Director – BESS Development

About us

Pollination is a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm, accelerating the transition to a net zero, nature positive future.

Our people are the key to unlocking change. Brought together from across industries, we are global leaders in finance, investment, technology, business, law and policy.

We combine our diverse expertise to connect dots and see around corners where others can't. With strong relationships at the highest levels of government and the private sector, we shift barriers and catalyse transformative partnerships.

Our clients span governments, businesses and public and private capital. Using our broad experience, we help navigate the climate transition, and design and invest in breakthrough ideas that deliver financial returns.

The opportunity

Pollination is looking for an Director – BESS Development & Delivery based in our Sydney or Melbourne offices to join our Energy Team.

The Director BESS Development & Delivery will report to the Executive Director Eastern Australia and manage the core project development team. The Director will also work closely with the broader Pollination Projects and Advisory teams to deliver on Pollination's portfolio of BESS development and investment projects.

Responsibilities

• Support the establishment and operation of Pollination's BESS project development, delivery, and engineering capabilities in Australia.
• Prepare and present project documentation to secure development budgets and investment approvals.
• Originate and develop projects from concept through to FID, including:
  • Concept, pre-feasibility, and feasibility analysis
  • Environmental, heritage, land tenure, and development approvals
  • Stakeholder engagement and agreement negotiation
  • EPC and O&M contracting strategies
• Coordinate due diligence on technology, vendors, and partners, assessing performance, risk, and compliance.
• Identify, quantify, and mitigate project risks, and capture potential value upsides.
• Develop and manage project budgets, schedules, and delivery milestones.
• Supervise partners, consultants, and vendors to ensure compliance with technical, ethical, health, and safety standards.
• Report detailed project progress to the Steering Committee, tracking budget, timing, deliverables, and milestones.
• Coordinate contributions across engineering, commercial, construction, and finance teams.
• Manage relationships with senior leadership, contractors, consultants, and project partners to align delivery and investment outcomes

Must have

• More than 10 years of engineering experience, with significant subject matter expertise in clean energy, renewable power, and energy storage systems.
• Advanced degree in engineering or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience across process, electrical, or civil engineering disciplines, ideally within large-scale infrastructure or energy projects.
• Proven track record in leading and delivering complex, multi-disciplinary projects from concept through to delivery and operation.
• Strong ability to plan, manage, and deliver major project workstreams, including design, resource coordination, and execution.
• Experience managing multiple priorities and stakeholders within fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
• Demonstrated success working as part of a senior management team, contributing to strategic direction and organisational performance.
• Excellent collaboration and teamwork skills, with the ability to coordinate a distributed national team and engage effectively across all levels of seniority.
• Skilled at engaging and negotiating with internal and external stakeholders, including contractors, partners, and advisors.
• Strong ability to synthesise technical and commercial input from diverse experts and integrate it into cohesive project outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills, including verbal, written, and presentation capabilities.
• Strategic thinker with a flexible mindset, comfortable challenging conventional approaches and working across multiple domains.
• Resilient and adaptable, with a focus on driving outcomes in dynamic and evolving project environments.

Qualities

• A strong entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to thrive and be self-directed in a very fast-paced growth environment.
• Highly collaborative working style, with comfort working in working environments defined by shared ownership of projects and flat decision-making structures.
• Strong commercial focus and literacy, with a sensitivity for the value drivers of projects across their lifecycle.

You'll love this role if…

You thrive in a fast-moving, fluid environment and have exceptional attention to detail. You are adaptable and proactive, calm under pressure and a great communicator – able to prioritise and effectively manage the needs of diverse stakeholders. You have a ferocious intellectual curiosity, an appetite for solving complex problems and are comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. You are excited to work in a purpose-driven organisation and share our ambition and commitment to tackle the climate crisis. This is a permanent, full-time role with the flexibility to work outside of standard office hours when necessary.

About Pollination

Pollination is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process.