Market Development Director

Director, Market Development – Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)

Location: USA ET-friendly Time zone, including UK and Europe

We are seeking an outstanding Market Development Director to join the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN). This role is an exciting opportunity to drive corporate adoption of sustainability targets, grow SBTN’s market presence, and help scale the organisation’s impact on global nature commitments.

About the Role

The Market Development Director will lead corporate engagement to drive adoption of SBTN methodologies, strengthen partnerships, and manage knowledge products to ensure usability and scale. The role is central to achieving SBTN’s target of 600 validated companies by 2030.

Project Overview and Context

Founded in 2019 as a civil-society and science-led coalition, SBTN is setting the global standard for corporate action on nature. Having completed its first phase of developing methods enabling companies to set and validate targets for nature (land, freshwater, ocean, biodiversity), SBTN is now executing its scaling strategy. This rests on three pillars:

• Mass mobilization to make adoption feasible and incentivized
• Sector-based acceleration in high-impact value chains
• Place-based action linking global standards to local outcomes

Core Responsibilities

• Design and execute market development plans to generate high-quality corporate leads and convert them to validated corporates.
• Define and implement go-to-market strategy for adoption in key sectors and geographies.
• Identify and remove barriers in the adoption pipeline, streamlining engagement from early interest to validated commitments.
• Manage and optimise the corporate engagement pipeline, collaborating with NGO and industry partners.
• Build strategic relationships with senior executives and sustainability leaders.
• Coordinate with Communications, Marketing, and Technical teams to ensure consistent and effective messaging.
• Develop strategic partnerships with consultants, coalitions, NGOs, investors, regulators, and policymakers.
• Oversee knowledge product and capacity-building tool development to support adoption.
• Represent SBTN at high-level meetings, events, and media opportunities.

Key Qualifications

• 8 years in corporate sustainability, consulting, or strategic engagement roles.
• Proven ability to influence senior corporate leaders and secure commitments.
• Experience managing adoption or sales pipelines with metrics and analytics.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of enabling and guiding teams.
• Outstanding communication skills and ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Cross-functional collaboration experience, aligning technical, marketing, and communications teams.
• Language skills (French, Japanese, or Mandarin) are a strong plus.

Leadership & Cultural Fit

• Results-oriented leader passionate about driving measurable outcomes.
• Collaborative facilitator who empowers teams to succeed.
• Influential advocate capable of articulating value propositions clearly.
• Strong alignment with environmental and social goals.

Why Join Us

This is a unique opportunity to drive global impact by accelerating corporate action for nature, while working with leading sustainability stakeholders. The role offers the chance to shape strategy within a dynamic, purpose-driven organisation.

External Stakeholders

Corporate sustainability officers (CSOs), senior executives, NGOs, industry bodies, funders, and advisory councils.

Specifications

• Pay: $120,000 – $210,000 depending on experience
• Location: ET-friendly time zone preferred
• Position: Full-time, remote

How to Apply

Please submit your application (CV and cover letter) by email to:

Kris Kobi, Director – Sustainability, Energy & Climate Change
Email: kris@climate17.com

Use the subject line: “Application: Director, Market Development – [Your Name]”.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Early submissions are encouraged, with priority given to those received by October 10.