Manager, sales development

Watershed; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sustainability platform company is seeking a Sales Development Manager in San Francisco to lead and develop a team of SDRs. In this role, you will own pipeline generation and execute strategies while closely collaborating with Account Executives and marketing. The ideal candidate has at least 1-2 years managing SDRs in an enterprise SaaS environment, strong coaching instincts, and curiosity about AI in sales. This position requires in-office work four days a week, fostering a collaborative culture.

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of experience managing an SDR or BDR team in an Enterprise-led SaaS company.
• Experience in enterprise sales development motion.
• Track record of exceeding team pipeline targets.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of SDRs for pipeline generation.
• Own pipeline generation targets and drive execution.
• Build outbound prospecting strategies for enterprise accounts.

Skills

Team leadership

Coaching

Pipeline management

Data analysis

Communication

Tools

Salesforce

Outreach

Gong

Job description

About Watershed

Watershed is the enterprise sustainability platform. Companies like Airbnb, Carlyle Group, FedEx, Visa, and Dr. Martens use Watershed to manage climate and ESG data, produce audit‑ready metrics for voluntary and regulatory reporting including CSRD, and drive real decarbonization. We are looking for team members who love product‑building, want to work hard at a mission‑oriented startup, and will collaborate with us in shaping the culture of a growing team.

We have offices in San Francisco, New York, Denver, London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Mexico City, and remote team members across the US and Europe. We hope that you'll be interested in joining us!

The role

We're looking for a Sales Development Manager to lead a team of SDRs focused on generating pipeline for our North American sales team. You'll own the day‑to‑day leadership of your team: coaching reps, running pipeline plays, holding a high bar on execution, hiring, and building the systems that make your team consistently productive.

This isn't a "manage from a dashboard" role. You'll be in the trenches with your reps, listening to calls, workshopping messaging, and helping them break into complex enterprise accounts. You'll also partner closely with Account Executives, marketing, and revenue operations to make sure the pipeline your team generates is high‑quality and well‑positioned to convert.

The right person for this role is a coach and a builder. Someone who gets energy from developing people, is obsessive about pipeline quality over vanity metrics, and wants to be part of a team that's figuring out what world‑class pipeline generation looks like at a category‑defining climate tech company.

What You'll Do

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of SDRs responsible for building the pipeline that powers Watershed’s growth.

• Own your team's pipeline generation targets and drive consistent execution against weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals

• Build and refine outbound prospecting strategies, sequences, and plays tailored to enterprise and strategic accounts

• Run effective 1:1s, team meetings, training sessions, and pipeline reviews that improve rep performance week over week

• Partner with AEs and Sales Managers to ensure strong SDR‑AE alignment on account strategy, lead quality, and handoff processes

• Analyze pipeline data to identify what's working, diagnose what's not, and make changes quickly

• Hire and onboard new SDRs as the team grows, raising the bar on talent with each hire

• Collaborate cross‑functionally with marketing, sales ops, and enablement to improve lead flow, messaging, and tooling

• Bring curiosity and initiative to how AI and new technologies can make your team faster and sharper

What We’re Looking For

Required:

• 1‑2+ years of experience managing an SDR or BDR team in an Enterprise‑led SaaS/tech company. 4+ years of experience in tech.

• Direct experience in an enterprise sales development motion (not exclusively SMB or PLG)

• Track record of hitting or exceeding team pipeline targets

• Strong coaching instincts. You default to developing your people, not doing the work for them.

• Comfort with data. You can pull a report, spot a trend, and translate it into a coaching conversation or a process change.

• Genuine curiosity about AI and how it can transform sales development workflows, personalization, and productivity

Preferred:

• Experience as an Account Executive or in a closing role earlier in your career

• Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, Gong, and similar sales tech

• Background in or passion for climate, sustainability, or environmental technology

• Experience operating in a high‑growth environment where processes are still being built

What Success Looks Like

In your first 90 days, you'll have a clear handle on your team's strengths and gaps, a coaching plan for each rep, and a point of view on what needs to change to accelerate the pipeline. Within 6 months, your team will be operating with consistent weekly execution, clear playbooks, and a track record of delivering qualified pipeline that converts to new customers.

Why Watershed

You'll be joining a pipeline generation team that takes the craft seriously. We think deeply about how to build repeatable, high‑quality pipeline at scale. We invest in our people, experiment constantly, and hold each other to a high standard. If you want to lead a team where the work matters and the bar is high, this is the place.

Must be willing to work from an office 4 days per week (except for remote roles)

Watershed has hub offices in San Francisco, New York, London, and Mexico City and satellite offices in Denver, Sydney, Paris, and Berlin. Where we have offices, employees are expected to be in office for 4 days per week. Certain jobs are open to being remote and will be specifically noted on the jobs page and in the job description if so.

What’s the interview process like?

It starts the same for every candidate: getting to know the team members through 1 to 2 conversations about Watershed, your experience, and your interests. Next steps can vary by role, but usual next steps are a skill or experience interview (e.g. a coding interview for an engineer, a portfolio review for a designer, deeper experience call for other roles) which leads to a virtual or in person interview panel. We prioritize transparency and lack of surprise throughout the process.

What if I need accommodations for my interview?

At Watershed, we are dedicated to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process. We provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities, long‑term conditions, mental health needs, religious observances, neurodivergence, or pregnancy‑related support requirements. If you need assistance during your process, please contact your recruiter.