Business Development Manager (Remote, Europe)

ABOUT VAAYU

Vaayu is on a mission to decarbonize retail by helping brands (from apparel and footwear to consumer goods, health and beyond) to track, cut and credibly communicate their climate impact.

Our science-based platform provides granular, automated and accurate carbon calculations, powered by over 600,000 activity-based data points that make it easy for brands to understand their emissions and take action throughout the value chain to meet their reduction targets. Additionally, Vaayu provides solutions for supply chain traceability, digital product passports, as well as engaging methods to communicate environmental impact results to average consumers.

We believe in the power of technology as a force for good and are looking for game-changers from across Europe (or equivalent time zones) who share our vision of helping retailers reduce 1 gigaton of emissions by 2030. If you want to work at a purpose-driven startup and be part of a team defining state-of-the-art technology that drives down carbon emissions at scale, we'd love to hear from you.

Our values

• Environmental. At Vaayu the Earth is our protagonist. Protecting it is at the center of everything we do.
• Collaborative. Climate change affects us all. By working collaboratively we know we can make a difference within retail, and beyond.
• Honest. Our voice is informative and authentic. We want to share what we are working on, be open about the challenges, and build an ecosystem that creates change.

---

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Business Development Manager is a key role at Vaayu, driving revenue to our growing climate technology startup. It is essential to learn key sustainability themes quickly, to connect with sustainability teams with a credible demeanour, and to have the ability to find creative solutions in order to win over deals in an emerging market segment.

The Business Development Manager is not afraid of cold contacting, pursuing prospects persistently and testing new ways of starting conversations with potential customers. While cold contacting skills are essential, it is worthwhile to note that the majority of leads come inbound thanks to marketing, PR and positive word of mouth.

Additionally, the Business Development Manager should be adept at masterfully managing the entire sales cycle from understanding customer concerns at introductory meetings to creating personalised proposals and negotiating pricing packages. We believe that deals happen between meetings, and therefore carefully prepared personalised sales materials are essential to success.

Vaayu is a growth stage startup and therefore independence and proactivity are highly appreciated. You can expect support and guidance from the team, but often you will decide what is the best course of action yourself. You will work closely with the marketing team to collaborate on lead generation, the product team to support product development, and with the climate strategy team who will support your meetings with their expertise.

A successful candidate is highly collaborative as they work alongside multiple teams, have excellent communication skills as they will both prepare and present materials to prospects, and is a creative problem solver as often there is not a readily available answer because we are a growing startup within a new market segment.

This is a fully remote role that directly reports to the Business Development Lead, with frequent contact with the Head of Product, the Climate Strategy Team and the CEO.

• Generate new leads by efficiently researching and contacting medium and large retail, marketplace, and second-hand companies via phone, email, LinkedIn and other channels. Quickly respond and set up meetings with inbound leads.
• Manage full sales cycles from introductory meetings to tailoring dashing sales decks, and personalised proposals. You will be supported by subject matter experts such as the Climate Strategy and Product teams.
• Identify sustainability-related customer challenges, and understand the mindset of the relevant stakeholders. Typical contact points are sustainability directors and the C-suite.
• Collect feedback from the market and translate that into insights for the Product, Marketing and Business Development teams.
• Help further develop processes and materials that optimise the customer acquisition process. Provide input to sales decks, Vaayu’s website, and sales strategies.

• Based in Europe
• 4+ years of experience from sales or business development roles, preferably selling towards enterprise clients. We are open to applications with various sales-related backgrounds. The experience requirement is not strict if you can prove exceptional results.
• You are curious, a great listener, and approach prospective customers with a consultative mindset. We are helping retailers with important sustainability topics, and our helpful attitude should show.
• You have excellent communication skills with the ability to turn complicated concepts into simple points and engaging conversations. Climate impact calculations and reductions are a complicated topic, which we help solve with technologies such as AI.
• You are fluent in English. Additional European languages especially from Southern and Western Europe are not a necessity but can be seen as a bonus.
• You are proactive and take responsibility for your own and the team’s success.
• You are creative and resourceful. We might need an entirely new sales deck to convey the desired message to a prospect, we might want to offer something creative to convince a client, or we might need to create a novel proposal quickly.
• You are passionate about leveraging technology and science to fight climate change.

Bonus

• Strong preference for applicants with prior experience selling complex software or other technical solutions.
• Strong preference for candidates with prior experience working within the environmental sustainability space in one way or another. Sustainability-related studies and courses are also worthy to mention.
• Previous experience from selling solutions towards product brands and marketplaces is a plus.
• Previous experience from a high-growth SaaS company or a funded startup is a plus. We are looking for someone who can thrive in a small but growing company.
• Understanding carbon calculation, life cycle assessment and environmental sustainability topics is a plus. These can be complicated concepts and having prior understanding might help with the onboarding.

• Competitive base salary.
• Uncapped commission based on a % cut of the total revenue from closed deals.
• Being part of a young, dynamic and innovative team of passionate people who are committed to making a significant and positive impact on our planet.
• Team offsites for enhancing team-building and collaboration. Previous offsites have taken place in locations such as Barcelona, Valencia and Mallorca.
• Remote-first employment, with the opportunity to work remotely anywhere in Europe.
• Co-working budget in case you would like to occasionally work outside of your house.
• Learning and development budget in case you would like to further educate yourself in relevant topics, such as environmental sustainability.
• Enjoy 26 days paid leave with an additional day for every year of employment (up to 30 days)

We look forward to receiving your application! If you really believe you would be a great fit to our startup but do not fulfill all of the criteria, please do not hesitate to apply. The requirements are for an ideal candidate.