Business Development Associate

Who is CenTrio?

CenTrio is a leading provider of sustainable energy services for higher education, healthcare campuses, and cities, managing utility infrastructures across 10 U.S. cities and serving over 170+ million square feet. We deliver efficient electricity, steam, hot water, and chilled water, offering reduced costs, lower emissions, and exceptional reliability. As a subsidiary of a global Infrastructure Investment Consortium, CenTrio benefits from strong financial backing and manages high-quality, long-term assets that ensure stable, growing cash flows.

CenTrio is planning an aggressive growth strategy over the next 30 years, including expansion of existing district energy grids, new systems in cities where CenTrio already operates, growth of public-private partnerships with higher education and healthcare customers, an expanding power generation portfolio, alternative fuels and technologies, and services to new municipalities.

Chicago is our largest system and a priority growth market, and this role is central to continuing to grow CenTrio's presence and pipeline in the region.

Why Join CenTrio?

CenTrio offers a dynamic and friendly work environment dedicated to nurturing a top-notch team culture, along with an array of fabulous benefits and perks.

• Medical, dental, vision, and Life & AD&D benefits starting first day of hire
• Option of supplemental Life & AD&D benefits
• Company-paid High Deductible Healthcare Benefit Plan
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Training opportunities and career progression
• Competitive salary reflecting the value of skills and experience
• Dynamic, friendly work environment in a rapidly expanding industry with a national presence
• Remote, hybrid, and in-office schedules available depending on job responsibilities
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Program/Hotline
• Corporate discounts across travel, entertainment, home, auto, apparel, health and wellbeing, and other retail categories

Job Summary

The Business Development Associate is an entry-to-junior-level role designed for a motivated professional with 1-3 years of relevant experience who wants to build a career in business development within the district energy industry. This role blends two core focus areas: supporting the Chicago business development pipeline (prospecting, market analysis, and account support) and being a visible, active presence in the downtown Chicago Real Estate community to build the CenTrio brand and generate new relationships while maintaining existing relationships with longstanding partners in the market.

This is a relationship-first role. The successful candidate will represent CenTrio at industry association events, engage with local real estate, engineering, and contractor communities, and support the Commercial Organization and Chicago Director of Business Development in converting those relationships into qualified leads and long-term customers. The role also provides exposure to financial analysis, proposal development, account management, and contract negotiation and execution, offering a well-rounded foundation for growth within CenTrio's commercial organization.

This position offers a hybrid work structure, with office attendance and local travel expected as needed to support community engagement and customer-facing activity in the Chicago market. Specifically, regular meetings in the Chicago central business district are anticipated 3-4 days a week as in person outreach will be a core role function.

Core Responsibilities

• Serve as a regular, active presence in the Chicago business and industry community to build brand awareness and identify new relationships and opportunities
• Represent CenTrio at industry associations and trade organizations such as the International District Energy Association (IDEA), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Urban Land Institute (ULI), Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA), and other local and national industry groups
• Build and maintain relationships with local contractors, equipment suppliers, architects, engineering firms, real estate management companies, and sustainability firms
• Support lead generation and qualification by leveraging existing customer relationships and market outreach initiatives
• Assist in developing go-to-market strategies to reach key prospective customer targets in the Chicago market
• Assist in developing and delivering proposals, presentations, term sheets, and deal memos
• Support development, administration, and maintenance of Customer Account Management Plans for All Chicago customers
• Support basic financial analysis, including financial modeling and scenario analysis, under guidance from senior BD team members
• Monitor local market and economic conditions in Chicago and help assess their impact on new business opportunities
• Provide weekly/monthly/quarterly reporting on community engagement activity and pipeline development
• Travel within the greater Chicago area is required; occasional travel to other CenTrio markets (local and non-local) including overnight stays will be require
• Support early sales-cycle renewal discovery and renewal strategy for existing customers
• Cold outreach to prospective customers within CenTrio’s geographic service region
• Manage and track calls, meetings, opportunities and contacts within Salesforce and actively maintain CRM data.
• Support renewal efforts for expiring customer contracts in the Chicago Market.

Working Style to Be Successful in This Role

• Outgoing and relationship-oriented, comfortable representing CenTrio at community and industry events
• Highly analytical with keen attention to detail
• Demonstrates strong initiative and follow-through
• Strong oral and written communication abilities, able to engage both technical and non-technical audiences
• Collaborative with excellent interpersonal skills
• Adapts quickly in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manages changing priorities effectively
• Self-motivated and proactive, able to work independently with minimal supervision while being a strong team contributor
• Process-oriented with a high sense of ownership and intellectual curiosity
• Comfortable with cold outreach to new prospective partners in person

Professional Experience & Knowledge

• 1-3 years of experience in business development, sales, customer-facing, or commercial roles; experience in district energy, real estate, engineering, or infrastructure is a plus but not required
• Genuine interest in community and industry engagement, networking, and relationship building
• Some exposure to financial or commercial analysis is beneficial, though not required at this level
• Strong commercial curiosity and an eagerness to learn the infrastructure and district energy industry
• Ability to support multiple projects, identify priorities, and meet deadlines
• Ability to help prepare structured business materials and communicate complex material clearly

Technical Skills & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, real estate, or a related field preferred
• Intermediate MS Office skills, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills
• Comfortable engaging a wide range of stakeholders, from operations staff and property managers to senior executives
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Good problem-solving skills, including the ability to help address issues on customers' behalf
• Familiarity with Salesforce as a CRM platform

Key Relationships

• Commercial Organization at CenTrio, and the broader Chicago market team
• CenTrio's existing customer base in Chicago
• The City of Chicago - relevant permitting, planning, and sustainability offices
• Local contractors, equipment suppliers, architects, and engineering firms
• International District Energy Association (IDEA), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Urban Land Institute (ULI), Chicago Loop Association (CLA), and other trade and membership organizations
• CenTrio's Engineering, Operations, and Finance teams
• Other members of the industry community, including real estate management companies and sustainability partnerships

Conditions of Employment

• Successful completion of Criminal Background Check and Drug Test
• Travel within the greater Chicago area is required; occasional travel to other CenTrio markets (local and non-local) including overnight stays will be required

Health, Safety & Environment (HSE)

CenTrio maintains a steadfast commitment to a proactive safety culture, with HSE being a collective responsibility throughout the organization. Your HSE accountability also encompasses:

• Promoting, ensuring, and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for your fellow workers and yourself so that everyone goes home injury-free
• Working in compliance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Industrial Regulations, Environmental Protection Act and Regulations, and HSE policies, programs, and procedures
• Identifying and reporting workplace HSE hazards and concerns to your supervisor immediately, and providing solutions where possible
• Immediately reporting all work-related injuries/illness to your supervisor