Business Development Manager - Walker-Miller Energy

*Please note candidates must reside in one of the following states: Michigan (Preferred), Illinois (Preferred),  Missouri, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maryland/DC, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Delaware, New York.

Company Overview

Walker-Miller Energy Services is a 24-year-old Detroit-based, core-values driven company committed to changing lives through energy efficiency.  We create and manage customized energy waste reduction programs that help electric and gas utilities meet mandated energy savings goals.   

Our experience driven philosophy of energy efficiency as economic development helps families and businesses save energy and save money. Through innovative, inclusive initiatives, we help build communities by creating local jobs, producing equitable energy savings for all rate payers, and spurring the growth of diverse local businesses.

Our operating philosophy is reflected in our core values. We refer to them as BEHIVE:

B - Boldly Go

E – Embrace Equity

H - Humble Confidence

I - Inclusive Stewardship

V - Value Reputation

E - Extraordinary Experience

Position Summary:

The Business Development Manager will be instrumental in driving Walker-Miller's growth over the next 3-5 years. This role involves building, qualifying, and managing a pipeline of opportunities to position Walker-Miller Energy Services for significant expansion. The ideal candidate will be a leader with demonstrated experience in the Utility or Energy sectors, excelling in prospecting and pipeline development to secure growth opportunities. They will actively pursue utility clients, prepositioning Walker-Miller for success once RFPs are released, and collaborate closely with the RFP team, including proposal managers, writers, SMEs, and business development professionals.

Essential Responsibilities: This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities, as management may deem necessary from time to time.

• Embrace and operate within the core values.
• Develops and implements business objectives and relationship activities.
• Develops formal client strategies and plans.
• Manages the pipeline for the region and associated offices.
• Responsible for reviewing details and qualifying scope of new business to determine if opportunity should be considered by director and senior leadership.
• Contacts and develops relationships with potential clients as identified in the strategic plan.
• Makes direct contact with leads, prospects, prospective clients, influencers, and coordinates the activities of others, thus leading a well-organized approach including the development of pertinent materials and information required to complete business development activities.
• Manage and maintain CRM system.
• Solicits qualified bid and proposal opportunities based on focused and targeted plan.
• Seeks client and location development as outlined by the annual target client list.
• Maintains records of all target client BD activity including contacts, communication, and results.
• Participates in client entertainment activities, as required.
• Promotes Walker-Miller's profile by participating in relevant industry associations, conferences, and other forums.
• Identify and help develop strategic collaborations with firms offering complementary services to target market segments and/or clients.

• Month 1 Expectations:
  • Be able to communicate the value and components of Walker-Miller's core solution set for utilities.
  • Developing CRM tool for tracking BD metrics, goals, and pipeline capture
  • Learn and demonstrate understanding of Walker-Miller's capture and business development processes.
  • Develop relationships with key business partners across the Utility Programs and Services division and within the business development team.
  • In partnership with the delivery/strategy team, create a targeted pipeline of utilities and list of utility contacts, by solution, and begin qualifying leads.
  • In partnership with the delivery team, collaborate to create a list of expansion opportunities with key utility clients.
• First 6 Month Expectations:
  • Develop a qualified pipeline of at least $50M.
  • Actively lead a minimum of 5 pursuits, concurrently. The expectation is that the person in this role will lead the entire lifecycle of the sale, from deal qualification, to discovery, through proposal creation, client presentation, and negotiations.
  • Develop win strategies and identify and document critical activities for the pursuit.
  • Participate in activities such as pipeline reviews, forecasting, gate reviews, proposal reviews, etc.
  • Serve as team reviewer for at least three competitive proposals, across solution sets.
  • Source teaming partners and negotiate teaming agreements and work share among partners.
  • Develop relationships with key business development leaders across groups within our corporate center of excellence.
• First 12-18 Months Expectations
  • Achieve Sales of $20M+.
  • Actively engage in and contribute to relevant strategy development and business planning.
  • Work in coordination with marketing team to develop thought leadership, targeted campaigns, social media activity.
  • Participate in business planning activities to include regular pipeline and gate reviews, as well as proposal reviews; diligently maintain CRM notes and reports/updates on opportunities.
  • In coordination with delivery/strategy teams, accurately price Walker-Miller solutions to achieve profitability and revenue metrics.
  • Create business plans and business models, value propositions, and win strategies to increase Walker-Miller's solution offerings into new markets or with new utility divisions.
  • Leverage strategic input from critical partners, including executive leadership and operating group business leadership and synthesize inputs and direction into winning tactics and actions.

Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• B.S. or B.A. required in business or a related field.
• 5+ years of prior business development and capture management experience. Preference given to candidates with experience in the utility or energy sectors and who can demonstrate market and domain knowledge.
• Demonstrated track record of leading multiple pursuits and winning new business with total contract values above $10M+ annually.
• 3+ years of experience following a structured and disciplined Capture process and mature capture methodologies, processes, and artifacts.
• Experience working in the Utility or Energy sectors (Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, DER, Electrification, Wind, and/or Oil and Gas).
• Experience with salesforce and proposal management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with outstanding interpersonal facilitation and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated high business acumen, project management skills/focus, advocacy skills to drive the win, with the ability to manage by influence.
• Strong organizational skills, initiative, and commitment to high-quality work.
• Ability to apply critical thinking and properly analyze and qualify opportunities, including sound recommendations for go/no-go decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to gain support and establish working relationships with program/project managers, technical leads, SMEs, peers, and all levels of internal staff.
• Willingness to travel to client sites and conferences as required.

Licenses & Certifications

• None

Travel Requirements

• TBD

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Required to sit, stand, walk; talk and hear; and ability to touch and handle tools and/or controls.
• The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, kneel, crouch, and/or crawl.
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds.
• Noise level is typically low to moderate.

Note: The physical demand and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

The above information describes the general duties and requirements necessary to perform the principle functions of the position.  This shall not be construed as a detailed description of all the duties and requirements that may be necessary in this position. 

Walker-Miller Energy Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

At Walker-Miller Energy Services, we Embrace Equity by encouraging qualified candidates from all backgrounds and identities to apply for open positions! We have several optional questions about candidates' demographics, but they do not impact hiring decisions. In fact, all candidate demographic data is anonymized for compliance purposes and to reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process, so none of the information collected here will be attached to your individual application. We ask for this information because Walker-Miller is committed to inclusive recruitment practices, so we hold ourselves to a high standard in developing a candidate pool that is diverse in background, experience, and perspective.

Walker-Miller Energy Services participates in E-Verify. Which confirms employment authorization of all newly hired employees and most existing employees through an electronic database maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security. For new hires, the E-Verify process is completed in conjunction with the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification on or before the first day of work. E-Verify is not used as a tool to pre-screen candidates. For up-to-date information on E-Verify, go to www.uscis.gov and click on 'E-Verify' located near the bottom of the page.

E-Verify Notice

E-Verify Notice (Spanish)

Right to Work Notice

Right to Work Notice (Spanish)