Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Marketing

Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Marketing

Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) seeks a Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Marketing to collaboratively develop and lead growth strategies and execution for the organization. This newly created position will serve on CEE's executive leadership team and lead a department that includes Marketing, Relationship Management, and Proposal Development functions. Top candidates will bring a history of clean energy relationships and industry knowledge in energy efficiency, as well as demonstrated past successes in business development, strategic marketing, and organizational growth.

CEE has earned its national reputation as a field leader providing critical resources and solutions in the clean energy transition, with special expertise in buildings in the upper Midwest and other cold climates. As a mission-driven nonprofit, CEE develops and implements effective solutions to strengthen the economy and improve our environment, envisioning a healthy, carbon-neutral economy that works for all people. Our deep bench holds more than 250 professionals with nearly 40 years' experience in technical research, community engagement, policy advocacy, project financing, and program development and implementation - all of which inform and rely on comprehensive business development strategies.

After years of strong growth, we now seek a visionary leader to help guide CEE's ongoing business development and strategic marketing efforts, showcasing our strengths and capabilities to develop and manage new relationships, focus our efforts behind meaningful opportunities, and promote strategic growth and positive mission impacts. Across our work, CEE is committed to organizational values of collaboration, expertise, science, community, integrity, and equity. Equitable electrification is integral to our strategies, execution, and impact.

The VP, Business Development and Strategic Marketing reports to the President and supervises directors and managers of departments within the division. Local candidates are preferred; remote will be considered.

What We Offer

• Insurance Coverage Options: To ensure you and your family are well protected, we have got you covered with Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Health Saving Account, and Flexible Spending Accounts. Please see our 2025 Benefit Summary.
• Impact: We want to make the world a better and more energy efficient place. Our work and the decisions we make are rooted in this foundational desire.
• Future Planning: To help you secure your financial future, benefit from our retirement saving program. Reach your goal sooner with our immediate vestingand company contribution.
• Work/Life Balance: We recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and are dedicated to supporting our team members in various aspects of their lives. Our benefits include generous Paid Time Off (PTO), paid parental leave, and salary continuation for major medical events, ensuring that you have the support you need during significant life moments and personal challenges.
• Holidays: Our company provides nine paid holidays each year, offering you ample time to observe important occasions and enjoy personal time.
• Growth: We want everyone to grow and learn within their roles. We offer professional development opportunities and education assistance.
• Championing DEI: Our committed DEI Committee promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment by establishing clear goals and assessing progress throughout the organization.

What You'll Do

Organizational Leadership

• Foster collaboration, innovation, and executional excellence in the Business Development and Marketing department and across CEE to achieve growth strategies.
• Serve as an organizational leader with a strategic growth-oriented mindset and vision, guiding and coalescing program teams and objectives toward unified company-wide strategies to promote energy efficiency and beneficial electrification.
• Supervise staff and perform division-leader and supervisory administrative duties
• Help lead strategic alignment in pursuit of CEE's vision, mission, and values.

Business Development

• Create, nurture, and lead CEE growth opportunities in partnership with department and program leaders. Expand partnerships into new markets with revenue-generating opportunities (pilots, programs, etc.) and feasible CEE structures and workflows.
• Survey and understand energy efficiency market and opportunities among utilities, regional coalitions, partner companies and organizations, legislative opportunities, and consumers' interests and needs.
• Collaborate with organizational leaders to draw on internal knowledge and relationships, share, cross-pollinate, and coalesce toward effective targeting of opportunities and implementation of goal-focused strategies.
• Build and manage industry- and company-wide relationships with key stakeholders that include utilities, partner companies and organizations, and others, while also nurturing existing company-wide relationships.
• Demonstrate long-term business value of specific strategies, investments, and offerings.
• Oversee proposal development strategy and execution, ensuring that CEE can respond to opportunities efficiently and effectively, partnering with program directors and managers to compete and ultimately win new work for greater impact.

Strategic Marketing

• Lead team for company-wide strategic marketing vision and execution, engaging internal stakeholders and ensuring unity around marketing vision, approach, and messaging.
• Lead team to execute marketing efforts for all CEE programs and projects, ensuring the team meets customer acquisition and revenue targets while guiding marketing staff to develop and execute marketing strategies tailored to each CEE program and initiative.
• Understand and communicate in the market, identify customer needs, and position CEE's products and services effectively.
• Oversee brand development and implementation, with ability to identify and articulate uniqueness of CEE's central and effort-specific brands, honing messages to resonate with audiences and engaging leadership to enhance branding efforts.
• Develop marketing budget to include marketing-specific cost-benefit analysis with metrics tied to marketing spending/investments and performance.
• Provide leadership, direction, coaching, and continuous learning opportunities to program marketing team.
• Work closely with Communications Director and communications team to align and maximize cooperative strategies, work efforts, and successes.

Skills & Knowledge We're Looking For

• Demonstrated executive leader-level business-savvy with ability to contribute to organization-wide and program-specific strategies, from marketing efforts to responding to the needs and opportunities of utilities, funders, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Strategist capable of influencing business strategy, mentoring others, and actively contributing as a senior leader of the organization.
• Ten years' experience in business development &/or marketing team leadership.
• Versatile market-specific experience leading both mass-market strategies and targeted approaches for business customers or broad product service offerings.
• Sector-specific knowledge of and (preferred) a proven track record in support of energy-efficiency, utility partnerships, clean energy, and/or real estate industries.
• Earned regional insights that include familiarity with Minnesota/Midwest energy efficiency market through customer insights, established relationships, and more.
• Highly collaborative approach and ability to partner comprehensively with internal teams and external partners to develop and achieve business-wide strategies.
• Experience with client relationships and account management.
• Ability to work well with a variety of stakeholders to guide/influence, co-develop, and build buy-in toward strategies and outcomes.
• Strong history of developing compelling funding proposals in a team environment.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills to convey complex technical concepts to intended audiences.
• Organized and proficient at tracking and advancing multiple projects at the same time.
• Experience in developing and nurturing industry and partner relationships.

Compensation

Depending on qualifications and experience, we expect the starting compensation range for this position will be $175k - $185k.