Head Of Agricultural Business Development

Head of Agricultural Business Development

Remote; Nationwide

Full time

About Us:

Climate Robotics is harnessing the power of the biosphere to beat climate change. Working at the intersection of soil health and carbon removal, we’re building the world’s first in-field mobile biochar production system to unlock a new scalable market in sustainable agriculture. Biochar is a real climate and soil health solution today and one of the most promising to address global climate change at scale. We’re excited to do our part in building transformational tools to drive the future of sustainable agriculture.

We've partnered with leading buyers of carbon removal credits, including as the largest biochar carbon removal supplier to Microsoft, to build a new type of business that helps farmers succeed while fighting climate change. Climate Robotics is Series A stage company well-capitalized by top VC investors in climate tech, including Congruent Ventures, Grantham Foundation, and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.

We're looking to expand our world-class team to help build an entirely new industry in the nation's energy capital, Houston, Texas.

The Role:

We’re looking for an experienced Head of Agricultural Business Development to fuel our next stage of growth. This individual will be responsible for biochar sales, biomass sourcing, and business & relationship development. The role requires a strong network and a deep understanding of row and specialty crop operations with a focus on engaging early adopters and innovators. This individual should be able to partner closely with farmers, leadership at organizations that have access to large acreages of farmland across different crops, and the broader agriculture ecosystem, addressing farmers’ specific needs while championing sustainable solutions for soil health and climate change mitigation. Successful candidates will be capable of sourcing tens of thousands of tons of biomass feedstock (agricultural residue, wood waste, etc) per year.

If you’re passionate about sustainable agriculture, possess in-depth knowledge of farming practices, and can collaborate effectively with farmers, we’d love to speak with you.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and lead our agricultural sales team, including growing the sales pipeline and developing a compensation structure directly tied to business growth
• Build a pipeline of both biochar-as-a-service and biomass sourcing that aligns with Climate Robotics’ technology and corporate goals
• Secure the supply of tens of thousands of tons of crop residue biomass and thousands of acres of land for our biochar-as-a-service offering to farmers in your first 6 months, and scale that by orders of magnitude in the following years with the support of a growing team
• Develop, package, and streamline a scalable solution to help farmers access USDA NRCS biochar funding
• Fulfill requests for proposals (RFPs) from potential partners and customers
• Create strategies for reaching farmers and relevant agricultural organizations and execute them effectively, part of which is via the network you bring to this role
• Identify and engage early adopters and influencers within the agricultural community who are eager to embrace sustainable agricultural solutions.
• Co-develop sales collateral and content for customer-facing web platforms
• Engage with relevant farmers, agricultural professionals, and industry stakeholders

• Identify sponsorship opportunities, including nonprofit engagement
• Propose and develop strategic partnerships, including with agriculture organizations, to enhance farmer operations and return on investment through consulting on agronomy and soil health
• Track emerging markets and trends, map the competitor landscape and advise the executive team on new opportunities, potential risks, and formulation of long-term objectives
• Work closely with the executive team, carbon removal sales, and field operations to align on sales strategy and ensure delivery of our contracted agreements

• Provide feedback to the engineering team based on customer interactions, ensuring our services align with the operational priorities of our customers
• Maintain clear and open communication with internal teams to ensure the seamless delivery of services that promote soil health and environmental sustainability
• Building and managing a fast-growing agriculture team to scale our farmer-facing business

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Environmental Science, Business, or related field (preferred)
• Proven experience in agricultural sales of new products across the full lifecycle of adoption
• Proven experience developing a sales organization
• In-depth knowledge of different types of row crop farms and their potential for adopting sustainable and regenerative practices
• Deep knowledge of agriculture business, sustainable agriculture, and relevant agronomy to help solve farmer problems
• Customer-oriented, with a demonstrated ability to respect and earn the respect of farmers and partners
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a genuine passion for helping farmers, building soil health and regenerating our farmland ecosystems
• Ability to build and continuously grow strong customer relationships, emphasizing shared values and goals
• Strong negotiation and closing skills, with a focus on promoting sustainable solutions
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented, and evidence of personal commitment to making a positive impact on soil health and climate change
• Experience in an investor-backed startup or other high-growth environment
• Team building and management experience

Requirements

• Valid driver’s license
• Willingness to travel 40-60% of the time, primarily in the Southeastern U.S. to start

Benefits

• Competitive salary and stock options in the company
• Health benefits (medical, dental, and vision)
• Flexible vacation & time-off policy
• 401(k) match

Compensation

• This role will have a base salary between $125-165K, depending on experience, as well as significant commission potential and stock options.