Incubated within GE for 7 years, DSD spun out as its own entity in 2019 with 80% ownership by BlackRock and 20% ownership from GE Renewable Energy. Backed by two powerful entities in renewable energy, it went on to raise its first $250M fund from Morgan Stanley, Fifth Third Bank and Silicon Valley bank to support tremendous project growth through 2020. With more funds to follow, and as it projects growth beyond 2020, DSD is expanding its employee base across the US with key roles based in NYC, San Francisco/Bay Area and Boston in addition to its HQ in Schenectady.
Location: San Francisco area preferred, Remote locations considered
Role Summary/Purpose: The Community Solar Acquisition Manager manages strategic partnerships to ensure projects are fully subscribed effectively and on time. In addition, the Community Solar Associate will provide support to the Director of Community Solar in keeping the team informed of developments in this exciting market.
Introduction:
Distributed Solar Development, LLC (DSD) develops “C&I” solar and solar plus storage projects with municipalities, F500 companies, and utilities. Community Solar has rapidly become a cornerstone of DSD’s portfolio, and we are looking for talented team members to help ensure these assets are meeting their full potential. The Community Solar Acquisition Manager will work with external partners to ensure new projects are subscribed on-time and fully compliant with financing and regulatory requirements. The Associate must be able to communicate effectively with external partners and guide those partners to successful outcomes – including hands-on support on customer acquisition strategy.
The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience and a track record of success through a previous position in C&I solar, preferably community solar. Business development experience or management of multiple external stakeholders to fulfill project deadlines on-time is critical.
A strong applicant will be self-motivated, detail-oriented, and have knowledge of or be able to rapidly learn the market and financial drivers of community solar. The Acquisition Manager must be able to successfully manage multiple projects and partner relationships concurrently.
Responsibilities:
· Manage community solar acquisition partners to ensure on-time subscription of DSD’s growing portfolio of community solar assets. If necessary, troubleshoot customer acquisition strategy directly with partners in order to ensure success.
· Facilitate effective hand-offs after contracting with partners to kick-start acquisition on-time and in compliance with requirements from our financing partners.
· Ensure a smooth transition to asset management once a project is fully subscribed, keeping all resources organized and ensuring coordination between the incentive team, finance, and external partners.
· Keep team members well-informed about acquisition progress on active Community Solar assets via Salesforce, Sharepoint, and Teams communication.
· Research and communicate critical market updates to the team and keep reference resources for finance, originations, and the incentives team up-to-date.
· Support the development and maintenance of Community Solar services pricing and other model assumptions to guide the purchase of new Community Solar assets.
Qualifications / Requirements:
· Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college
· Minimum 4 years professional experience, preferably in energy or solar energy
· Minimum 2 years professional experience in community solar
· Experience with customer acquisition for community solar or B2C sales in a related field.
· Business development experience or other experience effectively managing multiple external partners concurrently.
Desired Characteristics:
· Active interest in emerging solar markets and policy, preferably community solar specifically.
· Ability to communicate effectively across different business disciplines to keep various stakeholders informed to support the Origination of new Community Solar business.
· Organizational skills to manage multiple competing deadlines and short turnarounds, e.g. experience with Gantt charts, Task Ray, etc.
Additional Eligibility Requirement
DSD will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen.
Notice to Recruiters & Staffing Agencies Distributed Solar Development has an internal talent acquisition department and designated career site for individuals looking to join our team. Distributed Solar Development will not accept unsolicited resumes from any external recruiters, staffing firms, search agencies or any fee-based referrals. Any unsolicited resumes sent to directly to Distributed Solar Development, in any capacity will be considered property of Distributed Solar Development. This policy is applicable to all Distributed Solar Development locations and will be the responsibility of third parties and vendors to understand this policy. Distributed Solar Development will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.
About Us
Distributed Solar Development, a GE Renewable Energy venture, is part of the evolution to cleaner, secure, more customer-focused energy. From analysis, through design and finance, to commercial operation and asset ownership, DSD provides customized turnkey PV energy and energy storage solutions to businesses, enterprises and institutions throughout North America. Headquartered in Schenectady, NY, with a team spanning across the United States, we leverage our unmatched market expertise to deliver exceptional customer outcomes.
Distributed Solar Development is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.