Network Development Director

The organisation

Fastned seeks to combat climate change by accelerating the transition towards electric mobility. The company aims at building a top European network of 1000 large and scalable fast charging stations in prime locations, where electric drivers can charge their vehicles with sun and wind energy. Growing the network is crucial to provide freedom to electric drivers. In 2021, Fastned grew more than 100% compared to 2020 and this stellar growth is only expected to accelerate considering the expansion of the past months. The company’s growth is based on the successful acquisition of key locations through various public tenders that secure batches of attractive sites, and long-term land leases that provide a platform for investments. This is complemented with long-term agreements with commercial partners along highways and key urban routes.

Fastned currently operates in six countries. It has a head office in Amsterdam and offices in Germany, UK, Switzerland, Belgium and France, with a team of over 100 people of 28 nationalities. The organization is young and has a flat structure: everyone gets a lot of responsibility, an entrepreneurial mindset is expected. Decisions are made fast, with a focus on improving the customer experience and keeping things as simple as possible.

The position

Fastned is combating climate change by rapidly growing the European network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles. It operates in six countries and more than doubled revenue in 2021.  The Network Development Director is the driving force behind the expansion of the network of charging locations, as a team leader, commercial problem-solver, and governmental ambassador. This is an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneurial strategic thinker to join a fast-growing company with a cause.

Tasks & responsibilities

The Network Development Director is the driving force behind the expansion of the Fastned network across Europe and in the lead of defining, implementing, and driving the network development strategy. The key to success here is to find new ways to grow, not just to acquire new locations but to identify how to grow at an accelerated pace.

“How do we get there faster? What are the biggest obstacles? How do we better educate governments? The Network Development Director needs to find new roads to Rome!” – Michiel Langezaal, Co-founder & CEO

Every Fastned country has senior teams dedicated to network development, tendering, and partnerships. The Network Development Director is their field marshal, the one person to build the strategy, keep oversight, remove bottlenecks, guide the teams with cross-country best-practices and making them even more effective in their jobs. This means scaling what works and stopping what does not work, tailored to each market, working closely with the Public Affairs team to structure and review tenders and advocate them with ministers. Therefore, the Network Development Director is a leader, a problem-solver, and an ambassador for Fastned’s growth.

The Network Development Director combines hard commercial skills with soft relationship skills, not only with the country teams, but also when interacting with the other members of Fastned’s executive team and with potential partners and investors. Apart from identifying new ways to grow, Fastned is already active in growing through public tenders and by setting up partnerships with commercial players, being either landlord or consumer outlets. Strong strategic thinking is required as very few pieces of land are in fact suitable, visible, available, and connected. This is a key challenge for Fastned, and specifically the Network Development Director, to overcome.

“The Network Development Director just loves to break open the markets, develop new territories, and make it happen!” – Michiel Langezaal, Co-founder & CEO

This is an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneurial ex-consultant or business developer with strong strategic leadership skills to join a fast-growing company that tries to make the world more environmentally friendly and electric driving more convenient.

Candidate profile*

• University degree
• Minimum 10 years of experience
• Experience introducing new concepts and growing their market presence
• Previous position in Management/Executive Teams
• Excellent project management, presentation, and organizational skills
• Fluent English; Dutch, German and/or French is preferred

* Research shows that while male candidates feel confident enough to apply when they meet about 60% of the requirements, female candidates only apply when they tick every box. So if this role has your name on it, but you’re not sure about the criteria, we still want to hear from you.

Interested?

You can apply to this position by using the link below. Fastned is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.