Job description

About Odyssey Energy

More than a billion people in the world do not have access to electricity. Odyssey Energy Solutions is a Boulder, Colorado-based purpose-driven software company tackling this global challenge. Their goal is to rapidly expand access to energy around the world by streamlining and reducing the costs of developing and financing solar microgrids and other clean distributed energy systems.  

Since its establishment in 2017, Odyssey has become an integral part of the energy access finance ecosystem. Odyssey’s big data investment and asset management platform is catalyzing the deployment of hundreds of millions of dollars into the mini-grid and solar home system sectors across Africa. 

Odyssey is well-funded, has significant market traction, a renowned product, and a highly collaborative, motivated team that has fun working hard together. Odyssey’s current team is 15 people, and we expect it to grow considerably as the business deepens, expands geographically, and services new verticals. Odyssey was recently awarded the international Keeling Curve Prize for their work reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

About the role

This is an exciting role in the executive team of Odyssey. We are looking for someone to work side-by-side with the CEO in leading the company into its next phase. In the company’s first phase, Odyssey has become the central software platform for distributed energy financing initiatives implemented by governments, development finance institutions, and project finance facilities across four continents. Odyssey is currently managing mini-grid and solar home system financing facilities totaling more than $350 million in investment. The Odyssey platform is also the mini-grid sector’s first complete investment and asset management platform, managing data across the lifecycle of investments and enabling big data analytics of live data feeds from operating portfolios of mini-grids and other systems. Odyssey is at the center of the energy access’s most innovative impact and commercial initiatives.

In phase two, Odyssey is leveraging its cutting-edge technology to expand its product offerings, customer channels, and revenue lines – and augment the senior team to make all that happen. The President/Chief Growth Officer would focus on driving growth in existing and new verticals, leveraging Odyssey’s market traction, stellar reputation, and product advancements and identifying ways to enhance revenue, reach, and impact. This position is equally about closing deals — leading business development work for the company and growing the team to achieve Odyssey’s targets.

About you

You are a seasoned executive, with experience leading organizations. You must absolutely love ALL aspects of business development — building relationships across a sector, and working with customers and stakeholders to identify how the company can continue to provide the market what it needs, pursuing leads and negotiating/closing deals. You love strategic thinking, and are courageous in exploring uncharted territory and tackling large challenges. You are passionate about Odyssey’s mission and are excited at the opportunity to balance social and environment impact with commercial achievement. A background in finance is essential, as Odyssey’s products are built around our mission to catalyze deployment of capital into the distributed energy sector. You ground your strategic thinking in hard data and financial projections. You are highly collaborative and will be comfortable working closely with the CEO across different time zones – but are also great at working independently and running with initiatives that you own. You are tactical, and you close deals. It is preferred that you have experience in the distributed energy sector in emerging markets, with a deep understanding of the market (its challenges and opportunities) and, preferably, an existing strong network in the sector.

Does this sound like you?

We are looking for candidates who have:

• Bachelor’s degree (minimum); Master’s degree preferred in business, economics, or engineering
• 5+ years in senior-level roles, preferably in the energy access / relevant sector
• 5+ years of business development experience
• 5+ year experience in financial analysis and financial transactions
• 5+ years organization leadership experience
• Experience in the development sector preferred (development finance institutions, aid organizations, and governments)
• Excellent communication skills in English (proficiency in French is also highly preferred)

Persons of all gender, race, sex, orientation, age, and identity are encouraged to apply.