Sales Director – Retrofit & Commercial Growth
Company: Civic Energy
Location: UK – Hybrid/Flexible
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience
Package: Basic salary + performance-related bonus/commission
Reporting to: Managing Director
About Civic Energy
Civic Energy is an ambitious business operating within the UK energy efficiency and retrofit sector. We are looking to accelerate our growth by expanding our client base, developing new strategic partnerships and increasing our access to both funded and ability-to-pay retrofit customers.
We are now looking for an experienced and highly connected Sales Director to take ownership of this growth.
This is a senior commercial role for someone who understands the retrofit market, knows the key players and can turn relationships into contracts.
We are not looking for someone who simply manages a sales team or waits for inbound leads.
We want someone who can identify opportunities, pick up the phone, open doors, build relationships with decision-makers and win new business.
The Opportunity
The successful candidate will play a key role in taking Civic Energy to the next stage of its growth.
You will be responsible for developing new commercial relationships and identifying opportunities across areas including:
- Local authorities.
- Housing associations and registered providers.
- Energy companies and obligated suppliers.
- Main contractors and retrofit delivery organisations.
- Developers and property organisations.
- Managing agents and other housing-sector organisations.
- Retrofit programme partners.
- Ability-to-pay customer acquisition channels.
- Warm Homes Plans and associated local authority programmes.
- Other government-funded energy efficiency and retrofit initiatives.
- Strategic partnerships and frameworks.
The role will combine business development, strategic relationship management, market intelligence and commercial growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. New Client Acquisition
Take ownership of generating new clients and commercial opportunities for Civic Energy.
You will:
- Develop a targeted prospect list of high-value potential clients.
- Identify decision-makers and establish relationships at senior level.
- Use your existing industry network to generate introductions.
- Proactively approach new organisations and create opportunities.
- Arrange and lead commercial meetings and presentations.
- Develop proposals and commercial propositions.
- Negotiate with prospective clients and partners.
- Manage opportunities through the complete sales cycle.
- Convert opportunities into signed contracts and recurring revenue.
2. Retrofit Industry Relationships
We expect the successful candidate to bring an established network of relevant contacts.
You should already have relationships with people working within areas such as:
- Local government.
- Housing associations.
- Energy companies.
- Retrofit coordination and delivery.
- Main contractors.
- Installers.
- Programme managers.
- Procurement teams.
- Funding organisations.
- Energy efficiency organisations.
- Developers and housing providers.
Your existing network will be an important part of the role, but we also expect you to continually expand it.
3. Warm Homes Plans
A key part of the role will be identifying and developing opportunities associated with Warm Homes Plans and the wider evolution of government-funded retrofit programmes.
You will be expected to:
- Understand how Warm Homes Plans are developing.
- Identify local authorities and other organisations with potential requirements.
- Understand procurement and delivery models.
- Identify where Civic Energy can participate.
- Develop relationships with relevant decision-makers.
- Identify partnership and subcontracting opportunities.
- Ensure Civic Energy is positioned early enough to participate in emerging programmes.
- Track relevant tenders, frameworks and procurement opportunities.
- Develop a pipeline of Warm Homes-related opportunities.
We want someone who understands that the biggest opportunities are often created before a tender is published, through early engagement and relationship building.
4. Ability-to-Pay Growth
Civic Energy also wants to significantly increase its ability-to-pay customer potential.
The successful candidate will identify and develop new routes to reach homeowners and property owners who can contribute towards, or fully fund, retrofit works.
This could include developing relationships with:
- Mortgage and financial service providers.
- Estate agents.
- Property management companies.
- Developers.
- Employers and employee-benefit platforms.
- Housing and property organisations.
- Energy companies.
- Consumer-facing organisations.
- Lead-generation partners.
- Other organisations with access to relevant homeowners.
The objective is to develop scalable and commercially sustainable customer acquisition channels, rather than relying solely on traditional lead generation.
5. Strategic Partnerships
Identify organisations where a partnership could create significant mutual commercial value.
You will be expected to think beyond conventional sales and identify opportunities such as:
- Joint ventures.
- Referral partnerships.
- Framework agreements.
- Preferred supplier arrangements.
- Subcontracting relationships.
- Consortium opportunities.
- Strategic delivery partnerships.
- New routes to market.
6. Market Intelligence
You will be expected to have your finger on the pulse of the retrofit industry.
This includes monitoring:
- Government policy.
- Funding announcements.
- Warm Homes developments.
- Local authority programmes.
- Procurement activity.
- Competitor activity.
- New market entrants.
- Changes to industry standards.
- Emerging commercial opportunities.
You will regularly report opportunities and threats to the Managing Director and wider leadership team.
