Commercial Director
About the job
- Eight to twelve years of professional experience, including significant experience in a B2C-focused scale-up environment, such as telecommunications, fintech, insurance, subscription models, or comparable markets.
- Demonstrated experience in a cross-functional role with profit-and-loss responsibility across multiple areas.
- Ability to use analytics as a steering tool, ask the right questions, and make decisions even when data is incomplete; the ability to analyze data directly is advantageous.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities, assess them quickly, and implement them independently.
- Willingness to work hands-on operationally while also developing overarching strategy.
- Experience leading across matrix structures and mobilizing teams without direct disciplinary authority.
- Ability to make decisions under uncertainty and prioritize in a fast-moving environment.
- Fluency in German and English.
- Develop and implement a coherent commercial strategy across all sales channels, including field sales, online/direct, price-comparison portals, and partnerships.
- Own central unit economics and channel profitability, continuously optimizing the channel mix.
- Collaborate closely with pricing, marketing, and product through matrix structures, steering commercial key performance indicators across functions.
- Adjust strategy regularly based on market dynamics, competitor activity, and customer behavior.
- Own the retention strategy, including cohort analyses, price sensitivity, offer design, and optimal timing.
- Steer retention activities in collaboration with marketing on lifecycle communications and with pricing.
- Advance the automation and scaling of customer retention processes on the technology platform.
- Assess commercially and scale new products and tariffs based on unit economics, product-market fit, and scalability.
- Lead the progression of pilot projects into scalable products using entrepreneurial judgment.
- Develop cross-selling and bundling strategies across energy retail, flexibility, low-carbon technology, and mobility business areas.
- Directly lead the sales teams and partnerships team, focusing on productivity, efficiency, and growth.
- Steer and develop the sales-platform strategy.
- Build and manage strategic partnerships with market partners and platforms.
- Lead multiple teams with direct and indirect responsibility across matrix structures.
- Work closely with the global network to share best practices and pursue joint initiatives.
- The ability to dive into data directly is described as advantageous.
About the company
Octopus Energy Group supplies 100% renewable electricity and gas to homes and businesses in multiple countries, offering tariffs such as Agile that adjust with wholesale costs. It operates Kraken, an in-house platform that automates billing, customer service, and grid management using AI to balance supply and demand; Kraken is licensed to other suppliers and will be spun off as a separate company. The group differentiates itself through clear pricing, strong customer service, and a scalable energy-technology platform that supports retail, generation, grid flexibility, and EV services. Its goal is to decarbonize energy use globally by making renewables more accessible and by enabling smarter grids, better pricing, and services like EV leasing and demand-response programs.
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
Growth Equity (Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$2.9B
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Founded
2016
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Uplight closed September 1, 2026, targeting 20 GW flexibility and $1 billion savings.
- Octopus bought BD Energy on September 1, 2026, strengthening automated power trading across Europe.
- Texas battery plans launched April 22, 2026, bundling storage, fixed pricing, and grid services.
What critics are saying
- Swaptopus with CATL faces U.S. security scrutiny and European manufacturer resistance.
- Ofgem fined Octopus £1.5 million in 2025, exposing billing and compliance weaknesses.
- Johnson v. Octopus Energy LLC and Sterling tribunal findings amplify U.S. and UK legal exposure.
What makes Octopus Energy unique
- Kraken spun out at $8.65 billion on January 5, 2026, proving software value.
- Octopus acquired Uplight on September 1, 2026, extending flexibility into eight top U.S. utilities.
- Bitong Energy launched January 30, 2026, exporting Octopus trading software into China's spot markets.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Paid Vacation
401(k) Company Match
Parental Leave
Flexible Work Hours
Company Equity
OE Group Share Scheme
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↓ -1%2 year growth
↑ 0%Greg Jackson has built Octopus Energy into Britain's largest energy provider, serving 12 million homes across eight countries, without traditional corporate structures. The company operates with no HR department, no bonuses outside sales roles, and no succession plan. Jackson runs the 13,000-person firm through weekly rhythms: Monday meetings reviewing performance data and Friday all-hands sessions recapping achievements. The company has no intranet or newsletters, forcing employees to attend Friday gatherings to stay informed. Octopus had revenues of £13.7 billion last year and achieved a $9 billion valuation at its last fundraising. Every employee receives equity, and Jackson maintains direct customer contact, having met roughly 1,000 customers at recent events. The CEO refuses to discuss succession planning with his board, believing it creates harmful politics. His instruction to directors: "If I go under a bus, you will have to have several meetings, and then everything will be fine.
UK energy technology companies have raised $16.4 billion across 901 funded businesses, according to Tracxn's Energy Tech UK Report. Investment is concentrating on fewer companies, with annual deal volume falling from 174 rounds in 2021 to 78 in 2025, whilst funding increased from $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion. Late-stage rounds dominated, accounting for $1.6 billion of 2025's $2.4 billion total. Octopus Energy's $850 million Series G alone exceeded the $624 million raised across the entire sector in 2026 year to date. Energy storage systems attracted $622 million over the past year, a thirteenfold increase year-on-year. Charging solutions secured $886 million and clean energy utilities raised $950 million. Seed rounds fell from 93 in 2021 to 37 in 2025, narrowing the pipeline of emerging companies.
Octopus Energy acquires Danish firm BD Energy to enhance its tech-driven power trading and grow renewable energy capacity across Europe.
Octopus Energy and China's CATL have announced a joint venture to build a battery-swapping network for electric trucks across Europe, but the plan faces significant industry scepticism. Analysts warn that resistance from manufacturers and compatibility challenges could derail the initiative. European truck makers including Volvo and Scania are expected to oppose what they view as Chinese encroachment into their market. Critics argue that existing charging infrastructure already functions adequately, making battery swapping unnecessary. The joint venture must overcome substantial hurdles, particularly ensuring the system works across different truck models. Industry observers question whether manufacturers will adopt standardised battery systems required for swapping to succeed, potentially limiting the network's viability across Europe's diverse commercial vehicle fleet.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), a Chinese firm blacklisted by the US Pentagon as a "Chinese military company", will install battery-swapping stations for electric lorries across Britain from next year. CATL has denied any military links. The company is partnering with Octopus Energy, the UK's largest energy supplier, through a joint venture called Swaptopus. They plan to build 30 battery hubs across Europe by 2035, capable of supporting 300,000 electric trucks. The stations allow drivers to replace depleted batteries in under five minutes. The move could trigger security scrutiny, following a previous case where Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Ming Yang was blocked from UK projects after US national security concerns. CATL already operates over 300 battery-swapping stations in China, where electric models comprise more than 30% of the heavy-truck market.