Commercial Account Manager (Renewable Energy)

NOA is seeking a Commercial Account Manager for its Trading Operations team in Cape Town, South Africa. The role involves managing customer relationships, ensuring operational readiness, and aligning customer needs with NOA's objectives in the renewable energy sector. The position requires strong commercial judgment and technical skills to support customers on their net-zero goals. NOA aims to create a sustainable energy landscape and enhance customer experiences.
About NOA

Established in 2022, NOA (an acronym for Net Zero Africa) is a leading renewable energy independent power producer (IPP), aggregator and energy trader, licensed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. We empower commercial and industrial companies to reach their net-zero goals while securing long-term energy savings. Backed by R3.9 billion in equity capital from Old Mutual’s African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), we currently have 1475 MW of generation capacity under construction.

At NOA, we believe that energy is life; it is the pulse that powers our industries, our economy and empowers our communities. We are currently at a unique, once-in-a-generation moment in South African history, similar to the birth of the gold industry or the mobile revolution. It is a mission-critical time, and we have the right partners and expertise to shape the creation of an entirely new energy landscape.

What truly sets us apart is The NOA Way, our intentionally crafted culture and roadmap for excellence. We aren't just a utility; we are a tight, high-functioning team of all-in problem solvers who lean into complexity to find original solutions. We speak simply, act big, and step forward to own the changes our nation needs.

Our impact is immense: we are here to solve the immediate energy crisis, fuel the growth of the South African economy, and create a global blueprint for a decarbonised future. We are building a phenomenal team to do something magnificent together, and we make sure to savour the journey along the way.

Role Purpose:

NOA Trading is seeking a competent Commercial Account Manager to join its Trading Operations team. This role owns the end-to-end customer journey from post-contracting through onboarding to long-term electricity supply and optimisation.

The Commercial Account Manager acts as the primary commercial, operational and technical relationship lead for customers. The role ensures operational readiness, contractual compliance, the realisation of commercial value, and a consistently high-quality customer experience.

Working closely with Sales, Trading Operations, Finance, and Legal, the role aligns customer requirements with NOA’s commercial and operational objectives while supporting customers on their net-zero and renewable energy transition journeys.

This is a demanding role requiring strong commercial judgement, technical aptitude, and the ability to lead complex engagements in a fast-paced and evolving electricity market.

Key Accountabilities:

Customer Relationship Management:
• Build, manage and sustain trusted, long-term relationships with key individuals/ roles at high-value customers.
• Understand the customers energy strategy and plans – what are the important decisions that they will be making in the near future; operational expansions/contractions; key energy cost drivers; how they identify, plan and approve energy decisions; regulatory / market challenges
• Aligned with the customer energy strategy; Develop and maintain a customer “roadmap” of how we expect NOAs relationship with the customer to grow over the next 3-5 years
• Act as the primary point of accountability for customer satisfaction, performance and retention.
• Continuously assess and improve the NOA customer experience, identifying opportunities to enhance engagement, value and service delivery.

Contract Management and Compliance:
• Support post-signature contract management, ensuring compliance with contractual obligations across supply, settlement and operational requirements.
• Support the identification of contractual risks, manage issues proactively, and support optimisation or amendment of agreements where appropriate.
• Work closely with Legal and Trading Operations to interpret contract terms and translate them into operational processes.

Commercial Management and Value Realisation:
• Identify customer opportunities to increase renewable penetration, improve cost efficiency, and enhance customer outcomes within contractual frameworks.
• Build deep insight into customer performance, consumption patterns and allocation structures, using this insight to guide commercial decisions that strengthen the partnership and improve outcomes for both parties.

Market and Regulatory Expertise:
• Maintain a strong understanding of the South African electricity market, regulatory environment and market reforms.
• Guide customers through regulatory, market and structural changes, translating complexity into clear and actionable insights.

