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About Tara Climate Foundation

Tara Climate Foundation is an Asia-based philanthropic organisation committed to building a more sustainable and prosperous future for the region. At the heart of its mission lies Asia’s just energy transition – recognising that, with half the world’s population and the fastest-growing energy demand, the region’s progress will shape the world’s collective future.  

Established in 2021 and headquartered in Singapore, Tara Climate Foundation works with over 400 partners across 12 Asian geographies, including think tanks, research institutes, advisory groups, and associations. Tara provides grants, convenes stakeholders, and facilitates knowledge-sharing to accelerate clean energy development, drive a just transition, and enable clean industrialisation. Underpinning these efforts is a strong commitment to unlocking sustainable finance, supporting climate goals, and aligning business action with a people-centred energy transition. Its team of over 50 experts is spread across the Asia-Pacific region, working to accelerate climate action in this decisive decade. 

About the Role

The Senior Programme Officer, Japan (Power Sector Decarbonisation Focus), works closely with the Programme Director, East Asia, and the Deputy Japan Programme Director to advance Tara Climate Foundation’s domestic power sector transition work in Japan. The role focuses on supporting power sector decarbonisation, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy, grid transformation, and electricity market reform, while strengthening engagement with key domestic energy stakeholders in Japan, including government, utilities, regulators, industry associations, NGOs, and expert institutions.

Purpose of the Role

This role is designed for an experienced power sector professional with a strong understanding of Japan’s electricity system and utility landscape and a commitment to advancing systemic decarbonisation in the domestic power sector. The ideal candidate will bring hands-on experience from the power or energy sector and the ability to engage credibly with Japanese utilities, policymakers, and industry stakeholders in a trusted, locally grounded manner.

Duties and Responsibilities

Programme Strategy

• Lead and support the development of strategies to accelerate decarbonisation of Japan’s domestic power sector, with a focus on renewable energy, grid transformation, and electricity market reform.
• Contribute to national and programme-level strategy development in alignment with Tara’s organisational priorities and Japan programme objectives.
• Identify and support strategic interventions and partners that support power sector transition outcomes, including renewable energy acceleration and system-level change.
• Monitor and analyse developments in Japan’s electricity market, regulatory environment, and utility strategies, and adapt programme approaches accordingly.
• Contribute to reporting, performance tracking, and learning on domestic power sector outcomes.
• Support budgeting, KPIs, and donor reporting related to the domestic power portfolio.
• Support the design and implementation of grant-making and partnerships focused on power sector decarbonisation.

Partnerships and Coordination

• Identify and engage strategic partners within Japan’s power sector ecosystem, including utilities, grid operators, regulators, industry associations, think tanks, and technical experts.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships across the domestic electricity and energy transition landscape.
• Facilitate coordination among stakeholders working on power sector decarbonisation and renewable energy integration in Japan.
• Strengthen partner networks and support capacity building aligned with electricity sector transition goals.

Grant-making and Monitoring

• Manage grants and partner relationships for domestic power sector decarbonisation.
• Support the development and incubation of partners working on renewable energy acceleration, grid integration, and power market reform.
• Monitor partner delivery against agreed objectives, ensuring quality, relevance, and timeliness of outputs.

Representation and Networking

• Maintain strong working relationships with utilities, regulators, government agencies, industry stakeholders, NGOs and expert organisations.
• Support partners in engaging constructively with the Japanese government and utility stakeholders to advance credible domestic power transition pathways.

Convening and Collaboration

• Convene targeted dialogues, technical exchanges, and stakeholder workshops focused on Japan’s power sector transition challenges and opportunities.
• Collaborate closely with Tara’s regional and thematic experts to ensure alignment and technical depth in programme delivery.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Follow all organisational policies and procedures, including compliance, financial management, procurement, HR, and IT requirements.
• Support effective risk management, safeguarding, and security practices to protect people, information, and assets.

Operational Responsibilities

• Promote a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate Tara’s values in all aspects of work, with emphasis on humility, partnership, and mission-driven engagement.
• Actively contribute to programme team activities and cross-team collaboration.
• Undertake additional responsibilities as reasonably assigned by line management.

Stakeholder Management

Key external stakeholders

• Utilities and power companies (generation, transmission, and distribution)
• Grid operators and system planners
• Government ministries and energy regulators
• Policymakers and energy advisory bodies
• Industry associations and power sector expert groups
• Renewable energy developers and energy technology companies
• Think tanks and academic institutions focused on energy systems
• Civil society organisations working on energy transition and climate
• Funders and climate finance institutions

Key internal stakeholders

• Programme Director
• Deputy Programme Director
• Grants Officer
• Regional Programme Team
• Tara Climate regional and thematic specialists

Skills and Experience

Person Specification

Excited by the prospect of working for a dynamic and fast-growing international organisation focused on supporting the power sector transition in Japan, the ideal candidate will have:

• At least ten years of professional experience in the energy, power sector, utilities, clean energy, or energy policy fields.
• At least five years of experience in senior or management roles, including experience overseeing teams, projects, or workstreams in a complex stakeholder environment.

In addition, the ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong understanding of power sector decarbonisation, particularly in the context of the Japanese electricity system.
• Strong motivation to address the climate crisis through practical power system transformation.
• Strategic thinking and systems-level understanding, with the ability to translate energy transition strategy into actionable programmes and implementation pathways.
• Solid understanding of Japan’s electricity market, utility business models, and regulatory environment.
• Strong analytical and policy interpretation skills related to power sector reform and decarbonisation.
• Proven ability to engage effectively with utilities, government counterparts, and technical stakeholders in Japan.
• Excellent communication, networking, and convening skills across technical and policy audiences.
• Full professional fluency in Japanese, with English as an advantage. 
• Proficiency with standard office tools (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Comfort working in fast-paced, cross-cultural, and matrixed international teams across time zones.

Personal Attributes

• Deep commitment to accelerating the power sector transition and delivering systemic decarbonisation in Japan.
• Strong intrinsic motivation, a high level of self-organisation, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Highly collaborative, respectful, and able to build trust in multi-stakeholder environments.
• Willingness to engage directly with utilities, regulators, and government stakeholders in Japan.
• Willingness to travel regionally and internationally as required.
• High ethical standards, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive information appropriately.
• Alignment with Tara’s mission, values, and collaborative organisational culture.

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent advanced expertise in energy systems, electrical engineering, economics, environmental studies, public policy, business, or a related field relevant to power sector transition.

What the Tara Climate Foundation can offer 

• The unique opportunity to work as part of a highly dynamic, international  team that combines its passion to make a difference with a rigorous and  results-oriented approach to work 
• A flexible work environment  
• Opportunities for career development and to challenge yourself 
• Competitive compensation and benefits 
• A collaborative, fun and thriving team, driven by their mission and living their values