Customer Development Manager

We are on a mission to decarbonise freshwater systems. Our vision is a climate-resilient, zero-carbon planet where water and energy are accessible to all.

We are seeking a Customer Development Manager to strengthen our relationships with water utilities, hydropower operators and strategic partners, and help turn technical projects and customer engagement into long-term commercial opportunities.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

The Customer Development Manager is a full-time, hybrid role based in the London Area, United Kingdom, with flexibility to work most of the time from home.

Working closely with the Founders and our technical team, the Customer Development Manager will engage with customers throughout their journey with Open Hydro. You will identify and understand their needs, coordinate customer-facing activities, communicate project outcomes and develop opportunities for further collaboration. You will be comfortable translating complex scientific and technical information into compelling business conversations, presentations and materials for a range of stakeholders, from technical specialists to senior decision-makers.

 

This role is critical to helping Open Hydro deepen customer relationships, build commercial traction and ensure that customer and market insights inform our product and growth strategy as we scale.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Business development and customer engagement

· Identify and develop relationships with potential customers, partners and key stakeholders across water utilities.

· Engage confidently with stakeholders ranging from technical specialists to sustainability teams, innovation managers and senior decision-makers.

· Conduct customer discovery meetings to understand needs, decision processes, budgets, procurement routes and barriers to adoption.

· Prepare and deliver compelling customer presentations, proposals, follow-up communications and other commercial materials.

· Manage and progress opportunities through the CRM, maintaining a high-quality pipeline and ensuring systematic follow-up.

· Support events, networking, webinars, newsletters and targeted outreach campaigns.

· Bring customer and market insight back into product and commercial strategy.

 

Customer-facing project & relationship management

· Coordinate delivery of customer-facing and funded projects, ensuring milestones, meetings and deliverables remain on track.

· Develop high-quality reports, presentations and other customer-facing project outputs.

· Organise and chair meetings with utilities and project partners, documenting actions and driving follow-up.

· Identify opportunities arising from projects for demonstrations, follow-on work or longer-term commercial relationships.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 3-7 years’ experience in business development, customer engagement and partnerships
• Demonstrate technical expertise in water resources, GHG emissions, or water quality
• Past involvement in customer-facing project delivery.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; confident presenting and chairing meetings; commercially minded.
• Strong project-management skills; ability to understand technical/scientific concepts and translate them for non-technical audiences.
• Autonomous and comfortable working in a startup and international environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, economics, engineering, environmental studies, or a related field; advanced degree is an advantage.