Project Development Associate

CATL; Singapore; On-site; SGD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

CATL is seeking a senior development professional to lead utility-scale BESS opportunities across Southeast Asia. The role focuses on market analysis, project screening from greenfield to RtB, and managing regulatory and land-related activities.

You will coordinate with internal teams and external partners to advance projects through RtB and investment decisions across multiple jurisdictions.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of experience in energy, power, infrastructure, or renewables.
• Strong background in utility-scale renewable energy or BESS project development.
• Experience in SE Asia markets preferred.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and analyze electricity markets across Southeast Asia, including pricing, grid conditions, renewable integration, and regulatory developments.
• Identify, screen, and evaluate utility-scale BESS opportunities at various stages.
• Assess and prioritize markets based on regulatory frameworks, grid needs, and investment environment.
• Originate new opportunities through developer networks, utilities, government relationships, and industry partners.
• Manage relationships with local developers and partners to build a scalable project pipeline.
• Oversee development workflows: site selection, land lease, grid connection applications, permitting, ESIA, M&A, financial model inputs, and coordination with local resources.
• Coordinate land-related activities, including due diligence, lease negotiations, and land rights management.
• Represent the company in negotiations with utilities, regulators, landowners, EPCs, investors, and advisors.
• Oversee project development processes: grid connection, land, permitting, environmental and social requirements, and stakeholder engagement.
• Collaborate with internal teams to mitigate risks and maximize project value.
• Support grid studies, technical assessments, and project constructability evaluations.
• Create budgets, milestones, and risk registers; act as internal lead coordinating external consultants.
• Support investment and acquisition activities, including screening, due diligence, and transaction structuring.
• Contribute to market-entry strategies for new SEA markets.

Skills

BESS development

Project development

M&A experience

Regulatory & permits

Grid connection coordination

Land acquisition & leasing

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Financial modeling

Cross-cultural communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree or above in Business/Engineering/Finance/Economics/Real Estate/Environmental Studies

Tools

International project teams

Job description

• Monitor and analyze electricity markets across Southeast Asia, including power market structures, electricity pricing, grid conditions, renewable energy integration, ancillary services, capacity mechanisms, energy storage policies, procurement frameworks, and relevant regulatory developments.
• Identify, screen, and evaluate utility-scale BESS project opportunities, including greenfield, brownfield, standalone BESS, renewable-plus-storage, and co-location projects at both pre-RtB and RtB stages.
• Assess and prioritize potential markets based on regulatory frameworks, grid needs, project economics, market accessibility, investment environment, and potential BESS revenue opportunities.
• Originate new utility-scale BESS opportunities through local developer networks, utilities, government relationships, industry partners, market intelligence, and other business development channels.
• Identify, establish, and manage relationships with local developers and development partners to build a scalable project pipeline across multiple Southeast Asian markets.
• Manage key project development workflows, including site selection, land acquisition or lease arrangements, grid connection applications, permitting, environmental and social assessments, M&A activities, financial model inputs, and coordination of local resources.
• Coordinate land-related activities, including land due diligence, lease or acquisition negotiations, land rights assessment, and management of external land agents, consultants, developers, and local partners.
• Represent the company in discussions and negotiations with key external stakeholders, including utilities, transmission and distribution companies, government authorities, regulators, local developers, landowners, consultants, EPC contractors, investors, financial institutions, and strategic partners.
• Manage and monitor the overall project development process, including grid connection, land, permitting, environmental and social requirements, community engagement, stakeholder management, development schedules, and project risk management.
• Work closely with internal teams, including engineering, finance, legal, investment, procurement, and operations, to identify and mitigate project risks and implement solutions to maximize project value.
• Work with internal technical teams and external consultants to support grid connection studies, technical assessments, project design, technical due diligence, and evaluation of project constructability.
• Create and manage project budgets, development schedules, key milestones, and development risk registers. Act as the internal project lead and coordinate external consultants and development partners.
• Support project investment and acquisition activities, including project screening, investment evaluation, commercial analysis, financial model inputs, due diligence, transaction structuring, negotiations, and project closing.
• Support the development and execution of market-entry strategies for new Southeast Asian markets, including identifying suitable local partners, understanding foreign investment requirements, and evaluating potential development or acquisition structures.

Requirements:

• Experience: Minimum 3 years of experience in the energy, power, infrastructure, or renewable energy sectors, preferably covering project development, project investment/M&A, engineering, or related activities. Experience working on projects in one or more Southeast Asian markets is strongly preferred.
• Skills:
• Proven ability to support or deliver utility-scale renewable energy, power infrastructure, or BESS projects from early-stage development through Ready-to-Build (RtB).
• Experience in utility-scale BESS, solar, wind, power generation, transmission, or other energy infrastructure development, investment, or M&A.
• Strong understanding of key aspects of project development in Southeast Asia, including:
• Land acquisition, leasing, and land rights
• Grid connection applications and utility coordination
• Grid capacity and connection requirements
• Development and construction permitting
• Environmental and social requirements
• Government and regulatory approvals
• Local stakeholder and community engagement
• Foreign investment and local ownership considerations
• Power purchase, offtake, or other project revenue arrangements
• Ability to evaluate different electricity market and regulatory frameworks and translate them into actionable project development and investment strategies.
• Fundamental understanding of the technical, commercial, and financial factors required to develop a constructable and bankable utility-scale BESS project.
• Experience managing local developers, consultants, advisors, or development partners across multiple jurisdictions will be considered a strong advantage.
• Experience taking projects from RtB through Final Investment Decision (FID), financing, construction, and Commercial Operation Date (COD) will be considered a strong advantage.
• Experience with project acquisition, development-stage M&A, joint development arrangements, or project investment transactions will be considered an advantage.
• Communication: Exceptional negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across different cultures and jurisdictions.
• The candidate should be comfortable engaging with local developers, utilities, government authorities, regulators, investors, financial institutions, legal advisors, landowners, EPC contractors, and technical consultants, while coordinating effectively with an international internal team.
• The role may require regular travel across Southeast Asia.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree or above in Business, Engineering, Finance, Economics, Real Estate, Environmental Studies, or a related field. A Master’s degree will be considered an advantage.
• Language: Fluency in English is required for communication within an international working environment and with regional counterparties.
• Proficiency in one or more Southeast Asian languages, such as Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino/Tagalog, or Khmer, will be considered a strong advantage.
• Chinese language skills will also be considered a plus.