What We Are Looking For
This is a senior appointment and we are looking for someone who can demonstrate real commercial results.
Essential
- Proven senior-level business development or sales experience.
- Strong knowledge of the UK retrofit and energy efficiency sector.
- Existing network of relevant industry contacts.
- Demonstrable track record of winning new clients.
- Experience dealing with senior decision-makers.
- Understanding of government-funded retrofit programmes.
- Understanding of the local authority and housing association landscape.
- Strong commercial and negotiation skills.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work independently.
- Highly proactive and entrepreneurial approach.
- Strong understanding of the ability-to-pay market.
- Willingness to travel for meetings and industry events when required.
Desirable
- Experience with Warm Homes-related programmes.
- Experience working with local authorities.
- Experience with housing associations.
- Experience with ECO or other energy efficiency schemes.
- Experience with PAS 2035/PAS 2030 and the wider retrofit delivery process.
- Experience developing strategic partnerships.
- Experience working with frameworks and public-sector procurement.
- Existing relationships with senior decision-makers in the retrofit sector.
- Experience building a sales pipeline from scratch.
The Person We Are Looking For
We are looking for a hunter, not an account manager.
You should be someone who:
- Picks up the phone and creates opportunities.
- Has a strong network and knows who to call.
- Is comfortable speaking to CEOs, directors and senior procurement decision-makers.
- Understands how to get through the door.
- Can identify commercial opportunities before they become obvious to competitors.
- Is confident working without constant supervision.
- Is commercially ambitious.
- Is persistent without being pushy.
- Can build genuine long-term relationships.
- Understands that reputation and relationships are critical in the retrofit industry.
- Takes ownership of results.
- Has the energy and drive to grow a business.
Most importantly, you must be able to demonstrate what you have actually won.
We are interested in candidates who can tell us:
Who did you bring on?
What was the contract worth?
How did you get the opportunity?
Who do you know in the market?
What relationships could you bring to Civic Energy?
What would you target in your first 90 days?
Key Performance Indicators
The Sales Director will have clear commercial targets, including:
- New client acquisition.
- New contract value.
- Gross margin generated.
- Qualified sales pipeline.
- Number and value of strategic partnerships.
- New ability-to-pay acquisition channels.
- Warm Homes-related opportunities.
- Conversion rate from opportunity to contract.
- Recurring revenue generated.
- Number and quality of senior industry relationships established.
Specific annual targets will be agreed with the successful candidate based on their experience and the company's growth strategy.
First 90 Days
During the first three months, we expect the successful candidate to:
First 30 Days
- Gain a detailed understanding of Civic Energy's existing proposition and capabilities.
- Review the current client base and commercial pipeline.
- Map the target market.
- Identify priority sectors and organisations.
- Begin activating their existing industry network.
- Identify immediate commercial opportunities.
Days 30–60
- Establish meetings with key prospective clients and partners.
- Develop a structured sales pipeline.
- Identify Warm Homes and other retrofit programme opportunities.
- Develop new ability-to-pay routes to market.
- Begin developing strategic partnerships.
Days 60–90
- Have a significant qualified pipeline in place.
- Have established relationships with key target organisations.
- Have multiple live commercial opportunities.
- Have identified and prioritised Warm Homes opportunities.
- Have developed a clear strategy for growing ability-to-pay customers.
- Begin converting opportunities into new contracts.
What Civic Energy Offers
This is an opportunity to join a growing business at an important stage of its development.
We will provide:
- Competitive basic salary.
- Performance-related bonus/commission.
- Significant autonomy.
- Direct access to senior management.
- The opportunity to shape the company's commercial strategy.
- A genuine opportunity to make a significant impact on company growth.
- Support from the wider Civic Energy team.
- The opportunity to develop a major commercial division within the business.
The remuneration package will be structured to properly reward someone who delivers significant new revenue and strategic growth.
How to Apply
We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate a successful track record within the retrofit, energy efficiency, housing or energy sectors.
Please submit:
- Your CV.
- A brief summary of your relevant retrofit experience.
- Examples of significant clients or contracts you have personally helped to win.
- An overview of the sectors and organisations within your existing network.
- Details of your experience with government-funded retrofit programmes.
- Details of your experience developing ability-to-pay customer channels.
- Your salary expectations.
Civic Energy is looking for more than a salesperson.
We are looking for a commercially driven industry professional who already understands the retrofit market, has the relationships to open doors and has the ambition and ability to turn those relationships into substantial new business.
If you know the retrofit market, know the people in it and know how to win business, we want to hear from you.
Pay: £40,000.00-£200,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Bereavement leave
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Free flu jabs
- Gym membership
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Paid volunteer time
- Private medical insurance
- Profit sharing
- Work from home
Work Location: Remote
