Senior Assistant Director (Scale-Up) Full-time NEW

Senior Assistant Director (Scale-Up)

The Singapore Government will be establishing a national-level office to drive Singapore's energy and industry decarbonisation research, development, and demonstration (RD&D). 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, a new climate technology scale-up and pilot fund will be established to trial promising decarbonisation-related technologies for local deployment. The office 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.

Job Responsibilities

• Support the Programme Director in managing and deploying a sizable cleantech pilot deployment budget 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
• Oversee and manage a team of about five officers across cross-functional areas such as grants administration, project technoeconomic evaluation and management, and stakeholder engagement
• 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 mitigation pathways for Singapore

Ideal Requirements & Competencies

• At least 3-5 years of experience with proven track record of leadership experience and effective stakeholder management. Exceptional officers who do not meet the years of experience could also be considered.
• Robust technical 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 Scale-up 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