Business Development Associate

Associate, Solutions DevelopmentThe Solutions Development team at Southern Company focuses on creating and enhancing unregulated energy solutions tailored for the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and Municipal, University, School & Hospital (MUSH) markets. Our goal is to optimize the delivery of these non-kWh products and services, making the business more operationally efficient and profitable. Key product lines include outdoor lighting, behind-the-meter infrastructure and energy services.Leveraging leading-edge technologies and partnerships, we develop and implement solutions with operating company partners that increase capabilities to meet our customers' needs. This role directly supports Southern Company operating companies' growth in unregulated solutions by improving portfolio performance, accelerating commercialization of innovative technologies, and enabling sales and operations teams to deliver value to C&I and MUSH customers.The Associate will contribute to unregulated Solutions Development by creating and analyzing business cases, evaluating existing product performance, and developing go-to-market strategies. This role frequently operates in early-stage, ambiguous problem spaces and will define solution concepts, test assumptions, and translate information into executive-ready recommendations. The Associate helps shape and scale business model approaches for multiple C&I and MUSH products across Southern Company operating companies.The ideal candidate possesses a combination of analytical skills and commercial mindset. Experience in business model development, technology evaluation, marketing strategy, sales enablement, and cross-functional teams is desired. This role contributes to communication and alignment across a wide array of internal partners and collaboration with external providers.Key Responsibilities:Business Case and Model Development: Create detailed business cases, including financial and market analysis, and work on continuous improvement of business models to align with strategic goals.Data and Market Analysis: Utilize customer data and market research to inform business cases and go-to-market strategies, providing actionable insights.Operating Company Collaboration: Partner with Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power, and system partners to align solution design, commercial models, and deployment approaches.Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with a cross-functional group of teams including sales, technical teams, and customers to understand requirements, define solution scope and create proposal terms and templates that meet customer needs.Customer and Partnership Engagement: Engage with MUSH and C&I customers, gather feedback, refine approaches, and assist in identifying and developing strategic partnerships.Strategy Development and Execution: Create and assist in executing go-to-market strategies, including market segmentation, targeting, positioning, and sales enablement.Performance Measurement and Continuous Improvement: Track and analyze KPIs related to go-to-market activities, provide regular updates, and contribute to the continuous improvement of business models and strategies.Regulatory Understanding: Ability to understand regulatory concepts to design solutions that are complementary to the core business.Effective Communication: Create detailed PowerPoints to effectively communicate complex concepts. Lead meetings with stakeholders.Qualifications:Bachelor's degree required1+ year in consulting, financial analysis, marketing, product, sales support or a related role with preference to energy sector experienceHighly proficient in PowerPointEffective writing skills to communicate with front-line through executive level employeesSelf-directed learner with an ability to operate in open-ended situations and deliver resultsKnowledge of the utility or energy market with a passion for driving innovative solutionsAnalytical and quantitative skills, with knowledge of financial modelingProficiency in marketing and sales enablement tools to pull and analyze dataStrong communication and presentation skills with passion to grow theseUnderstanding of market dynamics and customer segmentationAbility to work collaboratively with cross-functional teamsLocation and Flexibility:This role is based in Atlanta, GA or Birmingham, AL with in-office expectations. Travel to partner offices, project sites or conferences is expected once per month, on average.