Vice President, Business Development

Aclima, Inc. • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

Aclima is seeking a hands-on commercial leader to lead business development efforts and drive commercial priorities, execution, and results. The role represents Aclima in customer and partner discussions, exercises independent judgment within agreed authority, and occasionally briefs the board on commercial performance, pipeline outlook, and strategic recommendations. The position owns opportunities from qualification and discovery through proposals, negotiation, contracting, and delivery handoff, while coordinating internal specialists and maintaining momentum among customer stakeholders.

Initially, this is a 90-day independent contractor engagement, with a possible—but not guaranteed—conversion to full-time employment. The engagement ends at the close of the 90-day term unless both parties agree in writing to extend it. Any full-time offer is at Aclima’s sole discretion and depends on business needs, budget, and overall fit. The contractor will have no direct reports and will personally conduct outreach and meetings, write proposals, negotiate terms, and manage the pipeline. Specific commercial targets will be outlined in the contractor agreement and are not conditions for conversion.

Success during the initial engagement includes taking the lead on priority opportunities, reducing the CSO’s day-to-day pipeline management, advancing or closing opportunities, creating paths to continuing services or expansion, developing reusable proposals and commercial approaches, and maintaining a credible pipeline and forecast. The contractor rate is to be agreed with the contractor. If converted to full-time employment, Aclima offers competitive compensation, equity, and benefits.

Requirements

• A record of independently leading business development or a comparable commercial mandate and personally closing complex B2B or institutional sales, including paid pilots, technical services, software, data products, or comparable offerings.
• Experience selling an emerging product or service in a startup or similarly resource-constrained environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain deep relationships with customers, industry leaders, and decision-makers, and independently own strategic accounts through discovery, proposal development, negotiation, procurement, and contracting.
• Experience expanding initial engagements into repeat business, recurring services, or broader deployments.
• Strong commercial writing and executive communication skills, including the ability to make scientific and technical capabilities relevant to customer decisions.
• A demonstrated record of independently leading negotiations with senior decision-makers and making consequential commercial decisions that balance revenue opportunity, pricing, scope, delivery obligations, and company reputation.
• Strong political acumen and confidence working with external lobbyists and government affairs teams, with sound judgment about stakeholder interests, institutional dynamics, and timing.
• High proficiency using AI tools to support commercial work.
• Ability to take responsibility for pipeline results, organize the work required, and resolve obstacles autonomously.
• Ability to demonstrate personal contribution to closing complex paid engagements involving multiple decision-makers, including shaping the offer, negotiating terms, and securing commitment.
• Ability to earn senior customer and partner leaders’ confidence, lead consequential commercial conversations independently, and exercise sound judgment when representing Aclima.
• Strong commercial judgment in assessing customer needs, budgets, buying processes, and reasons to act, and deciding whether to advance, change, or stop an opportunity.
• Ability to challenge assumptions constructively, develop alternatives when opportunities stall, and recommend where leadership attention and company resources will have the greatest impact.
• Ability to make technically complex capabilities understandable and purchasable while remaining grounded in what the company can deliver.
• Hands-on approach to outreach, meetings, proposal writing, negotiation, and pipeline management.
• Mission alignment with environmental and community outcomes and ability to build credibility with commercial customers, public officials, technical partners, and community organizations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience selling environmental solutions, geospatial analytics, climate technology, enterprise software and services, digital transformation, or other complex technical products, projects, and services.
• Deep air-quality expertise is not required.

Responsibilities

• Own selected strategic accounts and opportunities from qualification through signed agreement and delivery handoff.
• Establish each opportunity’s customer need, executive sponsor, budget owner, decision process, purchasing requirements, and path to close.
• Develop a viable commercial path where no established buying process exists, including the business case, internal sponsorship, potential funding sources, and an approvable engagement.
• Lead proposal, scope, pricing, and commercial-term development with input from product, engineering, science, finance, and legal; ensure commitments align with delivery capacity and sound economics.
• Lead customer conversations, coordinate contributors, resolve obstacles, maintain ownership of next steps, and provide recommendations when executive approval is needed.
• Structure initial engagements to support continuing services, additional locations, and repeatable offerings.
• Build customer, industry-leader, and decision-maker relationships to develop new business in priority markets; recommend where to focus or discontinue effort and work with external lobbyists and government affairs teams.
• Work with marketing and community engagement to connect customer needs and community demand with a clear offering and funded deployment.
• Maintain a disciplined CRM process and credible pipeline forecast, providing concise updates on progress, risks, decisions needed, and expected timing.
• Use AI tools to improve research, preparation, proposal development, and commercial execution.
• Occasionally brief the board on commercial performance, pipeline outlook, and strategic recommendations.
• Personally conduct outreach and customer meetings, write proposals, negotiate terms, and manage the pipeline.

Benefits

• If converted to full-time employment: competitive compensation and equity.
• If converted to full-time employment: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, and LTD coverage.
• If converted to full-time employment: 401(k).
• If converted to full-time employment: wellness credits.
• If converted to full-time employment: company events.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed