Chief Commercial Officer

The organisation

Solar Monkey was founded in 2015, with the impact-driven mission to accelerate the solar energy market – and thereby, the energy transition – through software. Solar Monkey’s clients are solar panel installers, from small or midsize companies, to large energy suppliers such as Vattenfall.

With Solar Monkey, these installers can increase efficiency in designing and planning installation projects, calculating quotes, and communicating with consumers. At this point, Solar Monkey enables the installation of more than 250.000 solar panel systems annually in the Netherlands. Solar Monkey also offers client-specific consulting, for instance around streamlining CRM operations. But also after installation, Solar Monkey continues to support its clients by allowing for online monitoring and easy communication around potential maintenance and follow-up. This part of the customer journey otherwise often remains unaddressed by installers, due to operational complexity (requiring physical inspection of the installed system) and the large demand for new installations.

The company successfully completed a Series A investment round in the summer of 2022. Solar energy adoption in the Netherlands is now going fast. This is great news, because it means Solar Monkey’s mission is on the path to being fulfilled. It is now time for the company to expand its horizons and update its mission to include other geographies and, potentially, other business models.

Solar Monkey’s head office is in The Hague, but the company is also active in Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the UK. The market for solar panels differs slightly per country – for example, whereas the ease of online communication and quotes is popular in the Netherlands, Spanish consumers prefer a home visit by the installer. Solar Monkey is rolling out its European presence country by country, tweaking its product to optimize the fit with local markets.

The position

Solar Monkey helps suppliers and installers of solar panels do business efficiently, with software that allows those companies to communicate with prospective customers, and render quotes without the need for a home visit. The international and team-minded Chief Commercial Officer will lead the effort toward growing Solar Monkey’s European market presence and identifying new opportunities.

The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) joins the two founders and the CFO in Solar Monkey’s C-team. The Head of Sales, Head of Marketing, Head of Customer Success, Head of Support, and Partnerships Manager are the CCO’s direct reports. Enabling their teams to work well together is an important criterion for Solar Monkey’s commercial success. Solar Monkey’s strategic target is to triple its expected 2023 revenue in 2027. The CCO plays a key role in making this happen.

The CCO takes charge over Solar Monkey’s commercial strategy. This includes questions around internationalisation, such as choosing what countries to roll out, fine tuning the country playbook, defining the pricing strategy per country, and deciding how to distribute targets and resources among these countries – including building the local commercial teams. It also involves re-evaluating the business model, including testing, selecting, and commercializing new products or services, based on changing market dynamics. The CCO receives input and analyses from the commercial team for these decisions. The CCO also implements a more structured approach to customer relations and partnerships, based on client segmentation.

“A combination of strategic skills and willingness to do hands-on work is crucial for this role. We are an impact-driven scaleup. Colleagues are intrinsically motivated by moving the energy transition forward. This drive is part of our company DNA. The CCO shares this intrinsic motivation, and on top of that, is a skilled people leader who can coach team members and work well with different stakeholders in the organisation.” – Greetje de Haan, Head of Organization & People at Solar Monkey

The CCO works together with the founders to realize the next step in Solar Monkey’s mission and commercial success. The right candidate has worked in fast-scaling tech businesses in a leadership role and has experience in managing growing teams. The commercial team is expected to grow substantially in the next few years, and the CCO will grow as a leader with the team. The CCO is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, where growth is the name of the game and where processes are not yet set in stone.

Candidate profile

• Over 10 years of experience
• In commercial leadership roles with a focus on sales and marketing
• Within B2B SaaS
• International experience
• Scaling experience
• Able to switch between strategy and execution

The offer

Solar Monkey offers a flexible working environment where working from home is fully accepted, as is the choice to work 32 or 40 hours per week. However, the CCO is expected to be at the The Hague head office circa every other week, and will have to travel to other countries as well. Solar Monkey makes a point of travelling by train rather than airplane.

The CCO will not be required to relocate, as long as they can reach The Hague within a four-hour train ride. This role is a promising next step for an allround commercial professional with a background in B2B SaaS, international experience, and a strong intrinsic motivation for climate impact.

Interested?

You are invited to apply for this position by following the link below. Solar Monkey is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.