Meridian Enterprise (“Meridian”) is seeking a Chief Business Development Officer (“CBDO”) to join a team of passionate innovators and problem-solvers, empowered to rise above challenges and swarm around solutions. Here at Meridian, we are energized by the fact that our work is important. We are driven to make work as easy as possible for our Members, Customer, Partners, and Employees. Help us lead the way in Utility Software. Join a winning company and thrive.

Meridian delivers leading-edge software and technology solutions to utility providers across the country. With solutions ranging from consumer billing and finance to IT, GIS, cybersecurity, and operations, our enterprise suite provides the tools utilities need to manage the business from the office to the field efficiently and securely.

Summary:

The CBDO is a key member of the executive management team at Meridian, reporting directly to our CEO. The qualified candidate will be responsible for developing and operationalizing the overall business development strategy in alignment with fostering positive long-term member/customer relationships. The CBDO will work closely with our CEO to identify and pursue new business opportunities, expand market reach, and enhance revenue growth, while working with the entire executive team to build and strengthen relationships with members and industry partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and drive well-vetted, collaborative, and documented strategic plans for member and revenue growth that is aligned with Meridian’s commitment to serving as a solutions partner to members and prospective members. Accountable for sales lifecycle from prospecting to implementation.
• Conduct thorough market analysis on member needs, industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging opportunities to tailor business development efforts.
• Identify, evaluate, and execute new business opportunities. This includes running outbound campaigns to create sales opportunities, preparing, and delivering pitches and presentations to prospective members, or appropriately delegating these activities to team members. Lead team to optimize conversion of opportunities into realized revenue to meet or exceed sales and revenue targets.
• Collaborate with enterprise leaders and teams, including Finance, Operations, Relationship Management, Member Success, Marketing, Human Resources, and Risk Management to align business development efforts with overall organizational strategy.
• Stay up to date with industry trends, technology, regulations, and opportunities, and share knowledge with executive team to inform strategic decision-making.
• Ensure that business development activities are aligned with enterprise risk management, including adherence to contracting process and contract portfolio conversions.
• Serve as key mentor and leader to all department employees to foster a culture that is compliant, professional, innovative, collaborative, curious, and focused on the customer and company mission. This includes establishing clearly defined goals, objectives, responsibilities, and development plans for each member on the team.
• Participate with executive team on the annual budget process, with particular focus on revenue projections. Manage annual revenue budget once established.
• Regularly track and accurately report progress to the executive team, Board of Directors, and other stakeholders.
• Maintain customer activities in CRM.
• Take the initiative in thought leadership, innovation, and creativity.
• Represent the company at conferences and networking events.
• Adheres to all Meridian Cooperative corporate policies and procedures.
• Travel as required.
• Any additional responsibilities assigned by management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• Ten years of experience in enterprise sales leadership required. Five years of experience within the utilities industry required (ten years preferred), with an in-depth understanding of the utilities space.
• Positive professional personal brand and visibility within the utilities industry preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and owning a collaborative business development strategy.
• Strong project and financial management skills.
• Excellent management, presentation, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong internal relationships and consensus across departments.
• A people-focused leader with the ability to build trust quickly, enhance company culture and employee engagement, and approach problems from a curious, ready-to-learn perspective.
• Experience managing high-performance staff in a hybrid organization (i.e., split between the central office and remote locations).
• Familiarity with CRM software.
• Excellent attention to detail and organization.
• Positive attitude and strong work ethic.
• Excellent negotiation and relationship building skills.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.

We Offer:

• Outstanding Medical/Dental/Vision that starts on the first day of employment.
• Education/Training Reimbursement
• On-Site Education Courses
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health/Wellness Reimbursement (fitness tracking device one-time up to $300)
• Excellent Life & Disability Insurance
• Vacation: 22 days of accrued time off (no waiting period).  9 holidays which include the day after Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve.  Up to 240 hours of vacation time can roll over to the following year.
• Volunteer Time: 8 hours per year
• Retirement: Very robust 401K. Employees are 100% vested in the Company-funded employer basic contributions from the date they enter the plan.  The Company will match 100% of each dollar you contribute on the first five percent (5%) of eligible compensation that you contribute to your account.  Employer basic contribution eligibility occurs on the first day of the month following the employee’s completion of one year of continuous service (contribution of 4-11% of base salary based on years of service).

In addition to a competitive salary, a medical/dental/vision plan, and matching 401(k), also offer:

• Relaxed Dress Code
• Hybrid Work Schedules
• In Office Gym

About Us:

We were formed in 1976 by a group of Electric Membership Cooperatives with a vision for a single enterprise solution provider to serve data processing, IT, and operational needs to cooperatives, public utility districts, and municipal utilities. Through carefully curated acquisitions and partnerships, Meridian Co-op has unified multiple leading-edge companies under its umbrella to truly execute that vision. Today, the Meridian Suite serves over 500 utilities across the country with industry-leading enterprise software solutions.

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• Ten years of experience in enterprise sales leadership required. Five years of experience within the utilities industry required (ten years preferred), with an in-depth understanding of the utilities space.
• Positive professional personal brand and visibility within the utilities industry preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and owning a collaborative business development strategy.
• Strong project and financial management skills.
• Excellent management, presentation, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong internal relationships and consensus across departments.

About Meridian Cooperative

Meridian Cooperative has been a leader in the development of innovative utility software solutions for four decades. We’re committed to providing our users with CIS/Billing, Accounting, Capital Credits, Engineering and Operations applications configured to meet their unique needs. We understand that your success depends on effective communication between a variety of groups and departments, and we strive to deliver software that connects your entire organization. Our enterprise software suite provides the most advanced tools available across a wide range of applications, including Meter Data Management, Prepaid Metering, Mobile Workforce Management, Document Imaging, Work Management, Advanced Visual Analytics, Cybersecurity Solutions and Managed Security Services, among others. As a stand-alone software package, UPN gives utility companies, electric cooperatives, and power providers all the tools necessary to do your job easily and efficiently. And when you're ready to take business to the next level, Meridian Co-op offers seamless integration with the industry's top technology services, delivering even more tools to increase productivity and reduce overhead. In addition, we ...pride ourselves on providing industry-leading customer service, clear and helpful documentation, regularly-scheduled webinars and superior training for all our Members and Customers. We believe in hiring a diverse group with a broad range of talents, including knowledgeable implementation specialists, Microsoft-certified support specialists, and top programmers dedicated to staying one step ahead of emerging technologies.

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