Business development - Head office (Bath) - Hybrid - Full Time

The Company and Mission

Are you looking to make a difference in the push towards net zero? Are you passionate about technical innovation and interested in putting your experience to work in a cutting-edge green tech company with potential for worldwide environmental impact?

Welcome to this exciting opportunity to join DRIFT Energy.

DRIFT operates at the intersection of deep tech, digital & AI and the blue economy. At our core, we are a data-driven engineering company – on a mission to make Oceans of Energy.

Established in 2021, DRIFT is backed by reputable VCs, family offices and angel investors. We are graduates of the Catapult Energy Systems, Set Squared Bristol and Creative Destruction Labs. Our company has been showcased in the Sunday Times, Forbes, demonstrated at SailGP and recently named as one of the most prestigious starts ups for 2025. We are award winning, including Green Startup of the year, Sustainability Entrepreneur of the year, the LeZERO Global Innovation Prize of 2023 at COP28, and the Monaco Prize for Innovation in Renewable Hydrogen and Transportation

The Company recently reached their seed funding and this is now a crucial & exciting time for the business as we look to appoint a Business Development Manager.

This role is highly autonomous and will see you influence and pioneer a new class of renewable energy to help combat climate change.

The Role

This new role exists to help deliver the commercial plan for growth through the acquisition and conversion of B2B contracts with internationally acclaimed clients and strategic partners.

With a pro-active approach and excellent attention to detail, this role will focus on identifying opportunities for growth, developing leads and influencing relationships with key parties to make a real difference to the development of the business.

Your task

3-month deliverables:

· Working collaboratively across the business to ensure the delivery of our collective goals.

· Providing input into the design and delivery of Drift’s growth strategy.

· Taking ownership of the strategy's mutually agreed elements and ensuring efficient delivery within the agreed timeframes.

· Proactively identify opportunities for client growth and building a future customer pipeline

· Generating and qualifying new leads using different approaches to engage prospective accounts.

· Supporting discussions and presentations to investors, government and grant funding organisations to contribute to the financial growth of the business.

· With attention to detail, support the creation of high-quality presentations and documentation aimed at securing further investment

· Liaise with the Head of Business Development to build a market summary of potential technology partners.

· Conduct a market analysis to identify hydrogen and partnership technology trends and opportunities.

By Year End you will have:

· Identified and attended productive industry events providing valuable market insights to the team.

· Monitored market trends and future customer needs to identify growth opportunities.

· Worked in collaboration with the Business Development team to translate insights into actionable strategies.

· Established strong working relationships with key parties from industry and Government to provide collaboration and partnership opportunities.

· Created and maintained relationships with newly acquired clients

· Expanded the opportunity pipeline generating effective and commercially viable leads.

· Prepared and presented compelling proposals tailored to our clients' specific needs.

· Taken ownership of self-developed opportunities to ensure the successful award of a commercially viable contract.

· Become a valuable knowledge leader providing insights about industry developments, competitor activities and emerging technologies which support Drift’s position in the market.

Your Skills and Experience

Essential Skills & Experience:

· 5+ years relevant experience within business development or a related field

· Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field

· Demonstrable experience of effective stakeholder management and influencing

· Ability to ‘write it down’ and prepare client ready presentations

Desirable Skills & Experience:

· Experience in the design and delivery of business plans, partnership agreements and demand generation, including aspects like investor and grant funding

· Experience within the Maritime and Energy sectors

· Experience of the process of securing investments and grant funding

· Influencing, networking and negotiation skills

· Strong communication and presentation skills

· Strong attention to detail and creative problem solving

Compensation and Benefits

● The opportunity to be part of a hugely innovative world climate change initiative

● Working with a passionate, committed and visionary “crew”

● 26 days holiday per year

● £45-50k salary, plus equity

● Pension

● Life Assurance

This role will be based in the Bath office based with the option to negotiate flexible working.

Diversity & Inclusion

We are keen to encourage applications and interest from individuals underrepresented in the deep tech and climate space. Climate change and climate justice is both a social and inclusion issue. We especially welcome applicants with experience across all equality and inclusion challenges and are keen for applicants who may have different experiences to those exactly specified in the application.