Project Development Associate

Role Overview

This role entails comprehensive monitoring and analysis of electricity markets across Southeast Asia, focusing on power market structures, pricing, grid status, renewable integration, and regulatory frameworks. The associate will identify and assess utility-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) opportunities at various development stages, prioritizing markets based on economic and regulatory factors.

Key Responsibilities

• Track and evaluate Southeast Asian electricity market dynamics, including pricing, grid conditions, and policy changes.
• Identify and screen utility-scale BESS opportunities, encompassing greenfield and brownfield projects, standalone, and co-located with renewables.
• Analyze and rank potential markets considering regulatory environment, grid needs, financial viability, and investment attractiveness.
• Originate new BESS projects through engagement with developers, utilities, government agencies, and industry networks.
• Develop and sustain partnerships with local developers to build a scalable project pipeline across multiple countries.
• Oversee project workflows such as site and land acquisition, grid connection applications, permitting, environmental/social assessments, and financial modeling.
• Coordinate land activity including due diligence, negotiations, rights assessments, and liaising with agents and partners.
• Represent the company in negotiations with utilities, regulators, governments, financiers, and contractors.
• Manage project progress, risk, stakeholder relations, schedule adherence, and compliance with regulatory and community requirements.
• Collaborate internally with engineering, finance, legal, and operations teams to mitigate project risks and enhance project value.
• Support technical due diligence, grid studies, project design assessments, and constructability evaluations alongside consultants and internal teams.
• Prepare and control project budgets, schedules, milestones, and risk registers; lead projects internally and with external partners.
• Assist investment and acquisition processes including screening, financial evaluations, due diligence, structuring, and deal closure.
• Contribute to market entry strategies for new Southeast Asian markets by identifying partners, understanding foreign investment rules, and evaluating development or acquisition models.

Candidate Requirements

• Minimum three years experience in energy, power, infrastructure, or renewables sectors, preferably with exposure to Southeast Asian markets.
• Experience delivering or supporting utility-scale renewable, power infrastructure, or BESS projects from development to Ready-to-Build phase.
• Strong knowledge of project development processes including land acquisition, grid applications, permits, environmental/social compliance, and government approvals in Southeast Asia.
• Ability to assess various electricity market regulations and translate them into actionable development and investment plans.
• Understanding of technical, commercial, and financial facets needed for developing bankable utility-scale BESS projects.
• Experience managing local developers, consultants, or partners across jurisdictions is advantageous.
• Familiarity with project progression post-RtB through investment decisions, financing, construction, and commercial operation is a plus.
• Experience with project acquisitions, M&A, joint developments, or investment transactions desirable.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and cultural adaptability skills for interaction with diverse stakeholders and internal international teams.
• Willingness to undertake regular travel within Southeast Asia.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Business, Engineering, Finance, Economics, Real Estate, Environmental Studies, or equivalent; a Master’s degree is beneficial.
• Fluent English communication skills required; knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino/Tagalog, Khmer, or Chinese is a significant advantage.