Founding Commercial Director
Primarily remote | Around two days per week initially | Ideally based near London or Paris
A senior, relationship-led commercial role with responsibility for building Sustenra’s commercial function alongside the three founders.
Build the commercial function from the beginning
Sustenra is a new independent advisory firm working with corporate foundations, philanthropic funders, financial institutions, impact investors, corporate social responsibility teams and environmental, social and governance teams.
We help institutions strengthen the governance, oversight and long-term performance of philanthropic, corporate giving and development finance programmes. Our work may begin before funding is committed, continue during delivery, or start when a programme is under pressure, relationships are strained or the original plan no longer makes sense.
We are looking for a Founding Commercial Director to work directly with our Founder and Managing Director and the other two founders.
This is a senior, relationship-led commercial role. There is no established commercial team or inherited pipeline, so you will help decide how the function should work and then build it.
What you will do
- Refine our target markets, positioning, services and pricing
- Build and manage the prospective client pipeline
- Identify and approach prospective clients, referral partners and strategic relationships
- Shape proposals, scopes of work and fee conversations
- Put practical systems in place for outreach, follow-up and customer relationship management
- Identify relevant speaking, conference, publishing and partnership opportunities
- Build Sustenra’s reputation with the institutions most likely to need our work
You may be speaking with foundation chief executives, corporate foundation directors, corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance leaders, sustainability teams, portfolio directors, trustees, investment committee members and other senior decision-makers responsible for funding, governance and programme performance.
Experience that combines relationships with commercial judgement
You may come from fundraising, corporate partnerships, grant-making, philanthropy, impact investment, corporate social responsibility, environmental, social and governance, responsible business, social investment, consultancy or professional-services business development.
Ideally, you will also have direct commercial or business experience in areas such as:
- business development or commercial strategy
- selling professional or advisory services
- pricing and service development
- partnership or client relationship management
- proposal development and negotiation
- account management
- helping to establish or grow a small business
You do not need experience in every area. We are more interested in whether you can show that you have built relationships, made a strong case for investment or paid work, and helped turn an opportunity into income, a partnership or a mandate.
You should be comfortable speaking with senior decision-makers, discussing scope and fees directly, shaping persuasive proposals and working with a high degree of independence.
An existing network in philanthropy, corporate giving, corporate social responsibility, environmental, social and governance, responsible investment or financial services would be useful, but we are not simply looking for access to a contact list.
An initial six-month period, with room to develop
The role will begin with an initial six-month period at around two days per week.
It is intended to sit alongside other employment, consultancy or portfolio work. You will have considerable flexibility over when and where you work, provided that agreed responsibilities, meetings and deadlines are met.
Our usual collaboration window is between 10:00 and 16:00 UK time, Monday to Thursday. This is when we try to arrange team meetings and shared work, rather than a requirement to work throughout those hours.
The commission structure will be agreed before the role begins and set out clearly in writing.
For someone who makes a sustained contribution and becomes a long-term part of Sustenra, we also intend to offer a meaningful equity stake in the company. Any equity would vest over time and be subject to agreed terms and formal documentation.
Experience from inside funded programmes
Sustenra was founded by three women with experience across programme funding, delivery, research, evaluation, policy and institutional governance.
Between us, we have worked within or with organisations including the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research, the United Nations Population Fund, Karolinska Institutet, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Our experience comes from working inside funded programmes and the institutions responsible for them, including settings where infrastructure fails, political conditions change and the original plan stops making sense.
Apply through LinkedIn or contact Sustenra
You can apply through the LinkedIn job posting by submitting your CV and answering the application questions.
If LinkedIn is not suitable, you can use the Sustenra contact page. Please select the most relevant enquiry option and state clearly that your message concerns the Founding Commercial Director vacancy.
We want to understand what you have actually done, how you think about building commercial relationships and whether this opportunity is workable for you. Please use specific examples where possible. You do not need to disclose confidential information or private contact details.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage early applications and may begin interviews before the closing date.
Apply for the role
Apply through LinkedIn, or contact Sustenra directly through the website if you are unable to use LinkedIn.