Senior Development Manager

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced and motivated Senior Development Manager to join a rapidly growing business and support the transition to a low carbon, sustainable global economy. Eku is responsible for the successful management and delivery of a pipeline of Battery Energy Storage System projects; we develop, construct, operate, trade and maintain a rapidly growing portfolio of utility scale storage assets globally. The Senior Development Manager is a key addition to Eku Energy's APAC business. Eku Energy has grown rapidly in the past 12 months and are looking for an experienced development manager to join the development team to lead their own projects from inception to financial close and mentor other development managers in pursuit of Eku Energy becoming the world's best developer of energy storage assets.

In this role, you will work closely with the engineering, commercial, markets and investment teams across all stages of development, with a particular focus on taking late-stage projects through the commercialisation and closing phase. You will report to the Director of Development and Country Lead, Australia.

Responsibilities Of The Role

• Lead the end-to-end development process for utility scale BESS projects with a focus on the later stage commercialisation phase of projects, this includes:
• Leading and coordinating development activities including setting and coordinating approval for project budgets, managing project schedules, developing designs, planning/permitting and liaison with relevant stakeholders;
• Coordinating the cross-functional teams required to progress a project towards an investable business case; and
• Working with markets and regulatory teams to commercialise your projects (e.g. participation in government underwriting schemes; support processes to secure offtake, network support contracts etc.)
• Mentor other development managers to support their learning and development to improve Eku Energy's development excellence
• Where required, support ongoing buildout of the pipeline through ad hoc business development and origination activities such as negotiating commercial terms with partners on co-development projects and supporting strategic origination & business development efforts e.g. C&I partnerships, BtM opportunities (e.g. datacentre, industrials etc.); and
• Reporting of overall project status and project progress to senior management and escalation of any key issues

Requirements

Competencies of the role

• You will have a minimum of 8 years of experience in energy project development ideally with experience managing the end-to-end development process for renewable projects, including taking projects through to a final investment decision and financial close.
• You'll have a good understanding of technical and commercial aspects of renewable energy projects and be comfortable jumping in and out of the detail and across workstreams to identify and manage key risks. You'll be a great communicator and equally comfortable presenting in senior stakeholder environments or to local community stakeholders in a professional, conscientious but confident manner. You'll enjoy working in a collaborative environment and combining soft skills with structure to drive a cross-functional team towards a common objective. You will understand how to craft a business case for an energy project and how to navigate and influence decision making to gain support for key approvals.
• You will have an excellent academic record with tertiary qualifications in a related field (e.g. engineering, law, finance, environmental science or project management). You will need to be ambitious, motivated and have the drive to succeed.
• If you possess a strong sense of accountability, can focus on details while maintaining a holistic view, enjoy collaboration across functional and geographic boundaries, and want to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, we want to hear from you.

Short to Midterm job targets

• 3 months
  Gain a robust understanding of Eku's end-to-end development process including how each Eku function contributes to progressing our projects
• Meet with key cross-functional team members and establish collaborative working relationships
• Take ownership of at least two developments (and their associated budgets) and be confidently leading the development of those projects
  • 6 months
    Be working towards an FID on one of your later stage projects and autonomously coordinating the internal and external cross functional project team
  • Prepare necessary approval papers and present in investment committee forums to secure executive and board support for your projects
  • Have established trusted relationships with relevant external parties (landowners, development partners, regulators) for your projects
    • 12+ months
      Be contributing as a senior member of the development team and contributing to the team beyond your immediate projects (e.g. through process improvement, mentoring, strategic decision making);
    • Have materially de-risked the projects you are leading creating a step up in value and a clear line of sight to commercialising for those projects
    • Where required, supporting the ongoing build of the pipeline

Benefits

• 25 Days of annual leave
• Flexible working
• Short Term Incentive bonus based on company and personal targets
• Great working culture globally
• Attractive remuneration package

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Engineering and Information Technology
• Industries

Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia