Sr. Manager, Business Development

Society of American Foresters.; Bangor (ME); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, life, and LTD

401(k) with discretionary employer-con

Paid vacation, sick leave, and 16 paid

Holidays; charitable donation matching

Remote work possibility for the right

Job summary

Seven Islands Land Company in Bangor, Maine seeks a Senior Manager, Business Development to build the origination engine and drive new revenue streams across timberlands and renewal assets. You will originate and structure leases, assess ecosystem services, and negotiate with diverse partners to grow value.

You will report to the CEO and collaborate with the CFO and leadership, while managing a pipeline from ground up in a privately held, FSC/SFI dual-certified forest portfolio.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in business development, land/asset management, infrastructure leasing, or real estate.
• Financial fluency with DCF, IRR, NPV, and sensitivity analysis.
• Forest/land-valuation literacy with credibility for timberland discussions.
• Patient, principled negotiator protecting long-term ownership value.
• Bachelor's in forestry/NRM/real estate/finance; MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and prioritize an opportunity pipeline across asset categories.
• Originate and structure leases and licenses—renewable energy, grid, and non-timber.
• Develop new revenue streams including highest-and-best-use opportunities.
• Assess ecosystem services and natural capital opportunities across timberlands.
• Source acquisitions and coordinate with brokers to close deals.
• Underwrite opportunities with models (DCF, sensitivity) and go/no-go reviews.
• Negotiate with developers, utilities, and landowners to protect value.

Skills

Deal making

Financial analysis

Negotiation

Forest/land valuation

Capital allocation

Executive communication

Project finance

Education

Bachelor's degree in forestry/NRM/real estate/finance

MBA or master's in natural-resource economics

Tools

Excel

Job description

SEVEN ISLANDS LAND COMPANY

Sr. Manager, Business Development

Bangor, Maine Full-time, Salaried Exempt $90,000 - $120,000 plus annual bonus eligibility

Every Acre Has More Than One Future. Your Job is to Find it.

Seven Islands Land Company manages the Pingree Family timberlands and manufacturing assets in northern and western Maine — a privately owned, 820,000-acre working forest, family-held since 1841, dual-certified under FSC and SFI, and protected by the largest working-forest conservation easement ever completed in the United States.

That forest is very good at what it already does. But 820,000 acres holds other value opportunities: solar and wind, transportation and communications corridors, ecosystem services and natural capital solutions, non-timber products, recreational and commercial leases, and acreage whose highest and best use is something other than growing trees. We have an ownership sanctioned strategy that says to start exploring. We do not yet have the person who will go get it.

Why This Role Is Different

You build the function, not inherit it. No defined playbook to follow — you will build the origination engine, the underwriting discipline, and the counterparty network from the ground up.

You report to the CEO. A direct line to executive leadership. You will coordinate directly with the CFO and the Pingree Associates President and present your own quarterly opportunity review to executive leadership.

Our owner thinks in centuries. That patience informs what we will sign — and it is also why a well-structured lease or a carefully sited renewable project can actually get done here, at scale, with no quarterly earnings call pulling at it.

What You Will Own

• Build and prioritize an opportunity pipeline across defined asset-opportunity categories
• Originate and structure commercial leases and licenses — renewable energy, grid and communications infrastructure, and non-timber products.
• Develop new recreational and HBU revenue, including disciplined highest-and-best-use and small-acreage land transactions.
• Assess ecosystem services and natural capital solutions opportunities across current and future timberland assets.
• Source and evaluate targeted timberland acquisitions; identify disposition candidates and coordinate with brokers and advisors to close.
• Underwrite every opportunity to stated criteria, build defensible models (DCF, sensitivity, break-even), and deliver go / no-go recommendations.
• Negotiate with developers, utilities, recreational operators, and neighboring landowners — while protecting a two-hundred-year reputation.

Compensation & Benefits

• $90,000 – $120,000, commensurate with experience, qualifications, and internal equity, plus annual bonus eligibility.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, accident, and disability insurance; 401(k) with discretionary employer contribution.
• Paid vacation, paid sick leave, and 16 paid holidays; charitable donation matching.
• Based in Bangor, with frequent overnight travel within Maine and occasional out-of-state travel. Open to remote work for the right candidate.

What We Are Looking For

• A closer. 7+ years in business development, land/asset management, infrastructure leasing, or real estate, with deals you closed and cash flow or margin you can point to.
• Financial fluency as a working tool, not vocabulary. DCF, IRR, NPV, sensitivity analysis, and capital-allocation reasoning — underwritten to criteria and defended to executive audiences.
• Credibility in the woods. Enough forest and land-valuation literacy to be taken seriously by both a timberland manager and a project finance counterparty. Direct timberland or natural-resource exposure strongly preferred.
• A patient, principled negotiator who protects long-term ownership value, builds a durable external network, and knows which deals to walk away from.
• Education. Bachelor's degree in forestry, natural-resource management, real estate, finance, business, or a related field. MBA or master's in natural-resource economics preferred.

We know the candidate who checks every box may not exist. If you bring exceptional deal-making and financial discipline but are newer to timberland — or deep forest-industry credibility and are ready to grow into the capital side — we want to hear from you.