Only together can we fight for a fair, sustainable and joyful next era.

Demos Helsinki is a globally operating, non-profit independent think tank. We are a community of committed experts and we carry out consultative and research projects together with hundreds of partners, including governments and public agencies, foundations, UN organisations, the European Commission, the civil society, and companies. Over the past 20 years, we have grown into an international organisation of 70+ people working around the world on more than 80 projects per year, with an annual revenue of over €6 million.

We are now entering a new strategic phase building on our 20 years of experience creating societal impact. We are shaping a new forward-looking business model suitable for this era. While our priority is always societal impact, resilient and diverse funding is the foundation to pursue that and to create and shape opportunities for impact.

About the role

As Revenue Lead, you own our sales and revenue. You are accountable for leading sales and securing sustainable and diversified funding. You are motivated to spot, shape, and convert opportunities for societal impact into sustainable revenue. You lead from the front and inspire others: happy to roll up your sleeves, whether that means writing the proposal, making the call or closing the deal yourself, you turn opportunities into results. You combine strong, hands-on sales capacity with an understanding of complex, partnership-driven environments. You understand that sales is a means for impact. Together with the leadership team and sales task force, you will make sure that Demos Helsinki continues to operate in a sustainable manner.

Key responsibilities

• Sales operations: Lead and develop how sales works at Demos Helsinki to secure sustainable and diversified international funding.

• Conversion: Making sure that new opportunities become concrete proposals, partnerships and funded projects.

• Pipeline: Ensure a healthy pipeline with a steady flow of leads (including upsell and cross-sell) for existing and new impact streams.

• Financial sustainability: Ensure that proposals are both financially sustainable and impactful. Follow up on sales performance, forecasts and project profitability, and keep the organisation regularly informed.

• Networks: Build and maintain international networks of partners, funders and peers with whom we will explore new funded impact pathways.

• Opportunity shaping: Spot early signals and impact ideas, and support the process of their shaping.

• Internal capability: Lead sales together with colleagues and build skills and confidence.

What we are looking for

• A goal-getter with strong experience in sales; securing and diversifying funding in complex, project-based and partnership-driven environments

• You achieve sales goals and understand them as the means for impact (you have a track record of doing this)

• You are confident with numbers and think beyond individual proposals, understanding how pricing and profitability shape our ability to create impact over time

• You understand the trends and shifts in the international funding landscape, preferably including philanthropic funding, and you'll be able to lead the way for our team

• You have experience in international partnerships and convening external stakeholders; you’re able to build new networks and collaborations

• You can develop and structure complex sales case from early stage to funded project or program.
  

What we offer

For the person in this role, DH offers freedom and genuine commitment for societal impact as our number one priority, and in turn we expect the Revenue Lead to bring direction and momentum to our collective efforts.

At Demos Helsinki, you'll have the opportunity to shape not only our revenue and funding, but also the direction of our work and the societal impact we pursue. Building on 20 years of expertise, an international community and a strong foundation for developing new initiatives, you'll have the freedom and responsibility to turn emerging opportunities into meaningful collaborations and lasting impact.

We offer a collaborative, community-owned organisation where trust, autonomy and kindness guide how we work. We value different perspectives, shared leadership and continuous learning, and want our people to have room to grow, take initiative and maintain a healthy balance between work and life.

Practicalities for the position

• Position: Permanent full-time role (inc. 6 months of a probationary period) with flexible working hours

• Location & relocation: Our home base is Helsinki, Finland. You do not need to be currently based in Finland to apply. We can consider candidates based elsewhere in Europe and, where feasible, arrange employment outside Finland, with some presence in Helsinki expected especially during onboarding. If relocation to Finland is agreed, we can support non-EU candidates with the Finnish residence permit process. The longer-term location setup will be agreed during the recruitment process based on the role and the candidate’s circumstances.

• Salary: According to Demos Helsinki's responsibility category model. Final salary is determined based on the level of responsibility and your demonstrated experience in comparable responsibilities.

• Start: As soon as possible / agreed with the selected candidate.

How to apply

The deadline is set for November 29th 23:59 CET.

Please submit your application through our application form. Your application consists of your CV and written answers to the questions in the application form.

We assume AI tools will be part of how you work. Please briefly explain in the application form how you used AI tools in preparing your application. If you didn’t, mention that as well.

Questions?

We are happy to answer any questions that are not sufficiently clarified in the job posting or that you feel would be important to discuss at this stage of the recruitment process. Please note that we carefully review all applications we receive, so a phone call is not required to be considered for an interview.

You can reach us by phone at the following times:

Katri Sarkia, Managing Director, +358505281070

• 17th November, 14:00 – 15:00 CET / 15:00 -16:00 EET

• 26th November, 08:00 – 09:00 CET / 09:00 -10:00 EET