Head of Commercial Partnerships

UrbanChain operates a licensed supply platform connecting renewable energy generators directly to businesses. We are a technology company building energy infrastructure — not a utility with software features bolted on. The platform is live, with signed deals and measurable momentum. This role scales an existing commercial function rather than building one from scratch — you will inherit a team with real energy and ESG expertise, and a set of proven deal patterns to replicate at scale. Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer, the Head of Commercial Partnerships owns the consumption side of the business across three channels: Tier-1 distribution partnerships, private markets, and connected PPAs. The mandate is to take working models and turn them into a repeatable, scaled, margin-accretive engine.

P&L ownership: Partnerships, Private Markets, and Connected PPAs.

Scope & responsibilities

• Layer 1 — Tier-1 distribution partnerships
  • Replicate the embedding model across new verticals — FM providers, ESG consultants, industrial aggregators, housing associations, and property managers
  • Make deliberate architectural choices for each partnership: white-label, co-sell, embedded, or framework structures
  • Build sector aggregator relationships, frameworks, co-selling motions, and joint go-to-market plays
• Layer 2 — Private markets at scale
  • Expand proven deal patterns across local authorities, social housing, industrial supply chains, and private sector aggregators
  • Use established supply-chain models as the template for replication across analogous customers
  • Target higher margins, longer tenors, and stickier relationships
• Layer 3 — Connected PPAs as a growth channel
  • Develop PPAs where prosumers, generators, infrastructure assets, and portfolio players converge
  • Build on proven bankable structures (multi-year frameworks, asset-backed deals)
  • Expand across funded portfolios, EV charging, battery storage (BESS), hydrogen, airports, ports, and data centre campuses

Year-one deliverables

• Replicate the distribution playbook: land at least three new Tier-1 sector partnerships across different verticals, each using a deliberately chosen architecture model
• Land private market deals: close two to three private market deals (6–9 month cycles) replicating proven council frameworks, social housing structures, and industrial supply-chain models
• Scope connected PPAs: work cross-functionally to take one to two connected PPA opportunities live within 12 months
• Reshape and scale the team: hire at least one senior partnerships resource by month 6–9, and develop the wider scaling roadmap post-Series B
• Build commercial discipline: establish pipeline reporting, partner commission structures, embedded sales motions, and joint go-to-market playbooks

What success looks like

• 12 months: channel running at a predictable cadence — three new Tier-1 sector partnerships signed, two private market deals closed, the connected PPA path scoped with an initial pipeline, and the team executing a defined operating rhythm
• 24 months: channel materially contributing to GMV at target margin profile, embedded GTM as the default partnership shape, connected PPAs transitioned from growth area to live channel with a defined run-rate, and the team scaled to 5–7 with a roadmap to 10+
• 36 months: positioned as the obvious leader for expanded scope — channels scaled, team built, and a repeatable, margin-accretive engine running independently of individual heroics

What you'll bring

• 10+ years leading commercial in energy, infrastructure, or B2B scale-ups, with meaningful P&L ownership
• A track record closing structured deals with Tier-1 industrials, councils, housing associations, or infrastructure customers — bankable PPAs, multi-year frameworks, and embedded co-selling
• Experience building and leading commercial teams of 5–10, ready to scale to 15+
• Commercial fluency in PPA structuring, capital partner economics, and framework procurement
• Comfort operating with the leverage modern tools provide — using AI, automation, and agentic workflows as production capabilities, not experimental pilots
• The ambition to treat this role as a stepping stone to running a larger business unit

How we work

This is a technology company building energy infrastructure, not a utility with software bolted on. We expect commercial leaders to use our internal customer operations systems, AI capabilities, and lead-generation automation as multipliers for personal and team leverage. AI fluency is the base expectation here, not novel testing. We value commercial people who think like operators, and product people who think like commercial people.

What this role is not

Clear peer relationships exist around this role rather than hierarchical reporting lines. This role is not:

• Running TPI or Mid-Market direct sales (handled by separate leads)
• Running origination structuring (owned by the Head of Origination)
• Running capital structuring or platform licensing (owned by the Head of Commercial Capital Development)
• Running structured finance (incoming Head of Structured Finance)
• Running Marketing or GrowthOps
• Running Private Markets matching or the Optimisation desk

Compensation & benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Performance-linked commission
• Management incentive scheme participation aligned to channel growth
• Hybrid working (London or Manchester)
• SLT exposure and a peer-caliber leadership team
• Positioned for expanded scope as the platform grows

Hiring process

Four stages, roughly four weeks end to end:

1. Initial call with the CGO (30 min) — mutual fit, scope clarification, questions
2. Deep dive with the CGO and MD (90 min) — GTM walkthrough, role expectations, experience discussion
3. Commercial case study (90 min) — a real strategic question with prep time, worked through with the CGO, Head of Commercial Finance, and an SLT member
4. Final with founders (60 min) — cultural fit and close, with a targeted offer within five working days