Climate Sales and Product Expert
First Street Foundation
Product, Sales & Business Development
New York, NY, USA
Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2024
Who we are: First Street is the industry standard for physical climate risk data. We use transparent and peer-reviewed methodologies to calculate the past, present, and future climate risk for every property in the world. We started eight years ago by working with the world’s leading climate scientists to create groundbreaking, climate-adjusted, property specific models and haven’t stopped.
Our mission: We exist to connect climate change to financial risk
Our data: We create physics-based, deterministic models of flooding, wildfire and hurricanes, and advanced statistical models of extreme heat, air quality, drought, hail, severe convective storms, winter storms, and more. All of this data is used to create property-level financial risk metrics and macroeconomic variables to quantify the impacts of climate change.
Our customers: We empower governments at the highest levels to make smart regulations, businesses to avoid bad investments, and everyday Americans to understand their personal risk from climate change. We are relied on every day by:
Come join us and use your talents to create solutions to address humanity's biggest problem.
Team & Role Overview:
We’re looking for a skilled climate and financial services expert to join First Street as a founding member of our sales team. You will support our account executives by playing a crucial technical role, and collaborate closely with our climate science, climate implications, product and data teams to drive pipeline generation, product requirements and technical implementation of our solutions for clients. This position requires a combination of climate model / credit risk expertise, sales mindset, and excellent communication skills.
As a founding member of the sales team, you will report directly to the Head of Sales and work closely with all teams to understand customer needs, provide technical support during the sales process, and ensure that our solutions are effectively developed and implemented to meet customer requirements.
What you’ll do:
Our mission: We exist to connect climate change to financial risk
Our data: We create physics-based, deterministic models of flooding, wildfire and hurricanes, and advanced statistical models of extreme heat, air quality, drought, hail, severe convective storms, winter storms, and more. All of this data is used to create property-level financial risk metrics and macroeconomic variables to quantify the impacts of climate change.
Our customers: We empower governments at the highest levels to make smart regulations, businesses to avoid bad investments, and everyday Americans to understand their personal risk from climate change. We are relied on every day by:
- Agencies ranging from the U.S. Department of Treasury to Fannie Mae
- The world's biggest banks such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo
- Institutional investors like Nuveen and Blackstone
- Millions of users on Redfin, Realtor.com, Homes.com, and more
Come join us and use your talents to create solutions to address humanity's biggest problem.
Team & Role Overview:
We’re looking for a skilled climate and financial services expert to join First Street as a founding member of our sales team. You will support our account executives by playing a crucial technical role, and collaborate closely with our climate science, climate implications, product and data teams to drive pipeline generation, product requirements and technical implementation of our solutions for clients. This position requires a combination of climate model / credit risk expertise, sales mindset, and excellent communication skills.
As a founding member of the sales team, you will report directly to the Head of Sales and work closely with all teams to understand customer needs, provide technical support during the sales process, and ensure that our solutions are effectively developed and implemented to meet customer requirements.
What you’ll do:
- Collaborate with account executives to understand customer business need / pain points, and provide technical support throughout the sales process
- Work with account executives to tailor technical presentations and product demonstrations to address specific financial institution needs and use cases, highlighting the the value and capabilities of First Street’s solutions
- Work closely with First Street’s climate science, climate implications, data and software engineering teams to understand and effectively communicate the technical aspects of our products, as well as to provide feedback from customers that directly impact our roadmap
- Assist in the preparation of proposals, RFP responses, and other technical sales materials for financial institutions
- Respond to customer inquiries regarding our data product, providing clear and detailed explanations of data fields, methodologies, and appropriate usage
- Address technical questions related to data delivery mechanisms, API integrations, and data formats to ensure smooth and efficient implementation for customers
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with key technical stakeholders at customer organizations
- Stay informed on industry trends, competitive landscape, and advancements in climate science and technology to effectively support the sales team
- Act as a subject matter expert for the product team to help guide solutions in a way that will resonate with financial institutions
- Work with the climate implications team to draft research and reports that highlight the value of our data in a way that the press and financial industry would care about
- Travel as required to meet with customers and support sales efforts which would include representing First Street at public events
- 10+ years of experience at a financial institution in an underwriting, credit or risk function
- Expertise in using credit models and combining them with climate data or augmenting credit models with other input data
- Established knowledge of both residential real estate and commercial real estate, and how climate risk impacts these different asset classes
- Strong technical background with the ability to understand and communicate complex climate scenario & climate science concepts to non-technical stakeholders
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to build relationships and influence decision-makers
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically and creatively
- Proficiency with CRM and product development tools
- Curiosity and willingness to learn about climate change and First Street’s product offerings
- Education minimum requirement: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience
- Proven experience with multiple climate models and credit risk
- An analytical mindset with the ability to understand and communicate complex technical solutions
- A proven passion for making the world a better place through climate action
- Demonstrated success in supporting sales efforts and driving technical implementation
- Strong research skills and the ability to quickly gather and synthesize information about customer requirements and market trends
- Drive: We are driven by the role we play in connecting climate change to financial risk
- Impact: We only focus on things that move the needle
- Urgency: We move quickly because the world depends on it
- Resilience: We have a growth mindset in all that we do
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience
- Ownership interest in the company via Employee Stock Option Plan
- Hybrid Schedule with in-office work days on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
- 15 vacation days along with 13 company holidays and 10 sick days
- Health benefits covered at 100% for employee or a significant contribution for family plans
- Vision and dental benefits with partial employee contribution
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave
- Access to One Medical, Teledoc, HealthAdvocate, Kindbody, and Talkspace
- Company 401k program
- Commuter benefits
- Life Insurance
- Tech startup environment
- Weekly team meals and an office stocked with coffee and snacks
- Working on the world’s biggest issue with other passionate professionals