Senior Assistant Director (SPEED)

The Singapore Government will be establishing the Advanced Energy & Decarbonisation Office (AEDO) as Singapore's national platform for driving energy and industry decarbonisation research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) under the $800 million Decarbonisation Grand Challenge (DGC). It will oversee the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE 2030) mandate focusing on scalable decarbonisation solutions (e.g. carbon capture and low-carbon fuels and alternatives) and power system enablers (e.g. power transmission and energy storage) that support Singapore's transition to a low-carbon economy. In addition to sustaining applied R&D efforts through energy and decarbonisation-related research institutes and competitive grant calls, DGC will establish the Singapore Pilots for Energy and Enterprise Decarbonisation (SPEED) to trial promising decarbonisation-related technologies for local deployment.

The AEDO will be housed under A.STAR and is envisioned to play a critical role in aligning RD&D efforts with national decarbonisation strategies, translating innovation, managing major funding initiatives, and forging effective partnerships across government, academia, industry, and international experts.

SummaryWe are seeking a highly qualified individual to join the SPEED Programme, which is a new DGC initiative that supports the scale up, pilot and deployment of climate technologies to decarbonise the power and industry sectors in Singapore, specifically in the range of technology readiness levels (TRL) of 6-8.

Job Responsibilities

• Support the SPEED Executive Director and Deputy Director in managing a cleantech pilot deployment budget of about S$250M over five years over the upcoming Research, Innovation, & Enterprise (RIE) 2030 tranche
• Manage project and company prospecting, proposal evaluation process, including developing funding criteria and objectives for programmes
• Establish and negotiate technical milestones to assess project success
• Work across cross-functional areas such as project technoeconomic evaluation and management, strategic stakeholder engagement, deal formation, and grants administration.
• Ensure alignment of strategic goals and programme priorities with that of the respective agencies: The Energy Market Authority (EMA) for the power sector and power system enablers, and the Economic Development Board (EDB) for the industry sector
• Submit project proposals to the Singapore Government for final approval warranting taxpayer investment
• Monitor, account and oversee the regular reporting to the Singapore Government about the programme's accomplishments and budget utilisation
• Synergise efforts with Singapore Government colleagues, and aligned fund managers, to source for meritorious decarbonization projects
• Lead efforts to identify and co-fund up to 15-20 pilot projects over a five-year tranche, to uncover new national carbon mitigation pathways for Singapore

Job Requirements

• At least 3-5 years of experience with proven track record of leadership experience and effective stakeholder management. Exceptional individuals who do not meet the years of experience could also be considered.
• Robust understanding of climate mitigation technologies, including their deployment in Singapore's context
• Expert project management and leadership skills
• Deep understanding of technology research funding processes, including public, private, and combined public-private streams
• Ability to build partnerships and coalitions with stakeholders in academia, industry, Government agencies, both locally and globally
• Must possess an entrepreneurial spirit and have the executive presence to effectively market the SPEED program to a diverse audience base including foreign investors, founders and asset owners in Singapore
• International experience, especially in key markets like the US and China, would be viewed favourably
• Strong understanding of venture capital, venture debt, project financing and blended finance structures would be viewed very favourably
• Strong connections with the local and global venture capital and innovation ecosystem would be viewed very favourably
• Strong connections with the local base of energy-intensive asset owners (e.g. Energy & Chemical, Generation companies, Data Centres etc) would be viewed very favourably
• Prepared to embark on understanding the finer details of scaling technology at the TRL 6-8 range
• Strong business acumen and understanding of new energy technologies role in energy and economic futures
• International travel (25%) will be required