Senior Program Officer Japan At Tara Climate Ltd

Tara Climate Foundation is a philanthropic climate foundation dedicated to fostering a future where Asia’s unwavering commitment to climate action paves the way for just, thriving and resilient societies. Tara operates in East, Southeast and South Asia, excluding India and China.

Our mission is to support a diverse group of partners in accelerating Asia’s energy transformation and championing climate action. Tara plays three main roles in the region:

Grantmaker: Tara works closely with mission-aligned foundations and philanthropists to pool resources and grant funds to organisations working to accelerate Asia’s energy transition and climate action (excluding China and India).

Convenor: Tara cultivates networks that facilitate the exchange of ideas between business, civil society, and government throughout and beyond Asia.

Local and regional expert: With strong networks spanning civil society, businesses and government, Tara funds thorough research and analysis to address knowledge gaps, stay abreast of emerging trends, and craft evidence-based strategies to advance our mission.

Despite heightened global focus on climate issues, philanthropic giving toward climate change initiatives remains disproportionately low, constituting just 2% of worldwide philanthropic giving, with an even smaller percentage allocated to Asia. In response to this challenge, in 2021 Tara established its headquarters in Singapore and has experienced significant growth, expanding our funding base to include more than a dozen philanthropic foundations. Currently, we provide grants to over 300 organisations operating across 13 countries and jurisdictions in the Asia region. Our team of over 50 experts is spread across the Asia-Pacific region, working to combat climate change in this decisive decade.

The Senior Program Officer, Japan will work closely with the Head of Program, East Asia and Deputy Japan Program Director to accelerate the Japan energy transition program with special focus on renewable energy acceleration expanding its work across the country and the region by supporting think tanks, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.

The successful applicant is a forward-looking, experienced strategist with a passion for driving systemic change and a collaborative approach to work. The ideal candidate will have a good understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to clean energy transition in Japan, with experience working with a diverse set of stakeholders, including corporates, industry associations, public and private financial institutions, NGOs, think tanks, and government agencies.

The Senior Program Officer’s main areas of responsibility are:

Program Strategy

• Lead the development of strategies that will accelerate a just energy transition, including in the areas of renewable energy policies and power sector decarbonization and ensure that the program is multi-faceted, complex and multi-layered and developed in consultation with partners.
• Contribute tothe development of national long term program strategy and annual objectives in line with Tara’s organisational goals and vision.
• Identify grantees and strategies that can help drive further climate ambition in these sectors.
• Contribute to reporting quarterly on progress, and annually on the achievements, impact, and lessons learned of the Japan program.
• Contribute to developing requirements and budget plans and tracking key performance indicators for the program.
• Proactively review developments in the economic sector and political situations that may impact the program and continuously adapt and revise strategies and tactics.
• Contribute to funding proposals and reports to funders on progress.
• Support the Head of and Deputy Head of Japan program in developing and implementing specific projects to advance the country strategy.
• Support the Head of and Deputy Head of Japan program to develop and deliver grant-making strategy for the Japan program in consultation with national partners. This includes ensuring that a multi-faceted and multi-layered strategy is developed together with national partners and that the strategy is regularly evaluated for its impact.

Partnerships and Coordination

• Network with various stakeholders, including industry sector, industry associations, existing grantees, potential partners, and national, regional and international organizations working in the space relevant to the program’s implementation.
• Facilitate coordination among partners inside and outside of Japan to ensure Tara achieves outcomes that are larger than the sum of the individual partners’ efforts.

Grantmaking and Monitoring

• Manage a program budget and partner grants, including developing and incubating new partners.
• Guide and advise grantees, partners, and prospective partners in the field to ensure activities achieve their intended objectives and results.
• Monitor grantee and partner deliverables and submissions and provide general oversight on their timeliness and quality.

Operational responsibilities:

• Promote a culture of excellence, service orientation, high performance, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate Tara Values in every action
• Actively participates in Program Team activities and collaborate other team members of Tara.
• Abide by Tara’s policies, procedures and practices
• As and when required other responsibilities and projects will be allocated by line management in consultation with the post holder.

Excited by the prospect of working for a dynamic and fast-growing international organisation with a mission to solve the climate crisis, the ideal candidate will have:

Skills & Experience:

• At least five years of work experience in climate and clean energy sector.
• Understanding on how to create systematic change in the energy and development sector.
• Strong motivation and understanding to address the climate crisis.
• An innate grasp of strategy, systems thinking, and the ability to articulate strategies in a clear and compelling way and the ability to translate strategy into implementation.
• Robust understanding of economic development planning processes and the dynamics in the corporate and finance sector.
• Knowledge and understanding of the political, economic and cultural context in Japan, particularly on sustainable development and energy transformation issues.
• Demonstrated policy analysis skills.
• Demonstrated communication and networking skills that enable effective collaboration with a diverse group of partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Japanese.
• Reliable computer skills with standard applications (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Used to working flexibly at a fast pace in remote settings with multi-cultural teams across multiple time-zones
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as and when required
• Embraces Tara’s mission and identifies with and is committed to living the Tara Values

Education

• Advanced degree or relevant expertise in a relevant field such as renewable energy, environmental management, business administration, economics, or sustainable development.
• Master’s degree qualification or relevant expertise in a relevant field such as renewable energy, environmental management, business administration, economics, or sustainable development.

Location requirements

• The candidate must be based in Japan and be a citizen of Japan or have long-term residency status with legal permit to reside and work in the country.

What Tara Foundation can offer

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