The Requirements

A strong candidate for this position may come from a variety of backgrounds, including finance, sales / marketing or engineering. Whether or not you have experience in all these areas, you will need the aptitude to become fluent in them all, so that you can clearly and compellingly explain the technology, the advantages and the economics of our offerings. In addition, to be a good fit for this opportunity you will have:

• A bachelor's degree and 5+ years of relevant experience and / or training, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Business and financial acumen, including the ability to interpret and use financial models; experience creating models is a plus.
• Technical savvy and the ability to comprehend and discuss technical information. Experience in engineering or technical sales / service roles could be helpful.
• Experience in the energy, waste management or transportation sectors is preferred but not required.
• Familiarity with MS Office applications.

Just as important as your experience and skills will be the following characteristics and competencies:

• Willingness to "roll up your sleeves" and handle administrative tasks such as developing RFPs.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to present to groups.
• Versatility and the willingness and desire to become proficient in multiple aspects of the business.
• The ability to learn and apply information quickly.
• High energy and a drive to excel.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities.

You also will need to be willing and able to travel. Initially your travel will be minimal, but moving forward you should expect to travel up to 20% of the time to attend trade shows and conferences or to meet with potential partners.

Please note that our offices currently are in Seal Beach, where you will start, but we are planning to move to Newport Beach by the end of 2013.

The Role

The Business Development (BD) team includes the President of CERF and the Director of Business Development, to whom you will report. We approach BD from the C-suite level, leveraging the President's strong industry presence, as well as from the RFP level. You may also interact with the Senior Vice President of Operations for CERF, who has an extensive network of contacts in the waste management industry.

Initially you will provide operational support to the President and Director, as you learn the business, which is unique -- not a lot of other companies are doing what we do. Over time we'll look to you to become more independent and your role will evolve. In this broad role you will:

• Develop project proposals and bids in response to RFPs.
• Develop marketing materials and PowerPoint presentations for industry conferences and meetings with potential biomethane project and strategic partners. You'll also represent Clean Energy Renewable Fuels at industry conferences.
• Track and maintain detailed project pipeline information that includes next steps and due dates, and distribute regular status updates to the project origination team.
• Develop and assist with financial pro-forma models and related analysis to evaluate the relative returns of biomethane projects.
• Develop and negotiate term sheets and contracts to acquire and distribute biomethane from third party producers as a vehicle fuel.
• Assist with the completion of biomethane project due diligence and feasibility analysis including analyzing opportunities for the sale of biomethane based on the project location and type.
• Develop a sophisticated understanding of the potential markets for biomethane and implications for project feasibility and financial returns.
• Track and understand the off-take markets for the sale of biomethane as a power generation fuel, including analysis of state RPS and renewable energy credit programs.
• Track and utilize environmental commodity pricing and potential term sale agreements to maximize revenue security and transparency for biomethane projects, including RINs (under the Renewable Fuel Standard) and LCFS (California low carbon fuel standard) credit markets.
• Develop a sophisticated understanding of the U.S. natural gas marketing and distribution system and implications of regional natural gas pricing for biomethane project development economics.
• Support biomethane, RIN and LCFS sales operations and logistics.
• Support public policy initiatives that promote or incentivize alternative fuels and biomethane.

Once you have mastered our business and markets, you should be in a position to drive your own BD initiatives. The one constant in this industry is that things change, but those initiatives most likely will fall into two areas:

• Projects that we initiate and develop ourselves, such as the McCommas Bluff landfill gas processing facility in Dallas, TX (see the About Biomethane tab for more info).
• Projects initiated by others, such as wastewater treatment plant, waste digesters -- any facility or process that transforms organic waste into biomethane that we can capture.

Pictured: biomethane fuels can be delivered anywhere liquid or compressed natural gas (LNG or CNG) fuels can be, such as this multi-use fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport. The station serves taxis and transit vehicles as well as 18-wheelers.

Why CERF

Ground floor impact -- not only will you help shape this newly created role, but you also will influence this business moving forward. As with any early stage, entrepreneurial venture, there is an element of risk, but if you're the person we're looking for, the opportunity to play a key role in a fast-paced, high energy environment far outweighs that risk.

Professional development -- the diversity of this role and the youth of this industry mean that you'll surely learn new things. You'll be involved with everything from branding to the implementation of a new CRM system; in the morning you may conduct due diligence research for a project and in the afternoon act as the face of CERF at a tradeshow. And you'll "green" your career in the process!

Intriguing, dynamic industry -- the world is just beginning to explore this emerging industry and it changes day to day. For example, our main efforts have been in reclaiming biomethane from landfills, but this is now a movement to keep organic waste out of landfills. But that organic waste will have to go somewhere, and you'll help us follow it and transform it into opportunity.

The green standard for renewability -- use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 88% as compared to gasoline and represents an important domestic resource. Sources of biomethane are plentiful and offer a positive picture for the future: for example, our Dallas operation sits at a landfill that is not scheduled to close until 2042, and we estimate that the landfill will continue to produce biogas for approximately 30 years after it closes.

Proven strong leadership -- you will join a team of accomplished, seasoned professionals at Clean Energy, led by Andrew Littlefair. Mr. Littlefair served as President of Pickens Fuel Corp (PFC), predecessor company of Clean Energy, which he co-founded in 1997 with Boone Pickens and was Staff Assistant to then President Ronald Reagan in the Office of Presidential Advance from 1983 to 1987. Our executive team's profiles can be viewed at CleanEnergyFuels.com.

