United States onlyDepartment: Business Development
Location: Remote, US - New York City metro area preferred
About SecondMuse LLC
At the heart of SecondMuse lies the fundamental strategy: Drive Impact. This guiding principle is ingrained in every decision we make as individuals and collectively as a company. It reflects our identity, our purpose, and the unique value we deliver to our clients. Our commitment to driving impact shapes our strategic approach and is mirrored in our diverse offerings. These offerings are designed to foster just economies, powered by community-driven solutions with a focus on generating substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits. Our services range from consulting, aimed at catalyzing long-term impact through innovative projects and building strategic relationships, to Entrepreneurial Support, facilitating opportunities for entrepreneurs at various stages of their journey. Further, we are engaged in economy-building initiatives that catalyze systemic changes and economic transformation across sectors. We have organized innovation programs in over 100 countries and 250 cities, sourcing solutions from every corner of the world. Each program has challenged our teams to develop targeted approaches to find, and then support, visionary leaders with a diverse range of experiences, motivations, and cultures.
The Opportunity
SecondMuse builds equitable, climate-positive economies. As the Senior Business Development Director for Climate, your mandate is simple: fuel that mission with revenue. You will lead the strategic growth and diversification of SecondMuse’s Climate portfolio across North America and globally, shaping multi-year funding strategies and high-level partnerships that drive systemic impact. This role sits at the intersection of market strategy, revenue growth, and cross-sector partnerships, influencing organization-wide business development strategy and contributing to SecondMuse’s global revenue goals.
Core Responsibilities
As a Senior Director, you will be responsible for:
- Closing new climate revenue (mix of corporate, philanthropic, and public-sector contracts).
- Writing client proposals in collaboration with the Head of Climate, Delivery Teams, and other contributors across SecondMuse.
- Developing and implementing the Climate portfolio’s BD strategy and client stewardship plans, and managing client accounts at SecondMuse.
- Generating and actively managing a qualified pipeline in HubSpot.
- Represent SecondMuse externally at forums and conferences.
- Partner with Delivery teams, Marketing, and Finance to align offerings, pricing, and revenue projections.
Core Functions
The primary function of this role is to secure funding to achieve SecondMuse’s climate goals by fundraising for our existing programs and leveraging SecondMuse’s offerings to launch new climate-focused programs. This involves:
- Cultivating relationships – deepening ties with government agencies, climate-focused foundations, and Fortune-500 sustainability leads.
- Sourcing & closing deals – developing opportunities, finding RFPs, designing projects, crafting proposals, negotiating terms, and closing.
- Representing SecondMuse – speaking at industry events; publishing thought pieces that drive inbound inquiries.
- Running the engine – maintaining CRM hygiene, forecasting accurately, and using Gen-AI tools to accelerate prospecting and writing.
- Managing accounts and stewarding clients – building and implementing Client Stewardship plans that extend and expand existing projects, and identify new opportunities.
Core Competencies
To succeed in this role, you must bring a unique mix of knowledge, capabilities, and values that enable you to lead with purpose and deliver impact. These competencies include:
- Strategic Revenue Generation: Demonstrated ability to design and execute business development plans that translate into multi-million dollar contracts aligned with mission outcomes.
- Climate Sector Fluency: Deep understanding of climate innovation, sustainability, and resiliency initiatives, and economic development funding mechanisms at local, state, and federal levels in the U.S. Specific knowledge of New York City and State markets.
- Relationship-Driven Sales: Established and extensive network with strong interpersonal and communication skills and a proven track record of building high-trust relationships across government, philanthropy, and corporate stakeholders.
- Deal Execution Excellence: Skilled in managing the full deal lifecycle—from sourcing and scoping to proposal writing, pitching, negotiation, and closing.
- Financial & Analytical Acumen – Understands and applies company pricing models.
- Proposal Leadership: Exceptional written communication skills and the ability to write and coordinate complex, cross-functional proposals under a deadline.
- Adaptability & Ownership: Comfortable operating autonomously in a fast-paced, distributed environment, with strong prioritization and project management abilities.
- Bonus: AI-Enhanced Productivity: Proficient in using AI tools and CRM platforms to automate workflows, generate insights, and scale outbound efforts.
Education and Experience
Experience comes in many different forms. At SecondMuse, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive community of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds. As guidance, we prefer applicants to have:
- Bachelor’s and advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MPA, MS, etc.), preferably in business, economics, marketing, environmental science and policy, or a related field.
- At least 13 years of increasing senior leadership experience in business development, consulting, or strategic partnerships—ideally in the climate, innovation, or economic development sectors.
- Proven track record of securing $5–15M annually in revenue across public, philanthropic, and corporate clients.
- Strong familiarity with the U.S. climate funding landscape, including municipal, state, and federal agencies, as well as major climate-focused foundations and corporate ESG leaders.
- Experience leading multi-stakeholder proposal processes, navigating procurement systems, and influencing client strategy pre-RFP.
- Track record of using CRM systems (e.g., HubSpot) and AI-enhanced tools for research, outreach, and writing.
- Recognized leader within climate networks.
Work Environment
We want candidates who will thrive in fast-paced, high-performing, learning-oriented, and collaborative work environments. This is a full-time remote role.
Our Commitment to Pay Equity:
This role offers an annual base salary of $150,000 plus performance-based compensation (totaling more than $200,000 if targets are met) and a comprehensive benefits package. At SecondMuse, we believe in fairness and transparency, which is why we have a no-negotiation policy to prevent bias and ensure wage equality. All compensation information will be discussed in detail before your first team interview to ensure alignment.
Benefits:
● Medical, dental, and vision insurance with up to 50% employer contribution
● 401(k) with employer 3% guaranteed employer contribution after 90 days
● Employer monthly mobile phone contribution
● Flexible work options
● Unlimited discretionary paid time off after the first 90 days
● At least 12 paid holidays annually
● Generous paid parental leave programs for all new parents
● Short-term disability insurance
● Employee assistance programs
Our Hiring Process:
Transparency and efficiency are at the center of our hiring process. Every question you’ll be asked is directly related to the skills and experiences listed in the job description. You’ll get the opportunity to share your real-world examples and explain how your background prepares you for the challenges typical at SecondMuse. Generally, our process takes 8 weeks from application to a job offer, depending on logistics and scheduling. We aim to update finalist candidates on their status at the end of each week, ensuring you always know where your candidacy stands.
SecondMuse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We strongly encourage BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women, LGBTQIA+ identifying, and people with disabilities to apply.
