Sr. Manager Project Development - BESS

Role Summary

Own the origination and development of grid-scale (standalone) and solar co-located BESS projects in Japan , from site screening through to Notice to Proceed (NTP), and secure the grid, land, permitting and revenue positions that make those projects bankable.

Your Responsibility

1. Screen and priorities BESS sites against grid capacity, curtailment, price spread, land availability and route to market; maintain a ranked Japan pipeline with clear go/no-go criteria.
2. Secure site control through purchase, lease or 事業用定期借地権; lead landowner negotiation, title verification and land-use feasibility (農地転用, 林地開発許可, 都市計画法 development permit, 消防法 requirements for lithium-ion storage).
3. Own the interconnection process with the relevant TSO and OCCTO — 接続検討申込 → 契約申込 → 接続契約 — including non-firm connection assessment, curtailment analysis and 工事費負担金 negotiation.
4. Define and secure the revenue stack for each asset — 長期脱炭素電源オークション, capacity market, 需給調整市場, JEPX spot and intranet arbitrage, tolling or off take — and lead the associated bid and application processes.
5. Lead METI / NEDO / prefecture storage subsidy applications, and FIT/FIP approvals where solar is co-located.
6. Manage licensing and safety obligations under the Electricity Business Act (電気事業法), including power generation business registration, 保安規程 and chief electrical engineer appointment, together with local notifications and consents.
7. Source and assess co-development, secondary acquisition and JV opportunities; run commercial and technical due diligence and present recommendations to the investment committee.
8. Own development schedule, budget and milestone tracking from greenfield to NTP; escalate variances early with quantified impact and a defined mitigation plan.
9. Commission and critically review third-party technical, environmental, grid, land and market studies; challenge assumptions, identify gaps and close them.
10. Prepare development reports, investment memorandum and risk registers with a clear recommendation, to IPD stage-gate and delegation-of-authority standards; lead the development-to-construction handover with E&C.
11. Build and maintain relationships with landowners, local governments, communities, TSOs, METI, consultants, OEM/integrates and route-to-market partners; resolve local objections before they become schedule risk.
12. Support single-asset and portfolio divestment processes and lead assigned workstreams; provide structured progress and risk updates to Japan and IPD management.

Our Requirements

Essential

1. 7–10+ years in energy project development, with a demonstrated personal track record of taking at least one utility-scale project in Japan from greenfield to NTP or COD — grid-scale BESS, solar plus storage, or utility-scale solar with credible transferable storage exposure.
2. Hands-on ownership of the Japan interconnection process (接続検討 through 接続契約) and direct dealings with at least one TSO.
3. Working command of the Japan storage revenue and support landscape : 長期脱炭素電源オークション, capacity market, 需給調整市場, JEPX price dynamics and METI storage subsidy schemes.
4. Practical experience in Japanese land acquisition and permitting — landowner negotiation, land-use conversion, local government consultation, and fire and electrical regulatory requirements.
5. Ability to build and challenge project economics (CAPEX/OPEX, revenue stacking assumptions, IRR sensitivities) and to work fluently with investment, modelling and finance teams.
6. Native-level Japanese and business-level English ; English is the working language with the international team and Group.
7. Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, finance, environmental science or a related discipline.
8. Willing to travel domestically to sites and occasionally overseas.

Preferred

1. Experience in a foreign-invested or cross-border IPP/developer, operating within Group governance and delegation-of-authority frameworks.
2. Sell-side experience on asset divestment or project sale processes.
3. Existing network across Japanese developers, TSOs, landowners, consultants, BESS OEM/integrator and aggregators.
4. Chinese language ability.