Director of Business Development, South Pole
Global, Corsia & Long Term Offtake Agreements
Climate solutions provider
Be an early applicant
Climate solutions provider
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To deliver climate impact at scale.
Role
Who you are
- If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic sustainability professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!
- 10–15 years of experience in commercial, business development, or sales leadership roles
- Proven experience in complex, multi-stakeholder deal environments
- Demonstrated ability to drive revenue growth and pipeline development in global, matrixed organisations
- Strong understanding of carbon markets, climate solutions, or adjacent sectors
- Experience working across regions and functions, influencing without direct authority
- Strong commercial judgement, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to operate at both strategic and execution levels
- Experience with compliance markets (e.g. CORSIA, Article 6) and long-term contracting structures
- Familiarity with aviation sector dynamics and/or carbon procurement strategies
- Experience enabling and scaling commercial capabilities across distributed teams
- Excellent leadership and team management abilities, with a focus on mentoring and developing sales talent. Able to ensure excellence in delivery, through people
- Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and influence key clients and stakeholders. Excellent negotiation skills
- Data-driven mindset, with the ability to analyze market trends and sales performance metrics
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to represent the company at industry events and meetings
- Comfortable working in a lean organization and rolling up their sleeves to get the job done
- Global mindset and experience working in diverse cultural environments
What the job involves
- This role owns and drives the global commercial success of South Pole’s Certificates business, with a primary focus on CORSIA and Long-Term Offtake Agreements (LTOAs)
- The Director is accountable for originating, structuring, and closing high-value deals, building a strong global pipeline, and converting market opportunities into revenue at pace
- This role sits at the center of South Pole’s most strategic carbon market opportunity and is expected to win flagship clients, shape demand, and scale revenue globally
- Operating across a matrix organization, the Director leads the global commercial agenda for CORSIA—setting the pace for regions, unlocking complex deals, and ensuring disciplined execution from pipeline to close
- The role combines direct business development, strategic client ownership, and market leadership, positioning South Pole as the partner of choice for leading airlines and corporate buyers
- Carry full accountability for global CORSIA revenue and market share
- Build and drive an aggressive, high-quality global pipeline with strong conversion discipline
- Personally originate and close complex, high-value deals with top-tier airlines and buyers
- Lead and secure flagship transactions that define market position
- Enforce strict margin discipline and commercial rigor
- Own and expand relationships with top-tier global clients, oversees the relationships with the regional clients (airlines) with direct responsibility for revenue generation across the product line
- Position South Pole as the preferred partner for carbon procurement through compelling, differentiated propositions
- Convert strategic relationships into repeatable and scalable revenue streams
- A supportive role is expected for Long Term Offtake Agreements
- Actively shape demand, influence buyers, and capture early-stage opportunities ahead of competitors
- Represent South Pole in high-impact client and industry forums, directly generating commercial opportunities
- Ensure clear, differentiated, and commercially compelling messaging
- Own full visibility and control of the global pipeline and deal flow
- Relentlessly drive deal progression, removing blockers and accelerating closure
- Identify and pursue cross-regional and global deal opportunities
- Increase pipeline quality, prioritization, and conversion rates
- Directly manages the team of 1
- Indirectly managing the team of the regional sales representatives involved in Corsia related commercial activities
- Build a high-performance, commercially driven culture
- Key outcomes:
- Revenue from CORSIA and LTOA offerings- Global
- Revenue from top-tier CORSIA and LTOA clients- Personal
- Global CORSIA pipeline strength, quality, and conversion rates
- Margin discipline and deal quality
- Strategic deal support and closure success
- Adoption and scaling of LTOA solutions across regions
- Commercial consistency and execution quality
Our take
South Pole is a Zurich-based climate solutions provider making real strides in the global push for Net Zero. Founded in 2006, the company takes a hands-on, action-first approach, unlike traditional consultancies, SOuth Pole joins projects after they're greenlit, focusing on implementing tangible climate solutions rather than just advising on them. This model has made it a key player in the green transition, turning climate ambitions into real outcomes.
Working across emission reduction, climate, and environmental protection, South Pole partners with companies to help create ways to lower their carbon emissions. The founders are experienced in the industry too, with many having met at the MyClimate foundation whilst others are renowned entrepreneurs. This coalition of capital and climate knowledge has helped South Pole become a unicorn company.
While some players in the space struggle to deliver results, SOuth Pole has built a strong track record. From partnering with Canadian delivery company Sendle to roll out carbon-neutral shipping, to developing impactful sustainability initiatives with global giants like Nestlé and UBS.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
31% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Work-life balance: From flexible working hours to flexible workplace (home office), with above-average vacation allowances, we strive to make the work and family life puzzle an easy one for our employees
- Flexible Vacation Benefits: Options to buy up to 5 extra days of time off
- Life Insurance: Available to all employees across the world
- Care for your Wellbeing: Access to mental, physical and financial wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Program (TELUS Health)
- Parental Leave: Should any of our employees need to take time off the Iceberg as a result of a new addition to their household, we are happy to be able to offer competitive Paid Parental leave to support them during this time
- Compassionate Leave: Sometimes life is unpredictable, and when unfortunate events occur, we want to give you peace of mind so you feel fully supported during this time
Company HQ
Escher Wyss, Zürich, ZH
Leadership
Daniel Klier
(CEO)Daniel joine dSOuth Pole in 2024 as CEO. Prior to this, they were the CEO of ESG Book. They also spent almost 8 years at HSBC as the Group Head of Strategy and as the Global Head of Sustainable Finance and Group General Manager.
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