Excellent compensation -- in addition to a competitive salary (based on experience) and bonus incentive program, we offer a comprehensive benefits package as well as a performance-based compensation package.

Pictured: Clean Energy is building America's Natural Gas Highway, a coast-to-coast infrastructure to deliver CNG, LNG and RNG to an expanding customer base. You'll play a key role in ensuring a steady supply of RNG to meet the growing demand.

About Biomethane

Biomethane is pipeline-quality, high BTU methane derived from biogas and is an entirely renewable and readily available low-carbon alternative fuel that can be produced locally from organic waste. Chemically the same as conventional natural gas, biomethane is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter such as animal manure, sewage, and municipal solid waste. After it is processed to required standards of purity, biomethane becomes a renewable substitute for natural gas and, once compressed or liquefied, can be used to fuel natural gas vehicles.

According to U.S. Department of Energy estimates, there were 70,000 biomethane-fueled vehicles on the road worldwide in 2010, up from 12,000 in 2007. Europe has most of these vehicles. Germany and Sweden are successfully using biomethane to power public transportation vehicles. In Sweden alone, more than half of the gas used in its 11,500 natural gas vehicles is biomethane. Germany and Austria have established targets of 20% biomethane in natural gas vehicle fuel.

In the United States, biomethane use in vehicles is in its preliminary stages but is steadily gaining momentum and support. In California, biomethane produced from landfill waste creates both CNG and LNG for use as a gasoline or diesel substitute to reduce emissions in an array of vehicles: light-duty vehicles, transit buses, solid waste trucks, and off road heavy-duty equipment. Use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 88% as compared to gasoline and is an important domestic resource that can reduce our national dependence on foreign oil.

CERF owns and operates a landfill gas processing facility in Dallas, TX that produces renewable biomethane that is currently delivered into the nation's gas pipeline network and displaces conventional natural gas. The McCommas Bluff landfill -- the third largest landfill gas operation in the United States -- opened in 1975 and is scheduled to close in 2042. It is estimated that pipeline quality biomethane gas will continue to be produced for approximately 30 years after the landfill closes. The plant is currently capable of processing 9.4 million cubic feet a day of landfill gas into approximately 36,000 gasoline gallon equivalents of pipeline quality biomethane. Dallas Clean Energy plans to increase this capacity to approximately 14.9 million cubic feet a day and make further improvements that should enable the production of approximately 60,000 gasoline gallon equivalents a day of pipeline quality biomethane.

We also developed a project to process and sell renewable natural gas recovered from the Sauk Trail Hills Landfill site in Canton, Michigan, building a high-BTU landfill gas processing plant that produces renewable natural gas (RNG) for injection into the natural gas pipeline system. The RNG is distributed for vehicle fuel use to natural gas fleets, Clean Energy customers and direct use by renewable power customers. The facility opened in 2012 and, once it is at capacity, output of clean, green bio-methane is expected to equate to 6 million diesel gasoline gallon equivalents annually.

Keys to Success

This role calls for a jack-of-all-trades who can develop an understanding of the technology, engineering, operations and economics of our business and apply that knowledge in a variety of projects involving different industries and markets. You'll interact with diverse professionals, from Design Engineers to Financial Analysts and from city council members to federal regulators. All this means you'll need to be willing to step outside your comfort zone from time to time.

We know the learning curve will be steep, but we'll look to you to be proactive about getting up to speed as quickly as possible. You can count on having a lot of things going on at once, so you'll need to manage your time effectively and keep track of a large number of details without losing sight of the big picture. Flexibility and adaptability will be essential: CERF and Clean Energy continue to grow and evolve, and your position will too.

About CE & CERF

Taking the Lead in Clean-air Transportation

Clean Energy has a broad customer base in the solid waste, transit, ports, shuttle, taxi, trucking, airport and municipal fleet markets, fueling thousands of vehicles at more than 280 strategic locations (and growing) across the United States and Canada.

Clean Energy owns and operates two LNG production plants, one in Willis, TX and one in Boron, CA, with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand increases. We also own and operate landfill gas facilities in Dallas, TX and Canton, MI that produce renewable methane gas or biomethane for delivery in the nation's gas pipeline network.

The Clean Energy vision extends beyond servicing the high fuel-use requirements of fleet operators. We are committed to helping businesses access the measurable advantages of clean-fuel solutions. Simultaneously, we are committed to protecting our environment as the leader in clean-air transportation. Clean Energy has proven that business and environmental goals can indeed find common ground, with mutually profitable results. Our vision and efforts have received recognition and awards from business and environmental organizations alike.

Developing biomethane energy resources for renewable fuel

Acknowledging the growing potential of biomethane as a renewable, low-emission fuel for fleet vehicles, Clean Energy formed Clean Energy Renewable Fuels (CERF) to develop and produce biomethane energy resources from landfills and other organic waste facilities. While natural gas is 23% cleaner in carbon emissions than diesel in heavy-duty vehicles and far cleaner in NOX and PM emissions, biomethane enables an 88% reduction in carbon emissions when displacing diesel or gasoline.

Pictured: the political climate is ripe for expansion in environmentally friendly fuels, and Clean Energy Renewable Fuels is in the vanguard of the industry.