across the UK and/or European power markets, including energy suppliers, traders, generators, flexibility providers, optimisers, and regulators. - Strong strategic and analytical thinking skills, with the ability to move quickly from identifying market signals to developing hypotheses and validating commercial opportunities. - Practical technical skills and confidence using modern AI-powered development tools, such as Claude, Cursor, Replit, or similar platforms, to independently create prototypes and product demonstrations. - Strong commercial instincts and a willingness to take ownership of early-stage sales, customer engagement, and business development activities. - Excellent communication, presentation, and organisational skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across commercial, technical, and executive teams.