Customer Onboarding and Project Delivery:
• Lead the end-to-end onboarding of new customers, managing timelines, dependencies and deliverables across multiple internal and external workstreams.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams, including Sales, Trading Operations, Finance and Legal, to ensure operational readiness for the supply phase.
• Support the creation of new onboarding channels, including customer content and onboarding roadmaps.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting:
• Track and report on customer performance, including consumption, allocations and commercial outcomes (supported by customer analyst and reporting systems)
• Manage the process to develop forecasts for customer demand and align with customer view.
• Provide insights and recommendations to improve service delivery, customer value and internal decision making.

Issue Resolution and Escalation Management:
• Act as the first point of contact for customer escalations and complex issues.
• Lead issue resolution across teams – pulling in legal, engineering or analytical resources as appropriate - ensuring timely outcomes while maintaining customer confidence and trust.

Process, Content and Workflow Development:
• Support the design, implementation and continuous improvement of customer engagement workflows, standards and governance frameworks.
• Develop customer-facing materials, including guides, presentations and FAQs, to support onboarding, education and ongoing engagement.
• Support the building of internal tools, reporting and documentation to improve consistency, scalability and operational efficiency.

Minimum qualifications required:
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Economics or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification is advantageous.

Experience:
• A minimum of three years’ experience in a customer-facing commercial role in a large-scale B2B setting
• Experience working in a regulated environment or tech start-up environment is advantageous.
• Demonstrated ability to realise commercial value for clients.
• Proven experience in developing, improving and managing processes to drive consistency and efficiency.
• Experience managing large corporate accounts, with exposure to energy or renewables advantageous but not essential.

Communication Skills:
• Ability to communicate effectively with customer teams and internal stakeholders.
• Able to interpret technical concepts and communicate them clearly, particularly around energy usage and regulatory requirements.

Core Attributes and Capabilities:
• Highly customer-focused, with a strong drive to deliver tangible outcomes.
• Detail-oriented, thorough and disciplined in execution.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving and sometimes ambiguous environment.
• Comfortable with and experienced in managing conflict and customer demands and building a stronger relationship through resolving conflict.
• Organised, self-driven and capable of managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Solid commercial background – knows how to identify and focus on the issues that have the biggest commercial impact.
• Collaborative and team-oriented, while able to operate independently and take ownership.
• Adaptable, with a willingness to learn new systems, platforms and processes as the business evolves.

Why join NOA?

A once-in-a-career mission:

Joining NOA is an invitation to be part of a growing team at the very forefront of the South African renewable energy industry. We are a dynamic, mission-driven organisation with strong financial backing and a deep commitment to unlocking a just energy transition for our nation. This is a unique moment in history, a chance to shape a new industry from its inception.

The NOA Way: culture by design

We don't leave our culture to chance; we have intentionally crafted a roadmap called The NOA Way to ensure our business is a remarkable place that houses your highest aspirations. We are all-in problem solvers who think big and move with speed to make a significant impact. We value performance connections, the belief that through genuine collaboration, we can achieve results far greater than the sum of our individual parts.

Investment in your evolution: Powering your career?

We provide a world-class environment designed to help you thrive in a demanding sector:
• The Powerkit: Every new team member participates in a day-long offsite "experience" in Cape Town to master the skills needed to excel within the NOA system.
• Continuous growth: You will benefit from a constant feedback loop through our RAP (Review, Analyse, Plan) cadence, alongside coaching resources and Lunch and Learn sessions to own your career path.
• Supportive wellbeing: We promote true work-life integration with flexible hours, hybrid work-from-home options, and wellness initiatives specifically designed to "refuel your tank".

Competitive reward & equity:

We recognise and reward exceptional performance with a framework that allows you to participate in our collective success:
• Market-leading compensation: We offer a competitive salary tailored to your experience level.
• Incentives for impact: You will be eligible for a performance-related short-term incentive (STI) bonus.
• Ownership culture: We offer meaningful equity investment exposure through our staff share scheme, ensuring you are truly invested in the future we are building.