What are the responsibilities and job description for the Business Development Manager position at Affordable Solar?
Business Development Manager - Community Solar, Institutional & Public Sector
We are looking to hire someone to engage anchor subscribers for our community solar projects. Anchor subscribers are the large institutional off-takers, such as municipalities, counties, school districts, universities, hospitals, housing authorities, tribal governments, and nonprofits, whose load commitments make each project viable. In the industry this is sometimes called the MUSH market.
About Us:
Affordable Solar is a community solar developer and solar contractor based in New Mexico. We build and manage solar projects that let subscribers, from school districts to hospitals to state agencies, save on their electric bills without putting panels on their own roofs.
The right person already has relationships in these spaces across New Mexico. They can get a meeting with a county manager or a hospital CFO, explain why community solar saves money, and shepherd a deal from first conversation through a signed subscription agreement. This is a senior, relationship-driven role, not an entry-level sales position.
Job Duties & Responsibilities:
- Build and manage a pipeline of institutional and public-sector anchor subscriber prospects. Own the full sales cycle from prospecting through executed contract, then hand off to operations.
- Monitor RFPs, RFQs, and public procurement notices related to energy and sustainability. Lead response preparation and coordinate with internal teams on pricing and project details.
- Be the subscriber’s main point of contact from first meeting through contract signing. Make sure prospects understand the economics: how bill credits work, what a subscription agreement commits them to, and what it saves them.
- Develop relationships with the people who make energy decisions at target organizations such as CFOs, procurement officers, facilities directors, sustainability coordinators, elected officials.
- Work with our development, finance, and legal teams to structure subscription terms that work for both the customer and the project.
- Represent the company at conferences, government association meetings, and public-sector trade events.
- Track pipeline activity and subscriber capacity commitments. Your forecasts will directly inform project development decisions.
Job Qualifications:
- At least 5 years selling to public-sector or institutional customers. Direct MUSH market experience is strongly preferred.
- Existing relationships with decision-makers at New Mexico municipalities, counties, school districts, hospitals, or universities.
- Familiarity with public procurement such as RFP responses, sole-source processes, cooperative purchasing, and how government budget cycles affect buying decisions.
- Comfort with long sales cycles (3-12 months) that involve multiple stakeholders and approval layers.
- Strong writing skills, especially for proposals and RFP responses.
- Self-starter who can manage their own calendar, pipeline, and travel without a lot of direction.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.