GreenTech Careers Are Growing With Vengeance
Discussions on climate change have been popular for a number of decades, but recent occurrences like skyrocketing gas prices and severe weather events have given them a new urgency. People in “normal” functional areas like sales, strategy, engineering, and product development are increasingly using sustainability to shape how their businesses operate and generate a new demand for careers in GreenTech.
It comes as no surprise that the same chorus of climate change activists is driving this massive hiring spree. Pledges, policies, and innovation are essential if we want to attain net zero by 2050. In fact, the reliance on GreenTech to develop a range of new technologies is a priority. It is said that to achieve net zero goals set out, 65% of emissions reductions will come from existing technologies and policy changes, whilst the other 35% will need to come from new technologies.
The good news is VCs have taken note of this new growth trajectory and poured billions into the market. In 2021, global venture capital funding hit a record-breaking $43 billion, more than double 2020’s $20 billion. This is thought to be down to ESG investing and the impacts of climate change being much more visible than they were a decade ago.
However, without the right team to spearhead operations and drive your startup’s mission, the pace and scope of a greener economy will become stilted. As GreenTech Recruiters, we predict the following GreenTech careers will propel in the next 10 years and be integral to accelerating a sustainable future.
The Key Hires GreenTech Start-up’s Need To Make In The Next Decade
Changemakers in energy and clean technology are addressing the rising effects of energy consumption and the usage of natural resources on our natural environment by increasing efficiency, creating renewable energy sources, and lowering waste and emissions. With innovations and new technologies prompting significant progress in this field, leaders with engineering, business, product, and data backgrounds are playing important roles.
Engineering & DevOps
Fast innovation sits within a start-up’s engineering function to meet the expanding demands and ambitions of the world prioritising sustainability. As the urgency to transition to a green economy picks up, the engineering team’s goal is to address needs with pace and predictability.
Engineering within GreenTech is active along all stages of the product development process; from inception to completion. Engineers within this field are not only directly benefitting the planet, which can be hugely rewarding and satisfying, but the market has allowed engineers to work with cutting-edge technology and innovative projects that are both stimulating and meet moral principles.
A Chief Technology Officer is the primal hire to found an engineering team and build a successful tech company. This person will work on the business, making critical decisions on where the product is heading and opportunities the company should prepare to seize in years to come. Depending on the function of the GreenTech, an engineering team can be structured with various engineers, such as DevOps, Java and Ruby on Rails, alongside VPs, Heads of and Directors of teams within the vertical.
Data & Analytics
Data science is a revolutionary phenomenon that is dramatically changing how we approach many global concerns, none more pervasive than climate change. The current issue of the climate crisis can be addressed by leveraging and analysing data, accelerated by the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. As an illustration, companies can lessen their carbon footprint by deploying IoT sensors to track trash and energy usage and sensors in their environs to track carbon emissions.
With demand for AI skills more than doubled in the last three years, so has the opportunity for Data Scientists to enter a sector that develops practical solutions to combat climate change. Increasingly, data professionals are becoming more proficient with AI technologies and programming languages like Python to master their field and land the best jobs in the GreenTech industry.
Any data division will be led by the Chief Data Officer, who will help a business acquire more value from its data so that it can make decisions with better speed, agility, and confidence. This person will craft a roadmap including mid- and short-term plans that allows for improvements. The team that is structured from such plans can vary, including data scientists, analysts and engineers.
Product Management
Companies are working to lessen the impact of their operations on the environment, which calls for changes to supply chains, production methods, and business models. Companies are also revaluating how their goods are created, produced, and used in an effort to meet performance and quality standards while utilising fewer resources throughout every product’s entire life cycle.
For any GreenTech start-up to meet the cries of consumers, activists and governments to drive global sustainability, a product leader is key. This person, such as a Chief Product Officer, is responsible for the ‘Why’s’ of a product or piece of software, turning them into a commercial enabler. The product team becomes cross-functional from this point on, with product managers, UX, UI, and engineers cooperating to accomplish sustainable missions. These experts are constantly seeking methods to do better and are never satisfied with the way things are.
Sales & Marketing
It goes without saying that a business’s sales, marketing, and success teams working together in harmony will produce favourable results. According to LinkedIn, 87% of sales and marketing executives believe that collaboration between the two departments is essential for corporate expansion.
Such unity within GreenTech is critical to be able to sell such innovative solutions to generate high-quality leads and enable high-profit sales. As such, the Chief Marketing Officer takes an active role in revenue generation and strategy. The Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), who establishes the synchrony between the sales and marketing teams in order to scale quickly and sustainably, frequently works in tandem with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). From these leaders, the team will be built out across the following functions, which can vary from business to business: corporate and demand marketing, sales development, customer success and revenue operations.
Takeaway
At Storm4, we believe these careers are the key to getting a GreenTech startup from concept to success. Because of this belief, our business model is also centred around these verticals, partnering with aspiring GreenTech’s and connecting them with top senior talent across Engineering & DevOps, Data & Analytics, Sales & Marketing and Product Management.
If you need a growth partner for the key hires mentioned in this article, get in touch today!
